We have good news to share! The good news that Jesus has died for sin so that we can be free to come to God and know him. The barrier is gone!

Through the last few weeks of studying Acts in our homegroup, I’ve particularly been struck by one main thing - what Acts can teach us about sharing the gospel. Although this is because I prayed that God would teach me more about how to share the good news with others. So what does it say?

Firstly - in each instance of sharing the good news in Acts we see that the message is the same, it’s the same gospel that is shared with each different person / group of people - That Jesus who was crucified is the Lord and only in him can we find salvation. Through Acts we see people from many different races, religions and backgrounds receiving this same good news and being changed by it! We have good news that is for everyone - whatever race, religion or background.

Even though the message never changes, the way it is shared does. In each situation, we see the believers starting from what has just happened or where the people with whom they are talking are at, and from there they go on to apply the message of salvation to the situation. Then usually after having shared the message they call the hearers to repentence.

The other thing that I noticed from Acts is that the Holy Spirit has prepared each situation that we read about. We see him leading the believers into situations, preparing the hearers for the message and working through the believers and their listeners as the message is shared. The final thought that this (and particularly the conversions of Paul and Cornelius) highlighted for me is that God could have done it all - shared the message with and brought them to know him - but he has decided to use us believers in the process.

God doesn’t need us in order to share the gospel, but it pleases him to entrust us with it. We should rejoice in this responsibility, in all the opportunities we have to share this good news and in the joy of seeing others come to know him.