Early Days

Philippians 4:14-16 - Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.

Acts 16:30-32,34 - He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house…The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

2 Corinthians 8:1,5 - And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches…And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.

Conclusions:

• The jailer had heard that these were preachers of a way of salvation
• Now with the earthquake and his own near death, he wanted to know about the way
• Believe in the Lord Jesus is a concise statement of the way of salvation
• Paul and Silas explained the gospel more thoroughly to the jailer and to all the other members of his household, and they all believed in Christ and were saved
• Being filled with joy is the consistent consequence of conversion, regardless of circumstances
• The grace of giving on the part of believers is more than matched by the self-giving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
• “They gave themselves first to the Lord” is the true principle of all Christian giving
• These Macedonian Christians are an amazing example to the Corinthian believers and to the church in every age of the dynamic difference that God’s grace makes with the lives and attitudes of His people—a central theme of 2 Corinthians

Application:

• Do you want to know how to be saved?
• Do you believe in the Lord Jesus?
• Have you been saved?
• Are you filled with joy?
• Have you exercised the grace of giving?
• Do you give yourself first tot he Lord?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible