Sermons from May 2017

Acts 13:42 – 14:7 As we continue following Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, things begin to heat up. After the conversion of the Roman proconsul in Cyprus and a very positive response to Paul’s sermon in Antioch, opposition arises and quickly becomes violent, spreading like wildfire among the people. Yet, to our surprise, Paul and Barnabas refuse to be intimidated. Instead of cowering in fear, they appear more courageous and confident with every move the enemy makes. They are like champion chess players, who had predetermined their responses to every move their opponents will make to the very end of the game. However, in this case, God has predetermined all the moves and has given them their endgame strategy. There is no need to be anxious when you know how the game ends. Do you?

Acts 13:13-43 What makes the difference between a boring sermon and one that strikes like lightning? On a more personal level, how do you have a significant encounter with people who are well versed in religion and already have their minds made up? In this week’s text, Paul and Barnabas travel north through the Taurus Mountains and enter the city of Pisidian Antioch. On the first Sabbath day after their arrival they are invited to give a word of exhortation to the congregation. For three hundred years Jews in the Diaspora have been reading the Scriptures and listening to countless sermons exhorting them to remain faithful to the law. But never have they heard a sermon like this with such good news, declaring God has fulfilled all of Israel’s longings and is on the move, doing revolutionary things where new life is breaking out for whole world and nothing is going to remain the same. And unless you jump in with both feet, you are going to be left out! So don’t you be left out.

Acts 13:4-12 In this week’s text we come to a historic moment in the history of the church, when Paul, Barnabas and John Mark set sail for Cyprus on the first missionary journey. Up until now evangelism was the spontaneous, less-systematic work of individuals. But now the task of missions will be intentional and strategic, following the lead of the Spirit coupled with wise strategy. Straight away we will discover the pattern of outreach that will be repeated in place after place. We will see the power of prayer to open doors, the approach Paul takes with politicians, the inevitability of fierce and sometimes violent attacks, and the relentless power and authority of the Holy Spirit to overcome all opposition. As Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction”. (1 Thes 1:5)