Sermons on Acts
The Saints – Acts 2:42-47, Romans 12:3-21, John 13:34-35
Origen (church leader in Egypt in 4th century): “Jesus is always being falsely accused… He is silent in the face of this and does not answer with his own voice. But he makes his defense in the lives of his genuine disciples, for their lives cry out the real facts and defeat all false charges.” I wonder if he would he say the same thing about the church today? What he’s saying is that the lives of Jesus’ disciples is…
The Holy Spirit – Genesis 1:1-2, Acts 2:1-21; Titus 3:4-7
The Holy Spirit I said in an earlier sermon in this series that the Creed tells a story. And the flow of that story moves with the main actors of that story: It begins with the Father’s work of creating; it moves on to the Son’s work of rescue; and now it ends with the Spirit’s work of re-creating – in which the spirit brings us into a new community – the holy catholic church; gives us a new relationship…
Ascended, Seated, Coming – Acts 1:1-11, Act 17:29-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
On the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. Jesus didn’t exit this world through the shame of death; but through the glory and honor of ascension. We don’t focus as much on Jesus’ ascension in our tradition as some other churches – certainly not as much as we focus on…
The Gospel goes to Rome – Acts 27-28
In the conclusion of the book of Acts, we read about Paul’s Journey to Rome, and Paul’s Ministry in Rome. At the end of Acts, the story is unfinished, challenging all who read it, “How will we continue the story of the gospel’s progress to the ends of the earth?” Sermon Text
On Trial – Acts 24-26
Paul defends himself before governors and kings. In his defense we see that 1) he is not a trouble-maker; 2) he is not an opportunist; 3) his message is not a novelty; 4) his message is not about something done in a corner. Sermon Text
Under Arrest – Acts 21-23
In this longer section of the book of Acts we see 4 main things: Paul the Disciple, Paul the Misunderstood, Paul in Chains, and Paul on Trial. Sermon Text