Sermons About Cornelius
The Holy Spirit & An Open Door Gospel
In this sermon we see God demonstrate for the early church, His desire for the Gospel to be offerered to all people.
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The Mystery Unfolded
Acts 10:1-11:18 As unforgetable as the dismantling of the Berlin Wall was for Germany and the world in the 1980's, there was an even more monumental event over two thousand years ago that involved the tearing down of a different kind of wall. It was during the period of Acts that God tore down the spiritual barrier that had existed between the Jews and Gentiles since the time of Genesis 12. In Acts 9, we saw how God began to open the door of faith to the Gentiles through Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus. Then, in Acts 10, we see how He continued to open that door as Peter is summoned to share the gospel with Cornelius and his family in Caesarea. Luke continues in the rest of chapter 10 through Acts 11:18 by giving an account of Peter's explanation of the mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles in the church. In today's message, Pastor Ramey uses the passages from Acts 10-11 to outline five stages of inclusion that mark God's method for introducing the Gentiles into the body of Christ. The 5 Stages of Inclusion are marked by: 1. Coinciding Revelations (vv. 1-22) 2. Corresponding Explanations (vv. 23-33) 3. A Compelling Proclamation (v. 34) 4. The Confirming Manifestation (vv. 44-48) 5. The Convincing Justification (Ch. 11, v. 1-18) As we study these verses, we (as Gentiles), should be ever greatful to God that we have been included in His glorious plan of salvation. As such, we have been granted the privilege of sharing the hope of salvation with all the gentiles of the world who have yet to be saved. We need to share the gospel freely with all men because God shows no partiality among us. May none of us stand in God's way when it comes to those who the Lord wants to save!
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Barnabas: Finding a Good Man
Goodness is more than just a preferred quality. It is evidence of God's activity in your life.
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God's Scandalous Acceptance
Cornelius and Peter both find their world rocked by the radical nature of the Gospel. What do I see? How do I speak?
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Missouri Mule Evangelism
Middle-of-the-road humility. Listening before talking. Explaining the good news. Acts 10:42 "He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead." Watching what the Spirit does. Following-up new believers.
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Open Minds and Open Mouths
Divine Matchmaker Vision from God Time to think Strangers at the gate
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Acts 11 : Breaking Barriers - All People Everywhere Can Be Clean
It is in the book of Acts that we read of non-Jews coming to faith in Jesus. This was not totally unusual even during the OT times (Rahab, Ruth). But such cases were sort of an “exceptionâ€. The Jewish Church leaders probably viewed the conversion of the Samaritans and the Ethiopian as exceptions as well. BUT no one in the early Jewish Church was prepared for the flood of Gentiles that would soon make up a majority of the Church. See, an old barrier existed between Jews and Gentiles – a legal barrier which did not allow a Jew to step foot into the home of a Gentile – God-fearer or not! This barrier seemed destined to remain for eternity. Luke tells us that it was Peter who crossed over that barrier and declared it had been made obsolete by the cross. Jewish Christians should not see Jesus as the savior of Jews alone, but see Jesus as an international savior, one who came to bleed and die for Gentiles of many languages and colors.
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Send and Receive
Last week we looked at the incredible story of the welcoming of Cornelius and his household into the family of God. The continued advancement of the Gospel at this time was unheard of. The culture was fragmented and separated by numerous factors working to split up and segregate various groups. Historians tell us that until Christianity, religion always divided people. Religions were always geared towards a particular region, race, or socio-economic class.
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Transformissional Conversion Part II
We've been looking at the story of Paul's conversion and early ministry, how an enemy of God who was spiritually an orphan was welcomed in to become a child of the Father. Luke, however, abruptly shifts from Paul's life to Peter's life and the two miracles mentioned at the end of chapter 9.
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