In Acts 17:1-15, Luke, the author of Acts, gives us a snapshot of the Gospel travelling to two different cities. Each of these cities has a different response to the Gospel. The city of Thessalonica is thrown into turmoil while the city of Berea responds with eagerness to God’s word. Listen in as Neal teaches about how we all respond differently to Christ.
Paul, Silas and Timothy plan to continue their mission journey in Asia Minor, but the Holy Spirit takes them in a different direction. Instead, He leads them, along with Luke, to Philippi to share the good news. During their mission in Philippi, they meet a wealthy business woman, a slave girl and a jailer. Each of these people place their faith in Christ and join the Church. Listen in as Neal talks about how God is on a rescue mission to reach those who are far from Him.”
This week as the story of Acts continues, we see that the apostles have a desire to continue spreading the Gospel to the entire world. To help reach more people Paul and Barnabas decide to divide and go different ways. This opens a door for each of them to train up new, younger leaders. Paul chooses Silas and Barnabas chooses John Mark. Listen as Pastor Don Loomer shares God’s word from Acts 15:36-16:5.
As the story of Acts progresses, we see an increased focus on the Gospel being preached to both Jews and Gentiles. What began as a Jewish thing seems to be changing the further we get into the story. The Gentiles are believing (Acts 10) and receiving the Holy Spirit – even the home base of the church is shifting from Jerusalem to Antioch. This morning we’ll look at the most theologically important passage in the book of Acts. Listen in as Neal teaches from Acts 15:1-35.
Unfortunately, we’ve all seen leadership failure in government, local business, children’s sports, etc. What does godly leadership look like in comparison? Listen in as Pastor Neal preaches on Acts 14 and talks about raising the bar in leadership.
As we continue in the book of Acts, we encounter Paul preaching a very clear Gospel message at the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. He teaches about Israel’s history, the coming of the Messiah and the choice between life and death. Whether you’re far from God, have walked away from faith or you’re a strong believer, this sermon will encourage you to live for Christ.
As we continue our study through the book of Acts the camera fades from the life of Peter, and Paul becomes the new focal point of Luke’s account. In Acts 12:25-13:12 we learn that Paul and Barnabas take time to listen to the Holy Spirit, and obediently travel to the Island of Cyprus with the Gospel message. While on the island the Holy Spirit works in power, and we learn that the church expands when we are obedient to the Spirit.
As the story continues in Acts, it looks like a bleak situation for the church. In a display of power, Herod takes the life of one of the apostles and imprisons another. The church responds with its most powerful weapon – prayer. Listen in as Neal teaches us that when facing persecution, it is the praying church that prevails.
Guest speaker, Hylke Hylkema, continues the Acts series with a message from Acts 11:19-30 about messy grace.
The Church has been called a lot of different things over time. When you think of words that describe the local church, do you think of words like caring, compassionate, accepting, influential and worshipful? Or do words like judgmental, critical and ethnocentric come to mind? In Acts 11 a small, critical group of people made the Church out to be racially biased and ethnocentric. Considering current situations in our nation, it is not coincidence that God has us jumping back into our study of Acts at this particular point in the story. Let's learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before us and discover how to be a church that ministers to people from all walks of life.