Posts in Church
Believe and Pray Expectantly

May 18, 2025

Acts 1:12-2:1 — Do we long for the infilling and power of the Holy Spirit? Do we believe that we can also experience the fullness of the Spirit? Or do we believe it is possible for others but not for us? As followers of Jesus, we are called to be people of worship and prayer. Through worship and prayer, we set our sails to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit, and so it is through worship and prayer that the Holy Spirit empowers us. We should have the same attitude as the first believers while they waited for the Spirit. Their attitude was one of expectancy. They had expectant belief, devoted themselves to expectant prayer, all together in unity, one in heart and mind. We should believe that Jesus fulfills his promise to send the Spirit, no doubt, no wavering. Believe and pray expectantly, and our Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Lk 11:13).

This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.

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Spirit-Empowered Kingdom Mission

May 4, 2025

Acts 1:1-11 — The risen and ascended Jesus Christ now rules as King and Lord of the whole universe. We are his witnesses in this world. Our mission is to proclaim the good news that God’s Kingdom has come and is being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Our mission extends to the ends of the earth. We can do this mission only in the power of the Holy Spirit. The consummation of the kingdom will eventually come when our Lord returns, but the Spirit is given now so that we can prepare for the kingdom’s coming by evangelizing the nations and making disciples of all peoples.

This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.

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“You Will Be My Witnesses”

April 27, 2025

Acts 1:1-11 — This begins our new series on the book of Acts. It will explore the themes: What is Christianity? What is the Christian Church? What is Christian? What is the mission of the church and every believer? The book of Acts is about the acts of the risen Christ through the Holy Spirit working through the Church. Christianity is not a philosophy, ideology, or moral teachings. Christianity is about this person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to earth, lived, was crucified, died, was resurrected from the dead, and ascended to heaven where He now rules at the right hand of God the Father. This person, Jesus Christ, continues his kingdom work from heaven through the Holy Spirit, who empowers his followers to be his witnesses. Christian is the name of Jesus’ followers. They are his witnesses, proclaiming Jesus Christ and his resurrection, preaching the gospel of his kingdom in word and deed wherever they are, live, and go. Acts 28 is not the end, but it’s open-ended because Jesus Christ continues to act through the Spirit through his church in the world. Acts 29 has been happening during the last 2,000 years, and Acts 29 is still being written now as our Lord continues to act through his Church, the Christians who carry his Name and are his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Thus, we are the Acts 29 family. Being Christian, being followers of Jesus, and being his witnesses, that is our DNA.

This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.

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One Body in the Image of the Trinity

November 27, 2023

John 13:34-35; 14:15-27; 17:6-26; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Gal 3:26-29; Eph 4:1-6 — Church is not something we go to. Church is something we are. In Christ, being Christ-centered, we are the Body of Christ; we are community-concerned. As the one Body with many members we are the image, the likeness, of the Holy Trinity. We are an expression of the holy love, the fellowships and the unity of the Trinity. We represent, live out, and proclaim the self-expending, self-sharing, other-regarding, other-affirming, community-forming love of the triune God so that the world will believe that God so loved the world that He gave himself to save the world.

This concludes our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines.

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Put On Community-Concerned Practices

November 19, 2023

(Our apologies for the poor sound quality of this sermon due to technical problems we experienced.)

Colossians 3:12-17 — We are God’s chosen, holy, and dearly loved people. As such we must put on the clothes of his holy people. These are the community-concerned, pro-community practices; the practices that result from the virtues of our new selves in Jesus Christ. We practice these in and for the community. To put on and practice these virtues we must let the peace of Christ rule our hearts and His Word dwell richly in and among us. This produces thanksgiving and worship as we offer all of our lives, everything we do, as a living sacrifice to God.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines. The following commentaries served as important sources for this sermon: N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters; and R. Kent Hughes, Colossians & Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ.

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Put to Death Anti-Community Practices

November 12, 2023

Colossians 3:5-11 — We must put to death sinful sexuality and sensuality, evil and sinful attitudes and speech, and deception (lies). We must do so because we are new creations, living in new relationships in new communities of God’s people. Here, in the new self and in the new community, all traditional and worldly human distinctions are abolished. They do not matter anymore because Christ is all and in all. He is the Lord of all. He is present and active in everyone giving new life to us and our community. We are being transformed into Christ’s image, who is the full image of God, and so God’s image is restored in us.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines. The following commentaries served as important sources for this sermon: N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters; and R. Kent Hughes, Colossians & Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ.

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Do What Jesus Did

November 5, 2023

Mt 4:17-25; 9:9-13,35-10:8; Mt 28:18-20; Lk 7:33-35; 1 Peter 2:11-12 — To be Christ-centered is to be Community-concerned. As Jesus’ apprentices we are with Him, become like Him, and do what He did. Jesus sends us to continue his kingdom mission and work. We proclaim the gospel of God’s kingdom in word and deed. We are the living community of God’s people in this world who know God and make God known. We are the Body of Christ, His hands and feet doing his work. We are the children of the light and through us, the true Light of the world shines his love into the world.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines. From here on credit is also given to the following: Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren; Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted by Gretchen Ronnevik & Elyse Fitzpatrick; The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. Also, Comer’s podcasts on Practicing the Way and the resources from his website, https://www.practicingtheway.org.

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