God’s ordinary means of leading people to faith in Christ is to send a person to share the good news of Jesus with someone whose heart has been prepared to hear it and to respond. And this is exactly what we see in the conversion of Cornelius. The really extraordinary thing about this story is that the person who responded to the good news of the Jewish Messiah wasn’t Jewish. Today’s big idea is that the Gospel is good news for everyone, so anyone can be saved through faith in Jesus.
Acts 10:23-33 - "Gospel Preparedness"
When we fail to trust that God is at work in our lives and in the lives of others, we tend to put too much pressure on ourselves to present the Gospel perfectly and we put too much pressure on others to immediately understand and accept it. We can’t afford to forget that God is at work on both sides of evangelism. God prepares people’s hearts for the Gospel, both to share it and to believe it. Today’s passage shows how God was simultaneously working with both Peter and Cornelius to bring about the fruit of salvation.
Acts 10:1-23 - "Divine Directions"
As Christians, we will lack usefulness if we lack prayerfulness. Turning to God in prayer prepares us to be useful instruments in the hands of our Redeemer. And God delights in choosing humans, like us, to accomplish His redemptive plans. As we see in today’s passage, God connects humble seekers with human speakers, so let’s pray for humble hearts and bold tongues.
Acts 9:32-43 - "New Life In Christ"
Today’s big idea is that we have new life in Christ, so let’s show that newness as we share the good news. In our passage, we see the “accelerant” of apostolic signs and wonders pointing to the power of Christ to save. Peter’s two miracles point to two important realities for every Christian man or woman: restoration for our spiritual disabilities and being raised to new life in Christ.
Acts 9:1-31 - "Unstoppable"
In philosophical circles, the “irresistible (or unstoppable) force paradox” asks the question: “What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?” The Bible resolves this issue by revealing that there is no such thing as an irresistible or unstoppable force, outside of God Himself. Today’s passage reiterates this point by showing us that Jesus alone is both immovable and unstoppable.
Acts 6:8-7:60 - "Boldness In Christ"
When we focus on ourselves, we tend to be timid about our faith. Or, we try to look brazen and daring to compensate for our unsettled, insecure beliefs about God. But if we would only look to God Himself, we would become bold in the biblical sense. Boldness comes from better understanding God: His power, His purposes, and His promises. In our passage, Stephen understood God in these ways, and that’s why we see him speaking boldly about God in the face of persecution.
Acts 6:1-7 - "Solving For Unity"
All people, even Christians, are attracted to similarity and familiarity. In a diverse body of believers, this tendency can create fissures and fault lines in the congregation. And that’s exactly what we see in today’s passage. Diversity can lead to division, which means we must be constantly solving for unity, even as we resist uniformity. In our passage, we see how this whole process plays out in the early church in just seven verses: 1. Diversity leads to division (v. 1); 2. Division leads to addition (vv. 2-6); and 3. Addition leads to multiplication (v. 7).
Acts 5:12-42 - "Power & Persecution"
When we forget Jesus’ promises to His followers, we tend to think that we won’t ever see the power of God, or be persecuted for our beliefs in God. But actually the opposite is true in both cases. Jesus promised us that true Christian ministry would evidence the power of God and elicit persecution from worldly people. Consider the words of Jesus from the night of His own arrest:
"Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater [works] than these he will do; because I am going to the Father.” - John 14:12 (NASB20)
"If you were of the world, the world would love [you as] its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they followed My word, they will follow yours also.” - John 15:19-20 (NASB20)
Jesus promised us power and persecution, so we should expect both. Today’s passage reveals these realities in the early church.
Acts 5:1-11 - "Taking Sin Seriously"
For many Americans, the biblical concept of sin as a grave offense against an infinitely holy and just God is passe. This is exactly why today’s passage is, for many modern readers, one of the most difficult passages in the Book of Acts. Here we see God judging what some of us might consider a small sin, and He does so directly and immediately with grave consequences. The main point of today’s passage is that sin is always serious, and so we must take it seriously. The way we do this in the church is by confronting sin and correcting sinners. And that’s exactly what we see in the first and second halves of our passage.
Acts 4:23-37 - "Unity For Adversity"
The Christian life leads to adversity, but it also leads through adversity. God gives us Christian unity to face adversity together, so we must remain unified in our hearts and minds. Today’s passage shows us how the early church faced adversity with unity, through single-minded prayer amidst threatening opposition and whole-hearted provision to meet the needs of fellow Christians facing adversity.
