Sermons on Acts

Acts 9, Part Three

Chris continues our study of the book of Acts, this week closing out chapter 9 back with Peter as Luke recounts his journeys to Lydda and Joppa and the miraculous signs that were performed there. First we hear about the healing of Aeneas who had been paralysed for 8 years, and then the raising of Tabitha from the dead in Joppa. In both cases God used these miracles as the catalyst for even more, as the news of Jesus continued to spread in Israel and beyond.

Karen leads the rest of the service as Lynne gives an update on our Mission of the Month, YFC, and Pete leads our sung worship. We also share communion together.

Acts 9, Part Two

This week we return to our series in Acts, specifically looking at what Saul (Paul) does immediately after his experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Chris looks at Saul’s new calling to preach what would then have been an extremely radical message in Damascus, Arabia and Jerusalem: that Jesus is the risen Son of God!

Andy leads the rest of the service as we celebrate and pray for the women of the church in the light of Mother’s Day (aka Mothering Sunday) and International Women’s Day this past week. Lynne and Dave lead our sung worship.

Acts 9, Part 1

This week we resume our series in Acts, which we began last summer. If you can’t remember back that far (the last part was in September after all!) Chris gives us a brief catch-up on what has happened so far before we look at Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This is the start of the amazing turnaround in Saul’s life from being one of the chief persecutors of early Christianity to becoming probably the most prolific evangelist in church history. God can use anyone!

Karen leads the rest of the service whilst Pete leads our sung worship this week.

Acts 8, Part 2

In the final part of our first look at Acts (don’t worry, we won’t be pausing for long!) Chris ends with the second half of Acts 8 where Philip encounters the Ethiopian eunuch. Starting with the passage from Isaiah that the eunuch “happened” to be reading Philip explains the whole of the good news about Jesus and, having heard this, the eunuch is so filled with the Holy Spirit that he asks to be baptised there and then. As Philip was led to the eunuch that day, how is God guiding us in our journeys today?

Chris also leads us through a guided prayer to help us in our understanding of the scripture, whilst Mike and Lynne lead our sung worship.

Acts 7 & 8

The story of Acts continues this week with the recounting of Stephen’s vision of Jesus being welcomed into heaven and his subsequent execution by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy. These events trigger a great persecution of the early church and scattering of the believers from Jerusalem. However as Chris explains, this is not a defeat! It is stage 1 of God’s great plan to start spreading the message of the Gospel beyond Judea. Philip, Peter and John travel to Samaria where the Holy Spirit breaks out in a powerful way. How are we to reflect the power of the Spirit in our lives? And how did all of these events affect a young Pharisee named Saul?

Andy leads the rest of the service, speaking about his experience of God in recent travels whilst Mike leads our sung worship.

Acts 7

We left the story of Acts last time with Stephen, one of the most Spirit-filled disciples encountered so far, arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin to stand trial. This week Chris looks at what he says in his defence, his sermon before the ruling officials. Stephen takes the accusations levelled at him and systematically demolishes every single one, showing that God’s Spirit was behind everything in the Law that the Sanhedrin profess to follow and also that the Spirit cannot be contained behind legalism and restraint. God’s power is active everywhere! What does that mean for us today?

Susan leads the rest of the service with prayers for the developing situation in Morocco, whilst Pete and Nick lead our sung worship.

Acts 6

The story of Acts continues this week, Chris speaks on the events of Acts 6. With the church growing and gaining momentum there was concern that the Apostles were becoming overwhealmed with the workload and certain ministries may be missing out because of this. The early church then institutes the prototypical structure of what we now call church leadership, the Apostles continued in spiritual leadership but delegated other tasks to seven others chosen from amongst the disciples in the church. It was such an enduring and powerful model of leadership that around the world thousands of churches (including us!) still use a derivation of it today. Amongst those chosen was Steven (more on him at a later date), who proved that although he and his fellow deacons were not the primary spiritual leaders, God’s spirit can still use them to advance the church. And that means us too!

Karen leads the rest of the service with a focus on prayer for the many situations around the world that get ignored by the mainstream news, whilst Mike leads our sung worship.

Acts 5

We continue our ongoing series looking at the book of Acts with Chris speaking on the events Luke recalls in chapter 5: the deaths of Ananais and Sapphira, continued healings of the sick and the arrest, imprisonment, miraculous escape and re-arrest of the apostles. We begin to see three interconnected groups arising: the apostles, the people and the Sanhedrin (and other Jewish leaders). Which group do we fall into?

James leads the rest of the service, thinking about the vastness of God’s creation and Lynne and Dave lead our sung worship.

Acts 4

We resume our series looking at the book of Acts with Chris this week speaking on chapter 4. The miracle at the temple (see last time!) did not go unnoticed and Peter and John find themselves brought before the Sanhedrin to explain what happened. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter does not hold back and the Pharisees and Sadducees don’t quite know how to react. If the Holy Spirit can turn Peter from someone who denied Christ into someone who gives one of the most eloquent defences of him, how much more can it help us in our situations?

Ant leads the rest of the service whilst Pete leads our sung worship.

Acts 3

We continue our new series looking at the book of Acts with Chris speaking on the healing at the temple of the man who could not walk. This is the apostles taking all that they have learned from the last few years of their lives with Jesus and following his example. How can we follow the lead of Peter and John and allow Jesus to work through us?

James leads the rest of the service (possibly giving us the answer before Chris asks the question!) and Mike and Lynne lead our sung worship.