In Acts 17, Paul and Silas continue their missionary journey through Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens: cities where Paul introduces Jesus to Greeks through philosophical presentation. What motivates Paul to reason with people in Athens is the sight of idols filling the city, taking precedence over God. Pastor Scott challenges us to evaluate what our motivation is for sharing the gospel with others. Do we take seriously the things in our culture that offend the glory of God? How often do we tolerate idols in our culture today instead of sharing the gospel to confront these idols?
Acts: Adventures with the Holy Spirit
Pastor Scott shares three stories in Acts 16, in which God reaches the hearts of unlikely people and in bizarre circumstances. Paul and Silas’ missionary journey through Macedonia is a reminder to be led by the Spirit in the midst of life’s adventures, to let God do the work of changing people as we share the gospel and spend time with them.
Acts: False Doctrines
Acts 15
The Church has faced the problem of false teaching since its early days. In Acts 15, a false teaching contrary to the gospel message spreads through church communities, and the apostles and elders confront the claims. Pastor Scott emphasizes the seriousness of absorbing distorted teaching, and gives practical wisdom for recognizing false doctrines today.
Acts: Christian Perseverance
Acts 14
In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel, heal people, and encourage the church, despite nearly being stoned to death in Lystra. Looking at Paul and Barnabas’ example, Chris Waugh encourages Christians to persevere in the faith. Perseverance is one of the greatest character traits a Christian must develop, and is necessary in the face of spiritual attack and in faith-filled work.
Acts: The Beautiful + Disruptive Work of the Holy Spirit
Acts 13
In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas begin their missionary journey through the mediterranean region. When they preach the gospel, Jews and Gentiles respond to the claims about Jesus with either belief or jealousy. The journey that Paul and Barnabas take gives a snapshot of the joy and the messiness that comes with obeying the Holy Spirit. Pastor Scott encourages believers to continue bringing the gospel into godless places. It is worth the cost, for believers partner with the Holy Spirit to reconcile people to God.
Acts: Big Prayers
Acts 12
In Acts 12, the church prays for Peter’s release from prison, of which God sends an angel to break him free. Just as the early church was bold enough in their faith to pray earnestly, John Michaelson challenges us to pray big, audacious prayers in our day and time.
Acts: Supernatural Encounter
Acts 9
Acts 9 tells of the conversion of Saul who, on his way to persecute more Christians in Damascus, encounters Jesus on the path and goes blind from the Christ’s heavenly light. After this supernatural encounter, Saul begins to preach the very gospel he once persecuted others for believing in. Pastor Scott points out that just as it took a move of God’s power to change Saul’s heart, so we need today a move of God’s power to change the hearts of those around us. It takes more than “being nice”—we need to ask God for him to move powerfully.
Acts: Go Out with Joy
Our youth director Nicole Waugh preaches on Acts 8 about the turn of events in the early Church when various evangelists disperse into different regions and share the good news of Jesus, receiving different heart responses to the news. While Simon the Sorcerer used God to make himself look good, the Ethiopian eunuch responds with joy. How do we respond when we hear about Jesus—with selfish gain, or with repentant joy? Nicole concludes by asking the listeners how we can respond to God with joy, and if we don’t, what is holding us back?
Acts: Religious Mobs—Then and Now
Acts 7
In Acts 7, when Stephen prophecies to the religious Jews in his day, calling out their hard-heartedness against the Holy Spirit, the Jewish leaders stone Stephen in response. Our youth director Chris Waugh delivers a relevant message to us about the parallels between the religious people in Stephen’s day to the self-righteous religious of our time and culture, where mob violence on social media runs rampant and modern-day prophets are shut out. How often do we neglect Cross-centered community in favor of “being right?” This message leaves the listener to face hard questions about our role and response in today’s hostile culture and how we might miss the voice of God.
Acts: Sharing the Load of Pastoral Care
Acts 6
Acts 6 continues the early church narrative of how they built community in the process of making disciples. The Hellenist widows were being neglected during “the daily distribution,” so the apostles delegated this task to other Spirit-led men in the community. Pastor Scott highlights in this message the goodness of a church sharing the load of caring for one another, in contrast with the folly of pastors shouldering all the tasks of the church, which is the trend in the modern, western church. Scott encourages us to think about the strength of a church when pastors, elders, and other “shepherds” of the church are able to devote more time to pray for you and minister to you and have the bandwidth to do so because the load of church care is being shared amongst the community.