We have been walking through the book of Acts in recent weeks, wanting both to understand and experience what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ on mission. And right in the first chapter we came upon Jesus’ commission to his followers in chapter 1:8 – And you will receive power when the…
Acts 3:1- 4:4 A beggar is healed
On vacation, our family stayed in a cabin near Mount St. Helen’s in southern Washington. My wife’s brother and his family were in the cabin next door, and that morning the eleven of us gathered around the picnic table and read God’s Word and prayed together. When I later commented to my little girl that…
Acts 2:14-41
Here’s a question and answer that might surprise you: ‘Pastor, how do you know that Jesus is Lord?’ My answer: ‘I don’t.’ The truth is, I don’t know. But I believe he is. In fact, I believe strongly enough to make Jesus’ Lordship the center and foundation of my whole life. And considering we only…
Advent : Zechariah
The old man climbed the steps from the courtyard and entered the doors of the temple. There was a barely perceptible stoop to his shoulders as he advanced the sixty feet across the floor of the room, the Holy Place, passing by the seven-fold candlestick on his right, and the table of showbread on his…
The Grand Story
Conviction 3: The knowledge of the Bible and of the story it tells is necessary to effective, Biblical preaching. Later that day something even more unsettling happened. During afternoon rest period I was flipping through the magazines provided for us, when all at once I reached for the Bible that I kept on my nightstand…
What Preaching Is
Conviction 2: The Bible, in its entirety, is God’s testimony concerning his son Jesus. Preaching the Word is indispensable to Christianity (John Stott, Between Two Worlds).c Sunday after Sunday, two pastors stand before their respective people and deliver a message. They have spent many hours in the study in preparation. Afterwards, their listeners approach them…
Preaching is all about Jesus
Conviction 1: Every sermon must have Jesus as its centerpoint. If we are not determined that in every sermon Christ is to be preached, it were better that we should resign our commission forthwith and seek some other vocation… No sermon which fails to exalt Christ is worthy to be called Christian preaching. (James Stewart,…
Introduction
But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Romans 10:14 ESV). The Bible is like a forest. A forest is a beautiful, living thing, filled with…
Noah
Imagine a world filled with violence. You do not have to think very hard, do you? On a global scale there have been wars (this nation against that nation, this racial group against that racial group). We see famine, genocide, the sex trade and the persecution of Christians. On a smaller scale we see armed…