Acts 4:1-22 - "Gospel Likes & Dislikes"
Some would give anything to stop the influence of Christ, but others would lose everything to have Him. That’s how it is all around the world, and that’s how it’s been for 2,000 years. So how should that frame our understanding of our mission to bring the good news to the ends of the earth? The gospel demands a response, and we should anticipate both acceptance and resistance. First we’ll see the different responses, and then we’ll double click on rejection and how that can lead to active resistance to the Gospel.
Acts 3:1-26 - "The Power Of Christ"
Christ empowers His people so that we can experience and explain His power. In other words, Christians are meant to showcase His power for an unbelieving world. And today’s passage helps us to explain our Christian experience in a way that draws others to Christ.
Acts 2:22-41 - "Gospel Clarity"
Salvation comes through hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so let’s be clear about it. In today’s passage, Peter’s Spirit-inspired speech is a wonderful example of Gospel clarity. He clarifies both the message and means of salvation.
Acts 2:1-21 - "The Time Is Now"
Our world is full of politics and double talk and the mincing of words. So it’s refreshing to read Acts 2 where we see Peter boldly proclaiming God’s truth. But Acts 2 also reminds us that the power behind Peter’s bold speech is nothing short of the Holy Spirit Himself. Without the Spirit, we will succumb to pressures and politics. But by God’s grace, we have the power to boldly witness to the truth of Christ. The time is now for trusting Christ. And we must trust in Christ’s supernatural provision so that He can use us to help others trust in His salvation.
Acts 1:12-26 - "Waiting For God"
Today’s passage describes a unique moment in history. It was the 10-day period of waiting on God to send His Spirit. It was a waiting room scene which would culminate in the birth of the Church. Even though we will never have to wait for the Spirit like those early disciples did, we can still learn a lot from their example. They show us what faith looks like as we “wait” for God to show up at different times and in different ways throughout our lives. And this is the big idea for today’s sermon: Living a life of faith means learning how to wait for God. Today’s passage shows us three things that we must do as we wait for God: stay, pray, and obey.
Acts 1:9-11 - "Expect The Expected"
If we lose sight of the promise of Christ’s return, then we won’t be able to fulfill our mission to bring the good news of the Gospel even across the street, much less to the ends of the earth. We will get choked out by fears and anxieties, like the fruitless plants in the Parable of the Sower. Instead of hopefully working hard for Christ, we’ll succumb to discouragement and despair. But today’s passage makes it clear that Christ has been exalted, so Christ should be expected. As we better understand the exaltation of our Lord, we will be able to live for Him expectantly.
Acts 1:1-8 - "Building The Church"
The big idea for today is that the Church is a divine work accomplished through Spirit-empowered people, so we must lean on the finished work of Christ in order to lean into His unfinished work of building the Church. In the first eight verses, we see all three Members of the Trinity playing a role in the birth of the Church. We also see divinely-appointed people being prepared to play their own parts. Today’s passage sets the stage by looking backward to the finished work of Christ and looking forward to the unfinished work of Church-building. Jesus laid the Cornerstone, and now He’s calling His people to the ongoing work of construction.
"The Perks of Church Membership" (Series: Better Be The Church)
Unless we exchange our culturally-informed understanding of church for a biblical one, then we will never experience the real perks of committed membership in a local church. So what does the Bible say about church membership? And what are those perks of which we speak? That’s what we’re going to look at today, and it should leave a lasting impression on all of us. Christ wants us to experience the perks of membership in His Body, and we do that by becoming committed members of a local church. Only then can we experience the perks of shepherding, sanctification, and service.
"The Works of a Church" (Series: Better Be The Church)
As Christians, we have been called to glorify God through certain works, so let’s get to work, trusting that God will empower us to pursue that purpose. There are different ways to articulate the works of the church which bring glory to God. Today, we’re using the three-fold approach developed by Dr. Michael Svigel. These three works of the church are evangelism, edification, and exaltation.
"The Marks of a Church" (Series: Better Be The Church)
We cannot afford to be confused about what constitutes a local church. Participation in anything less than an authentic New Testament church can only lead to problems for ourselves and others. It’s impossible to better be the church that Christ desires if we’re not even members of a legitimate local church. So then, what should we look for in a local church? An authentic New Testament church is marked by at least three core components: orthodoxy, order, and the ordinances.
