Sermon Archive

What is required for salvation? There may be no more essential question for our lives and it’s one that the early church was forced to answer. As different races, cultures, and religious traditions began to follow Jesus there was an inevitable tension between what these groups. The apostles and church leaders show us how to work through these differences and hold fast to the Gospel in the process.

We take for granted the name “Christian,” as though that was always what Jesus’s followers were called. It wasn’t until the hub of Christianity began to shift from Jerusalem to Antioch that this name began to stick- and it wasn’t a compliment. The church’s move to Antioch and new name for Jesus’s followers can teach us a lot about the early church and the church’s role today.

The story of Cornelius’s conversion is a story with massive implications for the Christian faith. Yet, if we don’t pay attention we can move past this story with ease and completely miss the power of the moment in Cornelius’s conversion. It’s a story that tells us not that there is good news, but there is good news for all of us.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you will at some point find yourself doing things you NEVER thought you’d do. How do you respond when God sends you places and puts you in situations that you would have never thought you would be in? Will your response be faithfulness in the face of this unexpected turn of events? Or will you find yourself telling God you would do anything, but you just can’t do that? Peter’s response to God’s vision and the salvation of a Gentile named Cornelius gives us a glimpse of what it means to follow God wherever he may lead us.

Saul is a man that thought he had his life all together. He had done all he needed to, he was from the right family, and studied at the right schools. In spite of his credentials, he could not have been more wrong. On the road to Damascus, Saul finds out just how wrong. The story of Saul’s conversion is a powerful story that begs to be told, but we make a mistake if we think his story is any different than our own.

The earliest days of the church were filled with attacks aimed at stopping this small, but growing movement. One by one the church overcomes the attacks and continues to grow. The church appears to finally experience defeat when one of its leaders, Stephen, is killed for proclaiming the message of Jesus. However, the story of Christianity is that over and over again God shows us that Satan will never have the final word in this story. In fact, it is through death- Stephen’s and ultimately Jesus’s- that we find our victory.

A servant isn’t exactly the post most aspire to hold. We tend to look at those in those positions as “just servants,” but the scriptures paint a very different picture of how we should look at servants. It is the servants in Acts 6 that help sustain and stabilize a potentially difficult situation, and it is those that serve that ultimately keep the church from going under. That was true then and it is still true today. Yet our culture screams the message that taking care of yourself is the ultimate in happiness and self-fulfillment. If we are Christians, we can not heed that worldly “wisdom” without also denying Christ at the same time.

There are few things more confusing or disheartening than suffering. We are experts at avoiding it. Which is why it can be so confusing when the Holy Spirit leads you to a place of suffering. The book of Acts is full of instances of Jesus’s disciple’s suffering. Something they were willing and prepared to do—because Jesus had warned them they should be.

The early days of the church set the platinum standard for every church that exists today. They shared everything and loved each other deeply. It can be easy to think that all was perfect when the church began, but the story of Annanias and Sapphira teaches us that sin is always present. The question isn’t whether the church has sin, but what do the people do with it? Confess it and fight against it or hide it and pretend it doesn’t exist? How you answer that question can cause or prevent a lot of unnecessary suffering in your life and the life of the church.

Only weeks after Jesus’s trial and crucifixion, his disciples are right back in the temple preaching the message of the Gospel. What compels men to do something like that- something that almost certainly could get them killed? When everything inside us screams for protection and preference, it takes something supernatural to change that instinct. As the disciples carry the message of the Gospel- it’s the Holy Spirit that literally shakes the ground they walk on and fills them with boldness in the face of persecution.

The book of Acts is full of the amazing and miraculous. Often we can read their stories and feel like we’re missing something today- like our experiences don’t line up with theirs. What was different about the church in Acts? Should we expect miracles today like Peter performed by healing the lame man?

Pentecost is known for tongues, fire, and a wild scene, but Peter’s sermon is anything but out of control. He reasons from scripture, and his message lands on the people with heavy conviction. Their response, “What must we do?” is an honest cry of desperation. They needed a remedy. Peter’s response is not one of condemnation, but hope. Peter’s response is the heart of the Gospel, the heart of our faith.

Before we even know to ask, God has already prepared to give us exactly what we need. The giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is exactly what we need in order to live the life and mission we are called to. Although Pentecost may be a one-time event, our need for the Spirit never ends. He is the fuel for that we must have if we are to function as God has designed us. If you feel like your life is missing something or perhaps that you just can’t keep up with all life demands- it might be that you are running your race on a fuel that can’t take you where you need to go.

How do you make a decision? Do you struggle to know what God wants from you? Are you paralyzed with worry that you’ll make the wrong choice? The Apostles found themselves faced with a choice just days before Pentecost, right after Jesus had left. Their actions in this historic moment in the church can help give us a framework for how we approach our own decisions.