Having ascended to the right hand of the Father, Jesus has been given all authority in Heaven and on earth. One of his roles as King of the Universe is to build His church. In this passage we see a beautiful picture of His followers in His young church. They were so hungry to learn, generous toward others, open on the God-ward side and hospitable with neighbors that the Lord entrusted new people to them on a daily basis. This truly is the church as she was (and is) intended to be.
Sermons by Dean Wertz (Page 33)
A question is a window into the inquirer’s soul and an open door for the careful listener to bring a blessing. When Jesus’ disciples declared the wonders of God in various unlearned languages on the Day of Pentecost, those who had previously joined in the murder of Jesus raised a question, “What does this mean?” The former fisherman, whom Jesus had called with a vision to become a fisher of men, brought an unexpected blessing to all the inquirers of his day and ours. Peter declared this phenomenon to be further proof of a most astounding reality – God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. Did you know that God the Father has given His Son all authority in heaven and on earth? In this message we hear this declaration and are called to turn from our lesser view of Jesus in order to enter the real world in which Jesus is Lord of all.
Throughout the Scriptures God promised to pour his own Spirit into his people. The eternal presence of God would one day come to live in us, be with us and empower us to joyfully tell others about God and his mighty works. While on earth Jesus also spoke of this “promise of the Father.” Then, 10 days after Jesus ascended into heaven,…
Disappointment comes from unmet expectations. Like everyone, followers of Jesus know how difficult life can be when things don’t go as we expect. Does God see? Does He care? As we study what happened in the 10 days between the ascending of Jesus to heaven and the descending of His Spirit to earth we discover that there is something about God that we need to learn in this world of disappointments. Before we head into Acts 2 (next week, hopefully) we must first discover God’s plan and vantage point in order to walk faithful in the midst of unmet expectations.
What should I do with my life? What can I do that could possibly make a difference? Is there some way I could improve the world? Followers of Jesus have the privilege of uniting with Him in the greatest mission of all – to see people in our city and around the world restored to God through faith in Jesus Christ so…
We all drift from God at times. After 3 years with Jesus, the events leading up to Jesus’ death caused the disciples to drift away. Yet, when Jesus rose from the grave He came to His disciples in peace to restore them and empower them to rejoin Him in His mission to change the world. For all who have wandered from God, the good news for the disciples on that day is also great news for us on this day.
Even though there are no commands in the Bible for us to celebrate Palm Sunday, once a year the word “Hosanna” is sung, palm branches are waved and millions of people celebrate the day when Jesus rode on a colt into Jerusalem. Why is this? In this message we uncover the big announcement that Jesus made on that day; news about Himself that is so significant that its implications reverberate beyond our annual celebrations into every aspect of life.
From our first step and our first words we all are imitators. Then comes Jesus’ invitation, “Follow me.” This week we are reminded of Jesus’ summons to live with him, learn from him and unite with him and a company of friends in his mission to help others come to know and follow him.
Students of Jesus who interact with people who do not love Jesus can expect to be misunderstood. With an increasing number of neighbors, classmates and co-workers who hold diverse moral viewpoints, how can apprentices of Jesus be loving to others and faithful to Christ? How can we be kind in this world and true to God’s Word at the same time? Is…
If I love God and can worship Him anywhere I go on any day of the week (including Sunday), why should I be a part of a church? This is a great question! For those who sincerely seek an answer to this common and legitimate question this message presents several reasons why it is good, wise and beneficial to our world for…