Sermons About Early-church
Turning The World Upside Down
Acts 17:1-15 The end of the American Revolutionary War was decided at Yorktown, Virginia, when General Charles Cornwallis of the British Army surrendered to General George Washington in 1781. This was such an unlikely outcome to the struggle for colonial independence that the defeated British army marched home to a song entitled "The World Turned Upside Down." As we know from history, The outcome of the Revolutionary War marks one of the most dramatic changes in world power that the world has ever seen. But, this change pales in comparison to the revolution that occurred during the first century with the entrance of Jesus Christ to this world. The coming of the Messiah meant that the world could never be the same again. The Book of Acts provides a historical record of this revolution, which centered around the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome during the missionary journeys of the apostle Paul. Paul's second missionary journey provides us with two models that we can follow to accurately preach and discerningly hear God's Word. From verses 1-17 in the Book of Acts, we learn what it means to be 1. Truthbearers - Those who reason and explain the scriptures to others (vv. 1-9), and 2. Truthseekers - Those who receive and examine the scriptures (vv. 10-15) The early followers of Christ, led by the apostles and their disciples, upset many people with the life-changing truth of the gospel message. They turned the world upside down by boldly and accurately sharing the gospel message with everyone they encountered. Is this a fitting description of you? Have you upset people within your own sphere of influence by sharing the gospel with them? Have you boldly and graciously represented Christ, making Him known to them by your actions and behavior?
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Community is...
God commits to make a people for Himself. This is His plan, to redeem a “people,” not just individuals. We’re not saved to be isolated individuals. This church, His people, our community, is what Christ died for and it is what we are saved into. The story of the Bible is the story of God fulfilling His promise to be our God as His people. So how do we do community? We do this by calling you into a messy community life where you “devote” yourself to learning the Gospel in fellowship with one another. This is not clean and tidy, but messy and disorganized at times. It isn’t a program to be attended, a curriculum to be mastered, but instead a life to be lived as the Gospel comes and regularly breathes new life into our wandering hearts.
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Blessed Persecution, Pt. 2 (Matthew 5:10-12)
Persecution, in all its forms and various degrees, is and has been the experience of the righteous ever since the blood of Abel was shed by his brother Cain. We often respond to ridicule, harassment, and other forms of persecution with anger, resentment, retaliation, and judgment. However, this is sin and we need to come to grips with the Lord's commands in Matthew 5:10-12 and respond with rejoicing, gladness, and graciousness. It is not easy and it certainly is not something we do in our own strength; it is a fruit of grace in the heart. The Christian, however, has a hope in heaven and a reward from the Lord for humble obedience that is our true hope and encouragement as we live out our faith in the midst of a hostile world.
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Blessed Persecution, Pt. 1 (Matthew 5:10-12)
Throughout the beatitudes, the Lord has been laboring to make clear what it means to truly be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. He has, in a few verses, managed to turn the religious thinking of His day upside down. Now as we come to the end of our study of the beatitudes we are confronted with one of the most shocking statements the Lord ever uttered. The Lord gives His most extensive treatment to this last beatitude. First, let me just note the structure of these verses. In v. 10 the Lord ends the inclusio which began in v. 3, now returning to the present tense, “Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” As opposed the previous 6 verses, “shall be,” which looks forward to the ultimate and final fulfillment at the end of the age; in heaven. Verses 11-12 expand on His statement in v.10. To understand what the Lord is teaching us here we are going to break it down into 5 truths about persecution that will encourage us to live more boldly & more decisively for Christ. They are: (1) REALITY, (2) REASON, (3) RESULT, (4) RESPONSE, and (5) REWARD of persecution. We are going to look at the first 3 this morning.
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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 Holy Spirit Empowers & Equips
This sermon speaks to our need to open our lives up to the gift God has given us in His Spirit. We are encouraged to depend on the Hopy Spirit as He empowers and enables us to remain faithful. As a church we are exhorted to grow in our love for and dependancy on the Holy Spirit. Can we come to expect Him to do great things through us?
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The Gospel Plus...
In this message we look at the first major crisis of the early church. After Paul and Barnabas returned from their first missionary journey, in which the gospel was received by the Gentiles, men from Jerusalem began teaching these new believers that they had to become Jewish before they could become Christian. Paul and Barnabas debated strongly with them, and it was decided that the church in Jerusalem had to weigh in on this matter. Acts 15 is the account of this Council. As we look at this story, we will also be looking at the first New Testament letter: Galatians. Paul's purpose for writing these new churches was to warn them of the danger of adding anything to the Gospel. Though we may not be calling people to circumcision today, we too are often guilty of this. The remedy is daily repentance and a holding fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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First Missionary Journey
Seventeen years have passed since the church was birthed at Pentecost, and God's plan for reaching the ends of the earth is about to take on a new dimension as Paul and Barnabas are sent out by the Holy Spirit. Over the next 2-3 years these two men go to cities where the "Jesus" has never been heard. They proclaim the gospel, and the gospel does what the gospel is supposed to do: it bears fruit. The result is that lives are transformed and churches are started.
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Peter's Conversion
God's plan throughout history has been to reconcile ALL peoples to back to Him. Peter had been taught from an early age that it was a sin to even enter into the home of a Gentile, so the events of this chapter baffled him. Even so, he had to decide whether or not he would say Yes to God, even though it went against everything he knew.
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Ordinary People...Gospel Intentionality
After Stephen's death, all but the apostles fled Jerusalem. Satan's plan for wiping out the church seemed to be working. However, as these ordinary people were running for their lives, they encountered people who asked them why they had hope (or at least why they were running), and they were ready. They shared the gospel, and the Spirit of God continued moving powerfully. In this message we look at what it means for God to call ordinary people into His mission.
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