Text: Acts 1:8; 2:1-4:22 | Listen to Message Power For The Present When Jesus was crucified around Passover time, his disciples ran off into the night and locked themselves behind closed doors. They were paralyzed by fear and wrecked by despair. What if the people who identified them with Jesus came for them next? One way or another, their lives were ruined. So how is it that just weeks later these same guys – and Peter in particular – are standing in the Temple during Pentecost and they’re boldly preaching the Gospel to the very same crowds who’d just demanded...
Text: John 21:15-17 | Listen to Message Freedom From The Past Imagine for a moment that Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead. So he taught people how to live and love, and he went about doing good and saving others, but when he died on a cross that was that: he couldn’t save himself. If that’s what really happened, what would that say about your sin? If death by crucifixion is the last chapter of Jesus’ story, there’s no reason to think he can do anything for you. Oh, he said he was going to lay down...
Text: Acts 21:27-22:22 | Listen to Message Is Christianity An Enemy Of Judaism? The Apostle Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, charged with trying to destroy the very essence of Jewish identity. Acts 21:28 records the accusation: “This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place.” According to Judaism and the Old Testament, the Jews are God’s chosen people. God gave the Mosaic Law to them at Mount Sinai. God put His presence in their midst within the temple’s Most Holy Place. No other people group could make these claims. But was...
Text: Acts 21:1-26 | Listen to Message Does God Want Me To Be Safe? We are arguably the safest, most comfortable generation in the history of the world. We feel entitled to safety and comfort, and these are major factors in how we view “God’s will” for our lives. Certainly, we tell ourselves, God wants me to be as safe and successful as possible. And so we automatically assume God’s will means less risk and more (short-term) reward. We instinctively pursue the experiences, relationships, and material things that we think will make us most comfortable. This is the kind of...
Text: Acts 20:17-38 | Listen to Message Guarding God’s Truth Imagine you live in a small, primitive village in the middle of nowhere. The life and health of your village depend on the clean water drawn from a single well. Recently – whether due to mischief or sabotage – the well has begun filling up with rocks, making it difficult to access the water. But the situation is even more dire, as it’s come to your attention that someone is trying to poison your well. How do you think you’d react to these existential threats in order to protect your...
Text: Acts 19:8—20:1 | Listen to Message Empty Promises An idol is anything you look to other than God for your ultimate sense of significance, security, or identity. So an idol is not just that statue in a faraway temple you’ll never visit, it’s also that thing you’re convinced you need in order to be happy. It’s money. It’s sex. It’s affirmation. It’s leisure. It’s family. It’s your reputation. It’s your work. It’s love. It’s sport. It’s anything you live for to prove to yourself and to others that your life has value. We’re drawn to idols because they promise...
Text: Acts 18:18—19:7 | Listen to Message Together for The Gospel Throughout the book of Acts you see Christians partnering with other Christians and churches partnering with other local churches to spread the name of Jesus. Paul, arguably one of the greatest missionary church planters the world has ever known, was quick to train his own replacements and to hand over the reigns of leadership to other godly men. The impact of these partnerships was stunning. So why don’t we see more ministry partnerships today – especially amongst Gospel-preaching churches that minister in the same cities and neighborhoods? This is...
Text: Acts 18:1-18a | Listen to Message How does God lead? Corinth was one of the great crossroads of the Roman Empire, a center for commerce, politics, religion, and the arts and entertainment. Corinth was also a notoriously immoral place more interested in sport and sex than in anything spiritual. So when the apostle Paul arrived here on his Second Missionary Journey, he admits he came “in weakness and in fear and much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). He was at an emotional crossroads, having been weakened and discouraged by so much apathy and opposition toward the Gospel. This text is...
Text: Acts 17:16-34 | Listen to Message Who Is God? Athens was the philosophical center of the ancient world – home to Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and Epicurus. It was the cradle of Western civilization, the birthplace of democracy, and a mecca for the arts and sciences. But when the apostle Paul walked the streets of Athens, instead of being impressed, he was discouraged. Everywhere he looked, from the Acropolis to the agora to the Areopagus, Athens was overrun with temples, statues, and inscriptions to idols. And Paul didn’t just pity the idolatrous Athenians; he was perturbed. He was irritated;...
Text: Acts 17:1-15 | Listen to Message Share Your Faith Though most Christians will never preach in the technical or official sense, we’re all called to share the Gospel. But many believers are so intimidated by evangelism, they never really share Jesus with anyone. And, yes, it can be daunting to tell someone about the justice and grace of God, but it doesn’t have to be as intimidating as we make it. Here are five simple ways from our text that you can share the Gospel in everyday conversation: Proclaim: This simply means to announce something. Think of how news...