Acts: Sharing the Load of Pastoral Care

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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.

Standalone Sermons: Knowing God our Father

2 Timothy 3:14 -17

In this sermon, guest speaker Jacob van Sickle, a church planter in Providence, helps us to think about God Himself: who He is, the kinds of things he likes, the sorts of things He does, and how we can know Him. Jacob walks us through 2 Timothy 3:18 to show how God reveals himself to us through His Word and uses the scriptures to teach and equip us every day of our lives.

Acts: Authentic Followers of Jesus

Acts 5

John Michaelson unpacks chapter 5, which is twofold; first is the hard-to-swallow story about the death of Ananias and Sapphira, and second is of the persecution the apostles faced by the high priest in Jerusalem. The message challenges us to seek understanding of God’s character in difficult passages and to consider the true cost of following Jesus. At the end are two discussion questions: 1) why do you think the co-authors put in the story of Ananias and Sapphira? How does reading it make you feel? 2) Have you ever been persecuted, and what was that like?

Acts: Boldness for Jesus

Acts 4

We continue on our series in the book of Acts by looking at chapter four. Peter and John are questioned by the Jewish high council about whose authority gave them the privilege of performing a healing miracle and preaching about Jesus. Focusing in on vv. 11-13, there are three points of Peter’s response to the leaders—Jesus has become the Cornerstone of our life foundation, He is the only way to God, and He is the constant that empowers the apostles to perform miracles and preach the gospel boldly. This message reminds us what bold acts of faith are all about: the one who was crucified but raised by God—Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Acts: The Purpose of Miracles

Acts 3

The value of miracles comes not from the miracle itself but in the faith it produces. In Acts 3, the healing of the crippled man enables us to believe that Christ has risen from the dead and is also a sign of God's promise to restore all things to peace and wholeness in the future.

Acts: The Gift of the Spirit

Acts 2

Scott tells the story from Acts 2 of the birth of the Church. The place where the disciples were meeting shook, the Spirit came like a mighty rushing wind, and tongues of fire rested on each of them. Scott highlights that the gift of the Holy Spirit was not given to just apostles or pastors but to all. The promise of the Spirit extends to all Christians everywhere in every generation.

Acts: Wait for the Promise

Acts 1

Pastor Scott starts off a new series in Acts 1. This passage begins with the disciples waiting for the promise from Jesus about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Scott encourages us to urgently seek God until He moves, until the Holy Spirit falls afresh on His people and brings what He promised.

Easter 2022: Jesus Has His Ways

Luke 24

This message walks through the twenty fourth chapter of the gospel of Luke, looking specifically at the personalized ways that Jesus made himself known to people after the resurrection. Despite the fact that his disciples viewed the idea of Christ being raised as an idle tale, Jesus gets through to them. We see throughout the gospel accounts that Jesus employed interesting, personal, and even playful means to bring doubting individuals to a place of faith. This work of Jesus transforming unbelievers into fully persuaded followers of Christ continues to this day. Toward the end of the message Scott discusses some of the unique ways Jesus works to get through to people today.

Palm Sunday 2022

Luke 19:28-48

This message tells the story of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his weeping over those who rejected him, and the cleansing on the temple. What comes through these accounts is the fact that the glory of Jesus separates. Some receive him. Some do not. One day Christ will judge all humanity. It will be a great separation of sheep and goats, the redeemed and the lost. Scott gives an urgent admonition at the end of his talk to be ready.

Jerusalem Journey

Luke 9:51

Many of us are familiar with Jesus’ birth and final week of His life, death and resurrection, but rarely do we consider much of his final road trip from Galilee to Jerusalem. Much of the Gospel of Luke is devoted to this final journey that would climax at Jesus’ death of the cross. And He knew it. During the journey, we consider the emotional, mental and spiritual pressure He must have felt. Jesus knew He was born to die. So even amidst the stress, the distractions, the confusion, the rejection, the sorrow, sadness and agony, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, He set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51). With steely determination, Jesus fulfilled what He came to do. He was clear about His mission. Jesus also exemplified how to fulfill our ultimate mission and how to walk forward in our faith journey.