Posts with the category “sermon-resources”

“David turns to acting and proves convincing. He dabbles nonsense graffiti on the doors to the town gate (more maintenance for Gath’s Park and Recreation Department) and let his spit run down his beard. A little exposure to the constant scratching and soaking convinces Achish he’s got another crazy around him, as if, in his view, he doesn’t already have his quota of such folks. Apparently confinem...  Read More

“The pulpit is the setting for drama. The gospel itself is dramatic. We are not speaking of the sense of drama as a contrived performance or as a make-believe world of play-acting…The preacher doesn’t make the gospel dramatic-it already is…I urge students, when they read a biblical text, to look for the drama.” R.C. Sproul“Keep in mind that the divide between Jews and Gentiles was not small or sim...  Read More

Summary:Acts 18 moves the gospel’s stage from global advancement to next door neighbors. While Actsdetails critical events in the life and development of the early church, those developmentsinvolve many individual lives changed through Jesus. We see the effects of the gospel in theselives as it moves forward one person at a time; the gospel does this by producing threequalities: community, hospita...  Read More

“Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this… We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ. What does this mean? It means, first, that a Christian needs others because of Jesus Christ. It means, second, that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. It means, third, that in Jesus Christ we have be...  Read More

“Our faith is strengthened when we realize that the first disciples are skeptics too at first. They do not naively believe that Jesus has conquered death. When they first hear about the resurrection, they doubt it could be so. But Jesus gives them concrete evidence that he has truly risen.” -Thomas Schreiner “This is the great mystery of the gospel in the blood of Christ, that those who sin every ...  Read More

“Every schoolboy is supposed to know Julius Caesar’s famous words before he crossed the River Rubicon, ‘The die is cast.’ It means that a point of no return has been reached. This was true now for Jesus. There was no turning back. Now his last days had arrived; the climactic activity of his life was about to begin.” -Sinclair Ferguson “At this time it is apparent only Jesus knew the messianic sign...  Read More

“For a full understanding of the early church we need to read The Acts of the Apostles and The Book of Revelation side by side. Both tell much the same tale of the church and its experience of conflict, but from a different perspective. Luke in the Acts chronicles what unfolded on the stage of history before the eyes of observers; John in the Revelation enables us to see the hidden forces at work....  Read More

Sermon Overview:In Acts 17:1-5, Luke uses two cities to display the relationship between the pulpit and the pew that God uses to advance his mission. In Thessalonica, Luke highlights Paul’s teaching and interpreting of the Scriptures that was met with a Jewish mob and false accusations. Paul explained and reasoned with the Jews in Thessalonica, and many Gentiles believed. The Jews in Berea receive...  Read More

“We never move on from the cross, only into a more profound understanding of the cross.” -David Prior“I’ve come a long way since I heard the gospel in a drug-induced high. I’ve traveled many miles in this journey of faith. But by His grace I’ve never moved on from the cross of Jesus Christ. And I never want to.” -CJ Mahaney“These accusations missed the mark, as Paul had ‘never aligned his messiani...  Read More

“Authentic turning points in history are few. But surely among them that of the Macedonian vision ranks high. Because of Paul’s obedience at this point, the gospel went westward; and ultimately Europe and the Western world were evangelized. Christian response to the call of God is never a trivial thing. Indeed, as in this instance, great issues and untold blessings may depend upon it.” Richard Lon...  Read More

Sermon Overview:The new Gentile Christians in Antioch are troubled by men coming from Judea andteaching that Gentile Christians must follow the law of Moses in order to be fully accepted into the Christian faith. This leads to a debate in Jerusalem where Peter demonstrates that Gentile conversion is God’s work and choosing, and that cleansing was through faith and not the mosaic law for both Jew a...  Read More