Sunday, May 20, 2024 Glory – Acts 2 We continue to look at that how the early Christians lived in a post-Jesus-resurrection society. This week we turn the page from Acts 1 to Act 2 (and beyond!) In Acts chapter two, we see an amazing fulfillment of God’s promise. Pentecost is the Jewish Festival of […]
Sunday, May 5, 2024 Glory – Acts 1:1–11 We may be done with the book of John, but we continue our Glory series this week as we turn the page from John 21 to Acts 1! What exactly happened after the gospel accounts? What are we to do with this life-changing event of the risen […]
Sunday, December 29: Bound by the Spirit Acts 28:11–31 There we found some brethren and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus, we came to Rome. Acts 28:14 There is no way to read that verse with the full emotional weight of Luke’s words. This is the climax of the book. Paul had set […]
Sunday, December 15: Bound by the Spirit Acts 27:1–44 Paul’s journey is getting close to the end, and having been dismissed by King Agrippa and his crew of bad guys, Paul sets sail for an easy cruise over to Rome. Delightful, serene… none of these words describe what Paul encounters. Instead, what should have been a […]
Sunday, December 8: Bound by the Spirit Acts 26:1–32 Paul’s persistence on his missionary journey has gotten him to the place where he can once again deliver his testimony. He’s asked to speak to the manager often enough that folks have given him an audience with King Agrippa himself. And even before he shares the particulars […]
Sunday, December 1: Bound by the Spirit Acts 25:1–27 Every person who wonders about the truth of the Christian faith should answer this question. What was it that transformed a hot-headed, self-righteous, law-keeping, Christian-killing Pharisee named Saul, into a gracious, unselfish, Christian missionary and servant of Christ named the Apostle Paul? What took place to make that happen? The short answer starts with an event recorded in Acts 9. On the […]
Sunday, November 17: Bound by the Spirit Acts 24:1–27 Procrastination. There must be ten thousand websites on it, covering scholarly essays, articles in psychological journals and university studies. There are tests you can take to quantify how bad off you are. Apparently, twenty percent of us can be identified as chronic procrastinators. You can even find […]
Sunday, November 10: Bound by the Spirit Acts 23:12–35 Have you ever been in a situation where things did not turn out the way you had planned? Maybe you scheduled a romantic getaway, only to be foiled by a sick kid. Maybe you planned a huge holiday meal for your family, but the turkey didn’t get […]
Sunday, November 3: Bound by the Spirit Acts 22:30–23:11 I recently heard a speech by Martin Luther King that some say lost him credibility. In this speech he stood for the convictions of moving from a culture that values things, to a culture that values people. At the time, some of his supporters left him. But […]
Sunday, October 27: Bound by the Spirit Acts 22 Paul’s conversion is a pretty dramatic moment, he’s on his way to hunt down some Christians and he’s hit with a light so hard it knocks him off his horse. He hears the voice of Jesus himself, and it turns out the religion that he’s been chasing […]
Sunday, October 20: Bound by the Spirit Acts 21:1–36 Paul’s not the guy to stay in the same place very long, and this week he’s dead-set on making his way to Rome. He’s going to encounter some resistance along the way though, with opposition from the bad guys and from the home team. What do you do […]
Sunday, October 13: Bound by the Spirit Acts 20:17–38 It’s easy to say goodbye to some people at times – like the neighbor who throws his grass clippings over the fence into your yard every week. It’s never easy, however, to say goodbye to people you really love and care about. The tighter the ties the […]
Sunday, October 6: Bound by the Spirit Acts 20:1–12 Sleeper, Awake! Rise from the dead And Christ will shine on you. This week we come to one of the more familiar scenes in the book of Acts. People who forget almost everything else in the book remember the story about a boy named Eutychus. Why is he famous? He […]
Sunday, September 29: Bound by the Spirit Acts 19 Preview Have you ever felt like you were not up to the task God has given you? Maybe God recently called you to move. Maybe it’s a job or career change. Maybe you have a child with a special need. Sometimes, God calls us to things that are […]
Sunday, February 3: Lord of All Acts 19:1–20 “And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19:2 As the gospel message spreads, Paul and his crew reach a wider and wider audience, pick […]
Sunday, January 27: Lord of All Acts 18:1–28 “After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.” Acts 18:1 We spent last Sunday with the Apostle Paul in Athens where he delivered his famous Mars Hill message. This Sunday we pick things up in the city of Corinth as he begins the last leg of […]
Sunday, January 20: Lord of All Acts 17:16–34 God is not far from each of us. Acts 17:26 This week we come to one of the most well-known scenes in the story of Acts: The Message of Paul on Mars Hill.In the middle of Acts 17 the Apostle becomes separated from his traveling companions and […]
Sunday, January 13: Lord of All Acts 17:1–15 What do we mean when we say “Jesus is Lord”? What is He lord of? A country? A people? An idea? And what about other so-called “lords”? What are they lords of? Last week’s message on Acts 16 ended with Paul leaving the Roman colony Philippi in relative peace […]
Sunday, January 6: Lord of All Acts 16:16–40 What must I do to be saved? That’s the question posed to Paul in Acts 16:16-40. It’s asked by a Philippian jailer who had no familiarity with God or with the Bible. The jailer was just a regular guy working a regular job for Rome. He guarded all kinds of […]
