In his song “After the Music Stops” Lecrae asks a poignant question: “After the show, after the set, after the music stops what’s next? Will there be fellowship, prayer, disciples, will you open your bibles after the music stops. After it’s over, after it ends, after the music stops, what then? Will you understand that…
In this message we’ll journey with Paul from Fair Havens through the heart of a deadly storm to the safety of an island called Malta. Along the way we’ll see how God encouraged Paul and Paul encouraged those around him. Then we’ll explore how we too can shine God’s light on those who travel life’s…
Need some hope today? Ravi Zacharias said, “The absence of future hope has an amazing capacity to reach into the present and eat away at the structure of life, as termites would a giant foundation.” In other words, hope is kind of important! Check out this message and you’ll see that hope is confidence God…
God has laid down a framework for life in His Word: the Bible. There are 3 basic responses to this framework: 1. You can reframe it: change it to your liking or turn to a different story altogether. 2. You can obey it: line up your faith and obedience according to what God has said. Or 3. You can ignore it:…
Can you imagine your life without worry? How much could the Holy Spirit do in and through you if worry was not in the way? In this chapter, we see that Paul’s total trust in God enabled him to finish strong. Paul was not afraid to die. Jesus encouraged Paul when he needed it. And…
Have you trusted in Jesus? Do you still tap into the passion you had when you began your race? Or has your race become a legalistic list of do’s and don’ts? In this chapter Paul tells the story of how Jesus met him and changed his whole life. And he shares it with an angry…
Acts 20 begins the final decade of Paul’s life. The final lap. The home stretch. At the end he was able to say, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” So as we finish our own marathon in the book of Acts, we’ll be asking the question:…
Jesus and His Gospel provide the the only ultimate answers to the deepest needs of our world. Unfortunately, there are times that the church tries so hard to blend in that we hide the very One the world needs. In an attempt to be relevant, we sometimes lose the actual relevance of the Gospel. Check…
It’s easy to look at all God did through guys like Peter and Paul and come away feeling like, “That’s really great. But I’m not an apostle. What can God do through me?” This passage will show you. We’ll look at how the Holy Spirit advanced God’s kingdom in Ephesus and beyond through three “non-apostles”: Priscilla,…
Ever run into that brand of Christianity that says, “If you feel weak or desperate, don’t you dare even say it. Put on a plastic smile, pretend like everything’s OK, and it will be?” Aside from being annoying, it’s just not Biblical. When Paul came to Corinth, he was (in his own words) weak, fearful,…
As believers, we eagerly wait for Jesus to return. But what do we do while we wait? When we see the moral decline of our culture, it is tempting to hide out and bury our heads in the sand. Athens was a city in decline when Paul was there waiting for Timothy and Silas. What…
Few things are as important to the growth of a Jesus follower than the Bible. Check out this message to learn some of the tools Paul used when he shared it. And learn what it looks like to receive it the way God wants you to. Consider this your invitation to a more effective witness in…
Whether it’s a friendship, your rights, or your plans, letting go is hard to do. The good news is when we let go of something for God, we can trust Him completely. Check out this message to see how Paul and his missionary team learned to let go and what it means for us today.
When you think of important meetings, what comes to mind? The signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776? Lee’s surrender to Grant at the Appomatox Courthouse which ended the civil war? In A.D. 49, Paul and Barnabas traveled 300 miles to Jerusalem for a meeting that would decide the fate of Christianity: Would it…
It’s always good to get an orientation when you start something new. As we follow Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, we learn four things for when we go out on mission today: Count on Division, Count on the Message of God’s Goodness, Count on Other Believers, and Count on God to open…
In the movie, The Neverending Story, Bastion was startled to realize that he was not only reading the book, he was a part of it. The same is true for us when it comes to God’s Neverending Story: The story of saving lost sinners and bringing them into relationship with Himself. God’s story is not…
As Paul set out on his first missionary journey, we can learn about our mission today. Check out this message to see how he and Barnabas were sent by a local church, how they came face to face with the enemy of the mission, and how God’s power won the battle. Don’t go it alone.…
Mission comes with friction: attack from the enemy, struggles with temptation, even disagreements in the church. In the face of this friction, encouragement is the oil that keeps the mission running. Check out how Barnabas encouraged the early church and what you and I can learn about being encouragers today. Are you an encourager? Who’s encouraging…
In the early church, the Jewish Christians needed a reminder that the Savior didn’t only come to save them, but the Gentiles as well. Does the church today need a reminder that Jesus is not only for us? He came to seek and save the lost. Are we hoarding Him? Or are we sharing? (recording cut…
Check out what happened when our Missionary God orchestrated visions, angels, the voice of the Holy Spirit, Peter, and the good news about Jesus to bring Cornelius into a relationship with Him: A momentous event which opened the door for the good news to go to all Gentiles. Then, be blown away by the fact…
Peter traveled here and there, going wherever God led: like a tumbleweed blowing in the wind of the Spirit. As he went, God did the supernatural through him and many believed in Jesus. If you follow the Spirit’s lead in your own life, what kind of adventures will you roll into?
Too often we treat Christ’s death and resurrection like an exhibit at a museum. We come check it out once a year. Maybe we even shed a few tears. But then we move on with “life as normal,” seemingly disconnected from what we just looked at. But what happened that week in Jerusalem is not…
Acts chapter 8 gives us a real-life example of two men who answered that question very differently from each other. As we look at Philip and Simon the Magician, ask God to show you what your life reveals about your own answer.
A.W. Tozer said what a person thinks about God is the most important thing about them. How’s your view of God? The story of Stephen shows us some bad news and some good news. Bad news first: A small view of God will cause you to miss out on some of what He wants to…
Problems come in all shapes and sizes. Satan attacks individuals and churches. Disagreements, discouragement and depression can lead us to desperation. But don’t give up! Often the deepest darkness comes just before God makes a significant breakthrough.
If you had to pick three things that characterized the early church, what would you say? (Hint: The answer is not Cozy, Convenient, and Comfortable.) They went public with their faith. They spoke the words of life. And they made a decision about Jesus that radically shaped the way they lived. Check out this message…
Ananias and his wife Sapphira left us a clear and tragic reminder: When we give and serve, God cares more about the inward reality than outward appearances. What do you care more about? The reality God knows or what others see? Maybe if we found our significance in the truth that God loved us so much…
Until Acts 3, the early church enjoyed relative peace. Then Peter and John went and healed a crippled man. They were jailed and told to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. When they were released, they told the other Jesus followers what had happened. What do you think they did? Did they hold a…
God’s primary agent for hope and change in the world is not Democrat or Republican. It’s not socialism or capitalism. It’s not even solely American. It is the Church and the Gospel it carries. Check out this message to see what it means to be People of the Word and People of Fellowship – the…
Do you wish more people would just say it like it is? Then you would love Peter’s preaching. When it comes to sharing the good news about Jesus, we can learn a few things from his first message.
Preachers think long and hard about how to introduce their sermons. Do I tell a joke? A story? Show a video? But at the end of the day, no one introduces a message like God Himself. When the Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost there was the sound of a violent wind, 120 believers…
What’s the difference between Judas (who hung himself) and Peter (who became a key leader in the Jesus movement)? Judas failed Jesus and Peter was perfect, right? Wrong. They both failed Jesus in epic ways. The difference was where they went with their failure. How they handled it. What they did with it. And the…
Acts 1: 1 says that in the gospel of Luke, he recorded all that Jesus began to do and teach. That means his sequel (the book of Acts) records what Jesus continues to do and teach through His body, the church: the same church believers today are a part of! Check out this intro to our series on the…