The Invitation Rodney Gehman – December 24, 2023 – Isaiah 55:1-13 We say this from time to time but you did not choose a perfect church this afternoon. We don’t…
We often think about Jesus as a king, singing Christmas songs about the manger being his throne, etc. All of that is well and good and deserved. But Isaiah continues to refer to him as a servant of the Lord; the one who will obey Yahweh and carry out his mission in the world.
In the middle of another election cycle here in the US of A, we are drawn to the candidates, looking for someone who is going to give us a quick fix to the complex issues of the nation. Isaiah speaks of a moment in history 2800 years ago, and only the names have changed.
The church in Acts continues to grow, is marked by generosity and is experiencing the grace and favor of God at every turn. But when a certain husband and wife try to play games and get in on the favor, God acts in a unique and decisive way to make sure everyone knows – God will not be mocked.
Today we zoom out from the text of Acts for a Sunday, and ask the question, "How do we handle our suffering when we're one of the crippled people who didn't get healed that day?" How do you biblically process watching God answer the prayers you pray – but for other people? What can you hold on to in those moments to keep you from getting tossed around?
Peter and John leave the Sanhedrin and head straight for the people who share their story. The entire group turns immediately to prayer. As they pray, they also reveal some markers for how we today can biblically make sense of persecution to this day.
Peter, John and the healed man end up spending a night in jail and then being put on trial before the Sanhedrin. But it’s not only in the miraculous where the Holy Spirit is evident. Peter stands up to speak, and he is filled with the Holy Spirit to boldly confront these religious leaders with their sin. What will their response be?
Two of the apostles are headed to the temple for worship when they encounter a crippled man panhandling at the temple gate. A miracle of healing gives opportunity for a gospel presentatio
Peter’s message presents the gospel, and God opens the eyes of 3000 people to repent of their sin and turn to Jesus. Now, those 3000 are looking to live out this new identity in Christ as this gospel begins to bear fruit in their lives.
The Spirit came, and a crowd assembled when they heard the noise. But, upon hearing these Galileans speak other languages fluently, they assumed these hillbillies had been drinking before prayer. Peter, now filled with the Spirit, stands up and corrects them, giving the first explicitly Christian sermon ever given.