In the two thousand years since Jesus death and resurrection, countless numbers of people have come to Jesus. Their lives have been transformed. They have been given new purpose. Yet no conversion is more histrionic then that of Saul of Tarsus. His is the most renowned in the history of the church. This is the same man who sanctioned Stephen’s death and then sought to destroy the church. Saul went from home to home to arresting men and women sending them to prison because of their faith in Jesus. Then Saul met Jesus.

Saul’s conversion was dramatic. And as a result, he became the apostle to the Gentiles. Today we continue to benefit from the impact of his life. Though it will likely not be a Damascus Road, we too need an experience – a personal encounter with Jesus Christ in order to be converted. Like Paul, we need to turn to Jesus in faith and repentance and receive a call to serve Christ and his church.

Stephen was the very first, but many have followed in his steps to martyrdom.

He was described as full of the Holy Spirit, of grace, power and wisdom. When the religious leaders could not persuade or dissuade Stephen, they stoned him to death.

St. Augustine wrote of Stephen, “Those who preach Christ must become both the fire and the gentle dove of the Holy Spirit.” St. Augustine tells us that as a Christ follower we should be both like a dove, acting with unblended kindness, and like fire by standing with fervor.

Stephen’s greatest gift to the church was not only that he was her first martyr, but also his stalwart decision to uphold the mission and the life of the church.

Video can be seen here.

As soon as the Holy Spirit came upon the church, there were attacks. Today Christians are one of the most persecuted of religious groups worldwide. In the 20th century, more Christians have been killed; either directly for their faith or in situations where being a Christian has played a role, than in all the other centuries combined.

While it is true that the first and crudest tactic is violence, overwhelming the Church with persecution, the second is even more cunning: moral corruption and compromise. Brennan Manning famously said “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” The early Church was not exempt. The first example in Scripture of the attempt to insinuate evil into the interior life of the Church is the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

The book of Acts begins with miracles. Jesus ascends, the Holy Spirit descends, thousands of people recognise Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah, and these new Christians are together in love, friendship and meeting each other’s needs. But not everyone is excited. In Acts chapter 4, we encounter the church’s first experience with persecution.

Today’s church can learn from the early church how to remain faithful and active even when the cost is great. Join us this Sunday for Part 3 in our series Acts: Jesus’ Mission.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait. On the day of Pentecost, their wait was over. A mighty rushing wind filled the room, tongues of fire appeared, and power from on high came upon them. The Holy Spirit falls on his disciples, preparing them to go and proclaim the gospel to all nations. Does Pentecost have any significance for Christians today? Join us this Sunday for part two in our series Acts: Jesus’ Mission.

At The Bridge, we believe water baptism is a celebration of a person's decision to follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Just as the symbols of the wedding and wedding ring are a declaration of a marriage covenant, water baptism is the outward declaration of the covenant they have made with God. As a church, we would like to stand with our friends and family as they publicly declare that they have made the decision to surrender their life to the Jesus. So please join us this Sunday for this very special service.

These are the testimonies of those who were Baptised today. Starting times of each individual's testimony are below.

Eunice 10:21
Matthew 12:57
Timothy 13:45
Marnell 15:25
Zachary 17:07
Abbey 18:05
Alex 18:36
John 19:31
Keziah 21:25
Carrie 23:42
Celeste 26:14
Albert 28:27
Hanii 31:04

In the first chapter of Acts, Luke introduces several important gospel perspectives that recur throughout the rest of the book. Principal among them is that the book of Acts is first and foremost a book about Jesus. He is the primary character of the book and the centre of all its events.

Acts portrays the continuing work and teachings of Jesus, following His ascension, in a way that no other book of the Bible does. Acts demonstrates that as the flowering movement spreads, Jesus Himself is at work. The Church is Jesus’ instrument to continue His work in the world.

In the opening chapter, Jesus promises His disciples the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, commissions them to take the gospel to the “end of the earth”, ascends into heaven, and promises to return again.

God is gracious, compassionate and slow to anger. He gave the people of Nineveh a second chance, and Jonah was angry that God used him to do it. So God grew a tree that made Jonah happy. When a worm destroyed the tree, Jonah was angry. God described His great love for the people He created and told Jonah he had no right to be angry that his little tree died. The book ends there.

Jonah seethes in anger and does not (or perhaps cannot) understand what God was telling him. Have you ever been angry with God?

Loss, heartache, injustice or a request that didn’t turn out like we hoped can lead us to be angry with God. In these situations, it's easy to become confused and wonder if He heard us or just said "No" to our prayer. And like Jonah, what we are certain of is the anger we feel toward God.