We are starting a Christmas series to call Jesus, Name above Every Name. We will spend the next 4 weeks leading up to Christmas looking at the names given to Jesus; Messiah, Saviour, Immanuel and Son of God. Each one reveals more about who Jesus is and what He came to do. In today's message we see Jesus the Messiah, which means anointed one, Christ and King. We are going to see how the Magi, Herod and the Priest responded to this news and how we should respond as well.

Jesus' life on this earth was not one of settling down in one place, but He continued to move from place to place. As followers of Jesus, we are strangers on this earth as we look forward to an eternal life with Him. In this passage, God's church is on the move as the people were scattered but continued to preach the Word of God. Philip had the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with an Ethiopian. We need to take the opportunities that come before us to tell others about Jesus.

We see in this passage how the apostles are confronted by the religious leaders as they proclaim the good news of Jesus. The religious leaders were at a loss of how these uneducated men had such a following of the people. Peter tells the leaders that they are obeying God and not man - a challenge that continues for Christians today as we live as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. The apostles continued to teach about Jesus using every opportunity given to them. We too are to use every opportunity available to us to tell others about Jesus.

In this passage, Peter and John are challenged by the religious leaders of how they were able to heal the lame man. Despite the threats imposed on them by the leaders, Peter and John stood firm in acknowledging the power and authority of Jesus Christ's name. On hearing what had happened to Peter and John, the early Christians prayed for God's help and leading and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. As Christians today, we would accept that prayer is to be an important part of our life. The practical challenge for us is how much is prayer a part of our daily life?

"We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God." In this chapter of Acts we see the disciples waiting expectantly for the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit. When He comes in power it is in a way that none of them could have predicted, and even the people around them wonder what has happened and what it means. Peter responds to them with different types of evidence for who Jesus is, which is something all of us need to answer for ourselves today. As Peter pleads with them they respond with remorse and repentance and the church is unified, magnified and multiplied.