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.

In chapter 3, Jonah finally reaches Nineveh, but there is something obstinate in his obedience. His sermon is 8 words (5 in Hebrew). Nevertheless, it transforms an entire city – from the king to the cattle. Hard hearts are softened and transformed. Jonah’s sermon is far from eloquent. There are no illustrations, no anecdotes, or jokes. Yet there is something altogether ‘other’ about Jonah’s message, something that motivates his hearers to repent and seek mercy from God. Despite Jonah’s lack of enthusiasm, God is able to use Jonah and his message to save the city of Nineveh.

We left Jonah in the belly of the great fish, and had reason to think that this was the end for poor old Jonah. If the waters of the sea did not destroy him, certainly being swallowed by a leviathan would. But the great fish was God’s means of saving and changing Jonah. One way or another God was going to teach Jonah humility.

In the mysterious safety of the fish, Jonah reminds us that God is working to transform us into the likeness of His Son, whether the darkness is self-inflicted or thrown upon us like a violent sea.