Sermons on Christ Ascended . . . Now What? (Page 3)

This study through the book of Acts began in April 2015 and continues today.

Acts 16:11-40 | We Met a Slave Girl who had a Spirit of Divination

Sometimes we all get stuck – stuck in traffic and stuck in unhealthy reoccurring thoughts, attitudes and habits. Like the struggling prey of a python, our unsuccessful attempts toward liberation can lead us to despair. In the Apostle Paul’s first visit to the ancient Macedonian city of Philippi, we meet a young girl, a business woman and a law enforcement officer who all find themselves entrapped. The good news for them is great news for us – our stuck-ness need not remain. True deliverance beyond tolerable recovery is available because a loving and infinitely powerful Deliverer is at hand.

Acts 16:6-10 | Forbidden by the Holy Spirit to Speak the Word in Asia

When we followers of Jesus first learned and accepted the good news that Jesus is Lord of all, submitting our lives to His leadership and receiving all of His rewards, it was natural to want to share this message with others. Yet, in many cases not everyone was as interested as we would expect. This can discourage us and dampen our light. If you long to see more of your current friends and family living with God and joining Him in His mission to heal the world, the eternal realities revealed in this passage will encourage you to keep shining knowing that God often works in and through us in ways that we could never imagine or believe.

Acts 16:1- 5| Apprenticeship: Paul Wanted Timothy to Accompany Him

While most cultures recognize the power of intentional relationships between someone with mastery in a particular field and an apprentice, this approach for development is often neglected here in Denver. Investing in another person can be time consuming, messy and threatening when those we train excel. In this message we explore Paul’s commitment to apprentice Timothy in order to discover some compelling reasons to engage in apprenticing others as Paul and, more importantly, Jesus did.

Acts 15:36-41 | The Breakup

People disagree. Conflict results. Anger builds. Fellowship breaks. And it’s often with the people we’re closest to. Yet God, in his infinite wisdom and power, is able to use our fractured relationships for his purposes. He intended us to live at peace with one another. Sometimes restoring peace happens quickly. Other times, it takes years. And even when it seems as though it will never happen, we know that relationships will be part of the restoration of all things.

Acts 15:1-21 | We Believe We will be Saved Through the Grace of the Lord Jesus

Do we enter the family of God based on what we do for Him or by trusting in what He has done for us? The good news (gospel) is that God sent His Son Jesus because He loves us apart from what we do or do not do for Him. After we believe this message by faith, our process of transformation begins in His way and His timing as He conforms us to become more like our Lord Jesus. This is amazing grace. In today’s message from Acts 15 we discover that this unconditional love of God is so foreign to the human way of thinking that people often add requirements beyond faith in Jesus. When people do this we must follow the example of Jesus’ first disciples by lovingly, yet firmly, affirming, “We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” for God’s sake, our sake and the sake of the world.

Acts 14:24-28 | They Declared All That God had Done with Them

God often leads disciple making communities to send and support specific people to show and tell the good news that Jesus is Lord of all beyond their own city. In our recent journey through Acts 13 and 14 we have seen how God called Paul and Barnabas from their church in Antioch to take His message of grace throughout Galatia. In our message today, we learn that after their journey God led them to circle back to their sending partners in Antioch in order to “declare all that God had done with them.” Today we hear a brief summary of this text followed by a report from Don and Janet Guizzetti. Don and Janet are followers of Jesus and partners with Hope who have who have recently returned from their second missionary trip among the people of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (West Africa).

Acts 14: 19-23 | Paul’s Second Repentance: Raising Up Leaders in Relationship

There’s nothing like a near-death experience to give one clarity about what’s most important. It’s in this context that Paul got thinking about succession: leaving a legacy, establishing a lasting influence, and investing in the next generation. In this text we see the shift in Paul from being primarily a sower, to becoming both a sower and a weeder/tiller/pruner. So instead of moving on…

Acts 13:13-51 | If You Have Any Word of Encouragement… Say It

Have you noticed how some followers of Jesus seem to have something special when it comes to helping others come to believe in and follow Jesus as Lord? The Apostle Paul was used by God to point thousands of people toward a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As we seek to be disciples who help others to become disciples, this message unveils values that God used in Paul to draw many to become disciples of Jesus. What if we all learned from Paul as he learned from Christ?

Acts 13:4-12 | Sergius Paulus Sought to Hear the Word of God

Many years ago Saint Augustine wrote, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” In today’s message, we meet Sergius Paulus, a Roman proconsul on the island of Cyprus, who appeared to have it all. Yet he longed for more. Overcoming great distances, a dangerous ocean and discouraging words, God sent messengers…

Acts 12 | The Lord Brought Him Out of Prison

Have you noticed how often a difficulty arises once you take a step to faithfully do what God wants you to do? In our passage today, strong opposition came against God’s people when king Herod killed James and captured Peter to kill him as well. If you desire to see God break through like only He can do this message will encourage you to anticipate opposition, pray to our King and know with certainty that He will deliver you in His time according to His plan for His glory and your amazement.