We celebrated 5 years as a church just a few weeks ago, and in this message, we look ahead to what’s coming down the road for the next five years. Updates on the building, potential hiring opportunities, sabbaticals, etc
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.
As the 120 disciples of Jesus are gathered in the Upper Room, they are together for morning prayer, praying for the Holy Spirit to come, and suddenly, without warning, the Spirit came in power!
Jesus had promised his Holy Spirit will come on the disciples, then he ascended, and now the disciples head back to Jerusalem to wait. What do you tend to do when you have to wait? These 120 disciples waited by praying and making a major decision about who replaces Judas.
Jesus wraps up his conversation with the disciples with a beautiful 3-part prayer – Part one for himself, part 2 for the disciples, part 3 for all who would believe. Key takeaway: Jesus wants us to know the Father, to know his love, and to be unified with each other.
Josh Krueger, one of our Men's Ministry leaders, brings the message today from John 15, under the main idea that "Mandated, glory producing fruit can be produced one way: sap from the true vine."
Throughout the message, Josh will address these questions:
What is fruit and how is it produced?
What is sap and how do we get some?
Why are fruit and sap so important?
Two men from very different situations in life have a desire to see Jesus. He meets them both in very different ways, but the outcome is the same: Your faith has saved you.
If Jesus' had a mission statement, what would it be? It might not be what you think it would be, and not only that, Jesus surprises the disciples by saying there's no middle ground. You're either in or out.
In our humanity and our near-sightedness, we tend to forget that God has been at work for decades and centuries before we ever arrived on the scene, and that what we are participating in today is just another chapter in His story of redemption.