Acts 6:8-8:2 — Stephen’s example shows us how to stand tall for Christ in this world. Like him, we should live as Christ lived, speak as Christ would speak, and when faced with persecution and death, endure and die as Christ died. We are called to stand tall for Christ in this world and be his faithful witnesses to the very end. What will our legacy be? What will people say about us?
This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.
Read MoreActs 6:8-7:53 — Falsely accused, Stephen responded in his sermon to the sacred cows of the Jewish religion at that time. The Temple, Law, Land, and ethnic identity as God’s chosen people are only symbols that facilitate and mediate God’s presence with his people and their fellowship with Him. They sought their safety, security, and salvation in these and thus turned them into idols. Stephen’s sermon countered this and pointed out that God cannot be contained in any one building or place; the law cannot save them; and the holy ground is wherever God is present with His people. God’s people now consist of believers from every nation, ethnicity, race, language, and tribe. We should be aware of the sacred cows in our own lives and hearts. We counter such idols by knowing the whole of God’s Story from creation to new creation, of which Jesus Christ and the cross are the center and main theme. Everything in the Old Testament builds up to and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and from Christ, everything moves toward the restoration of all things, and God’s people, the Church, are witnesses of Christ and His Story.
This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.
Read MoreActs 6:1-8 — Acts 6 shows us Satan trying to disrupt the inward peace of the early church. The new church grew by leaps and bounds. Having failed to overcome the church by either persecution or corruption, he now tried distraction. If he could preoccupy the apostles with social administration, which, though essential, was not their calling, they would neglect their God-given responsibilities to pray and to preach. The early church’s rapid growth required a restructuring and reorganization. Specialized ministries developed, and more leaders were needed. Tensions arose between the different Jewish groups in the church. Satan used these ethnic issues to disrupt the peace and unity of the church. He set believers against each other through a spirit of grumbling that happened along the ethnic, social, and linguistic lines within the faith community. For the apostles to focus on their ministry of the word, the faith community chose leaders to oversee and do the daily ministries of caring for the poor, widows, and orphans. God calls all his people to ministry, and He calls different people to different ministries, enabling them with different gifts through the Holy Spirit. We are all part of the one Body of Christ and should serve one another with love and compassion.
This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.
Read MoreActs 4:32-35; 5:12-42 — The early church, as seen in Acts 4-6, presents us with important lessons and an example to follow. They demonstrate the new life of God’s people in Christ. They embodied unity, care, love, and grace, and experienced a profound power that enabled them to boldly preach the gospel. As a result, persecution intensified. However, this is God’s mission, and nothing will stop it. The apostles chose to obey God and not human authorities. Their obedience empowered them to endure and persevere. Are we obedient? Are we speaking and teaching God’s word, the words of this new life, so boldly and faithfully that it results in opposition and persecution? Are we willing to rejoice like the disciples when we are suffering persecution for the sake of Jesus?
This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.
Read MoreActs 4:23-32 — How do we respond to adversity, trials, threats, persecution, and fear? Like the believers in Acts, we should pray with confidence and absolute assurance. Like them, we can do so when we know the only true and living God, the Sovereign Lord of the universe. We can know God because He is the God of creation, revelation, and history. Only after they had clarified their vision of God and humbled themselves before Him did they present their petitions. And their prayer was that God would continue to do His work through them, enabling them to speak His Word with great boldness.
This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.
Read MoreActs 4:33; 1 Corinthians 15 — Without the resurrection, there would have been no Christian faith, no Christian church, and no New Testament. In the resurrection, God began the process of restoring all things into the new creation. The resurrection actualizes, realizes, and fulfills the benefits and blessings of our salvation in Jesus Christ. He overcame all the enemies and threats to life through his resurrection, and now He gives us new life. The resurrection calls, motivates, and inspires us to live out the new kingdom life. This is possible because the risen Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit. The resurrection is proof that God is faithful in fulfilling his promises and prophesies. Therefore, the resurrection is the guarantee that He will fulfill His mission and raise us into eternal life in His new creation. The resurrection is the foundation of our knowledge, trust, and certain hope that He will do this.
This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.
Read MoreActs 4:1-22 — Proclaiming the radical, revolutionary message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ will lead to opposition and persecution. However, we should not fear. The Holy Spirit guides, provides, protects, and empowers us to preach God’s Word with great boldness like Peter and John. Like them, we must obey God and use every opportunity to proclaim the gospel boldly because salvation is found only in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was crucified but whom God raised from the dead. The Risen, Ruling Lord Jesus is with us to enable us to be his witnesses.
This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.
Read MoreActs 3:17-26 — Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all God’s promises as foretold by the Old Testament prophecies. He is the Messiah who brings God’s blessings, the new way of salvation that includes new, eternal life and the restoration of all things in the new creation. Therefore, repent and turn back to God through faith in Jesus. Then we will experience the forgiveness of sins and times of refreshing and restoration while we live in hope for the return of Jesus.
This is part of our sermon series, We Are Acts 29, which explores the Book of Acts.
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