Today is "International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians." Beautifully, our text in Acts leads us straight into Paul's reckoning with his own persecution - both his personal history being a persecutor of Christians and now being on the receiving end of persecution. What is persecution for a Christian? Why does it exist? What we learn from the Scriptures is that God more than just allows persecution of His followers - He actually also uses it for powerful purposes. And not just for Himself, but beautifully in personal ways for the people receiving persecution. Listen in to learn more of this mysterious, yet hard, blessing of God.
The Church: Discerning God's Will (Acts 21)
How do you make decisions? For Christians, how can you know what the "will of God" is? The Bible actually actually has a lot to say about both. Today's passage leads us to a healthy place of learning the craft of Holy Spirit "discernment." Listen in as we see how a disagreement between two parties actually turns into a beautiful portrait of how the church community works - leading others into truth, humility, and dependency on the Lord.
The Church: Mundane and Glorious (Acts 15)
As we return to our ongoing series through the book of Acts, we zoom in today on a church meeting where conflict is occurring. Sound likes a lot of churches even in the modern day! But what we learn in today's sermon is that it is actually in the mundane of church governance where the glory of God shines glorious. Listen in as we see how the predominantly Jewish early Church brings in the new and large Gentile-believing community. They choose not to add on extra burdens, but to instead rely on the same grace they received themselves.
Jesus: The Savior (Mark 11:1-11)
Many try to save the world, but only One uniquely can. What makes Jesus uniquely the Savior of the World? In this famous Palm Sunday passage, we walk with Jesus from Jericho, up to Bethany, Bethphage, and the Mount of Olives and ultimately into Jerusalem's temple, and discover how Jesus saves. We look at Jesus' burden, His method, His people, and finally His power.