Sunday, December 30: Lord of All Acts 15:36–16-15 Following the clarification given by the Jerusalem council in Chapter 15, Paul sets out to strengthen and encourage the churches that he, and his missionary team, planted earlier on. The message they have is important, especially for the Gentiles who are still a little unsure of their […]
Sunday, December 16: Lord of All Acts 15:1–35 What does God think about you?Is He happy with your life? Is He disappointed? Are there things He wishes you had done differently? How often do you wrestle with questions like those? Many of us wrestle with them on occasion. Some of us wrestle with them a […]
Sunday, December 9: Lord of All Acts 14:1–28 Three times in the New Testament Paul describes his life before Jesus. In each of his accounts, he uses the same word to describe his demeanor—zeal. Paul had intense passion for God and for his people, Israel.So, when he is set apart for missionary service, Paul is […]
Sunday, December 2: Lord of All Acts 13:13–52 “And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’” Acts 13:32-33 One of […]
Sunday, November 25: Lord of All Acts 13:1–13 Acts 13 opens with the Spirit of God and the church at Antioch setting apart and sending out Paul and Barnabus for what will become their first missionary journey. Together, along with an intern named John Mark, they sail to the Island of Cyprus to tell people about […]
Sunday, November 18: Lord of All Acts 12:1–24 Christmas is still a few weeks away, but I thought it might be nice to have an early Christmas message this year. It’s the story of Mary and a miracle. It’s a story where an Angel appears with a message of hope. There is a star and […]
Sunday, November 11: Lord of All Acts 11:1–30 Last week, we looked at a turning point in the history of the church: Peter’s meeting with Cornelius. For the first time ever, a Gentile believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit! You would think that Peter’s return to Jerusalem after the meeting would be marked […]
Sunday, November 4: Lord of All Acts 10:1–48 This week we are going to look at a guy who wanted to worship God but couldn’t because he was unclean.This guy had quite a story. First, he was a slave. Somehow, he ended up in the Roman infantry, and then he so distinguished himself that he […]
Sunday, October 28: Lord of All Acts 9:32–43 In Acts 9:32-43, we are reunited with the Apostle Peter and join him as he visits the early church in Joppa. The ministry of Peter is similar to Paul in many ways, but it also shows us how different people are equipped in different ways around a […]
Sunday, October 21: Lord of All Acts 9:20–31 What comes to your mind when you think of the Apostle Paul? Great preacher and apologist. Courageous missionary to the Gentiles. Unflinching defender of the Christian faith. A.W. Tozer went so far as to call him, “the world’s most successful Christian.” I’m not sure about that but […]
Sunday, October 14: Lord of All Acts 9:1–19 Last summer we did a study based on the questions of Jesus. At the start of the series, we looked at the first recorded question of Jesus in Luke 2. As a young boy he had been left behind by Joseph and Mary in Jerusalem, and when […]
Sunday, October 7: Lord of All Acts 8:4–40 I hope you are looking forward to Sunday as much as I am. There is something special about gathering together with God’s people in corporate worship. We encounter God in many ways during the week, but corporate worship remains a category of its own. This week, we […]
Sunday, September 30: Lord of All Acts 6:8–8:3 Acts 6-8 is one of the most memorable scenes in the whole book. We are introduced to a promising young man named Stephen—he’s full of the Holy Spirit and powerful in all that he does, and he’s put in charge of caring for widows in the early […]
Sunday, June 10: Witness Acts 6:1–7 One of the things that sticks out about the early church is how quickly it grew. In the first 5 chapters of Acts, at least 8,000 people become Christians. That’s exciting!But a question for you: How many of those 8,000 can you name? I’ll answer it for you: None. […]
Sunday, June 3: Witness Acts 5:17–42 What does it look like to be a witness in Gig Harbor? Do we have to lose our life to be a witness, or can we be bold for Jesus in the safety of suburbia?Good questions. In our Witness series, we have been studying the first chapters of Acts, […]
Sunday, May 27: Witness Acts 5:1–11 “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” The post-Pentecost church was characterized by a […]
Sunday, May 20: Witness Acts 4:23–37 And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. Acts 4:33 Occasionally someone will ask me the question, “Are you a Spirit-filled church?” I’m always a bit conflicted. The correct answer is, “Yes,” but I know […]
Sunday, May 6: Witness Acts 4:1–22 The first three chapters of Acts are pretty good for the church. They receive the Spirit, they speak in tongues, they heal people, and they live in peace and harmony. It’s miracles and salvations all around! Well, that all changes in chapter 4 when the church experiences its first […]
Sunday, April 29: Witness Acts 3:1–26 Imagine for a second that you have been wheelchair-bound your whole life.You have never been able to walk. Now, imagine one day that you are instantly and miraculously healed so that you have full use of your legs. What would be the first thing you would do? This was […]
Sunday, April 22: Witness Acts 2:1–47 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to […]
Sunday, April 15: Witness Acts 1:12–26 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8 In some of his final words to the Apostles before he left, Jesus […]
Sunday, April 8: Witness Acts 1:1–11 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8 Last Sunday we celebrated Easter. This week we’re launching a new study series called Witness, based […]
We’ve had some many things going on this Summer concerning our outreach and mission trips. Check out today’s audio to catch up on some of the things God is doing in lives around the world.