Grace Bible Church - Sermons 2005

Persecutionâ€™s Failure, Part 2 - Acts 8:25-40

Sun, 18 Dec 2005 21:59:33 -0500

Last week we looked at Acts 8:1-24 and saw the outbreak of severe persecution of the church in Jerusalem following the martyrdom of Stephen. Saul was a major figure in this persecution and was even going house to house to find believers and drag them off to jail. In Acts 22:4 he even said that he had persecuted them to death. The result was that believers fled from Jerusalem into the regions of Judea and Samaria. The goal of the persecution was to destroy the church, but the actual effect was to spread and expand the church for, as verse 4 states, "those who had been scattered went about preaching the word."

Persecutionsâ€™ Failure, Part 1 - Acts 8:1-24

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 21:57:58 -0500

Last week we studied the ministry and martyrdom of Stephen. This week we will be looking at Acts 8 and the rise of great persecution against the early church. The purpose of persecution of believers has always been the same. It is generated by a hatred for Jesus Christ and true righteousness and its desire is to shut the mouths of believers, keep the church from growing, and if possible, destroy it. But persecution of the church has always failed in its endeavors.

Stephen, The First Martyr

Sun, 27 Nov 2005 21:55:58 -0500

This morning we come to the short, but incredible life and ministry of Stephen. We met him last week in Acts 6:5 as one of the seven that were chosen to help with the serving of the widows. He is specifically marked as a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. This morning we will see that displayed in his incredible witness even in the face of persecution. As one writer commented, if Stephen had not been martyred, he would have been the one doing the things Paul ends up doing. Perhaps that is one reason this same passage also introduces us to Saul, who becomes the apostle Paul.

Selecting Servants - Acts 6:1

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 21:54:13 -0500

In our study of Acts 5 a couple of weeks ago we saw the first internal threat to the early church in the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied even to the Holy Spirit in their effort to gain prestige within the church under false pretenses. God judged their sin very quickly and the church was purified as all who heard of their deaths became fearful. Sin is serious.

Persecution Escalates - Acts 5:17-42

Sun, 13 Nov 2005 21:50:14 -0500

A couple of weeks ago I pointed out that much of American Christianity has fallen into the trap of the belief that underlies the message of the health, wealth & prosperity preachers. Those preachers push this idea into a right and demand of being able to name and claim whatever you want from God. Of course, the safety net for their heresy is that if you do not have those things it is because you do not have enough faith. Most American Christians do not go that far, but they have bought into the idea that God will protect them from all harm and meet their needs and desires. The truth is that though we can trust in Godâ€™s protection and provision for our needs, He has not promised to meet our wants nor has He promised that we will escape all physical or emotional harm. In fact, Jesus promises just the opposite for those that will follow Him. In passages such as Matthew 5:10-12, Matthew 10:16-23, John 15:20, John 16:32,33, Luke 21:12,13 Jesus made it clear to His disciples that they would face tribulation because of their relationship with Him. Paul put it bluntly in 2 Timothy 3:12, "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

Living Among Believers - Acts 4:32-5:16

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 21:38:33 -0500

Jesus told His disciples in John 13:34,35, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." We will see again this morning that those that made up the early church took this to heart and did demonstrate their love for one another in very practical ways. Their example is a good challenge for us to follow in our own lives.

Persecution Begins - Acts 4:1-31

Sun, 30 Oct 2005 12:00:00 -0500

One of the misconceptions common in Christianity in America is that if you become a Christian that God will make your life easy. Some of this is a simple but tragic misunderstanding of Jesus' comment in John 10 that "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." There are those that take this to mean that God's wonderful plan for your life is a guarantee of health, wealth and prosperity. Others hold to this misconception because of one of several underlying heresies in which salvation is from something other than the sin which separates you from God and for which He justly condemns. For some this is salvation from low self-esteem. For others it is salvation from oppression of some type so that you are free to do what you want. For still others, it the implementation of a strict code that will keep you away from those moral evils deemed unacceptable to that particular group.

Proof of Apostleship - Acts 3

Sun, 23 Oct 2005 13:00:00 -0400

In our study last week we saw the continuing response of the people to the events that occurred on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and about 3,000 believed Peter's sermon and were saved and baptized. They then laid the foundation of basic church life as they continued devoting themselves to the apostles teaching, fellowship, the breaking of the bread (a reference to the Lord's Supper here), and to prayer. Their fellowship went way beyond socialization to daily being of one mind together in the temple as well as sharing meals together from one house to another with gladness, sincerity of heart and praising God, and also sacrificially caring for the needs of one another. All of this caused them to have favor with the people and seeing the Lord add to the church daily those who were being saved. In addition, the Lord was causing a sense of awe among the people through the wonders and signs that were taking place through the apostles. Acts 3 gives us the specifics of one of those wonders and signs and the opportunity it gave Peter to proclaim the gospel to those present.

The Pattern of Early Church - Acts 2:41-47

Sun, 16 Oct 2005 13:00:00 -0400

This morning we are going to study Acts 2:41-47. This is another one of those passages that is very rich in giving us insight into how we as Christians should be living, but which is also often abused because it is taken out of its context and therefore applied incorrectly. This results in teaching believers to live in ways that are contrary to the Scriptures. Some people have justified communes and communism based on this passage. Others have split churches arguing that this passage teaches that large, organized churches are wrong and that local house churches were and are the plan of God for the church.

Acts 2:22-41

Sun, 02 Oct 2005 13:00:00 -0400

We come to the second part of Peter's sermon in Acts 2 this morning, so in order to set the context we need to quickly review.

Acts 2:14-21

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 13:00:00 -0400

Last week we covered the opening events that occurred on the Day of Pentecost. This is the transition from the Old Covenant and its external law to the New Covenant with the law written on the hearts of believers guided by the Holy Spirit. This morning I would like to very quickly review that in preparation for our study this morning of the first part of Peter's sermon that followed it.

The Day of Pentecost - Acts 2:1- 13

Sun, 18 Sep 2005 13:00:00 -0400

This morning we will be studying Acts 2:1-13 in which Luke gives an account of the events that took place on the day of Pentecost following Jesus' ascension. This is one of the most significant events described in Acts not only because of its fulfillment of Jesus' promise given in Acts 1:5 which would enable the Apostles to carry out His command to be His witnesses to the world, but it also marks the birth of the Church as the Body of Christ. This is the transition from the Old Covenant in which the law was external and the Holy Spirit would come and go to the New Covenant in which the law becomes internal as the Holy Spirit continually abides in the believer.

Waiting in Jerusalem - Acts 1:12-26

Sun, 11 Sep 2005 13:00:00 -0400

In watching the news this week regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, one reporter asked Franklin Graham what he said to people that were having a crises of faith because God had allowed such a tragedy to occur. Rev. Graham gave a very good answer stating first that the people he had been talking with were praising God for their lives and not having a crises of faith. Next he explained the gospel message. People should expect tragedy, death and eventual judgement by God, but through faith in Jesus Christ, God will forgive sin and welcome that person into heaven. And though it was obvious that the reporter was injecting his own opinion into the reporting, it is a legitimate question because there are those that have a crises of faith because they do not understand God. The underlying question is this. If God is sovereign and good, then why does He let evil occur? We will find an answer to this question this morning in our study of Acts 1:13-26 as we examine how Judas the traitor was replaced.

Commission and Ascension - Acts 1:3-11

Sun, 04 Sep 2005 13:00:00 -0400

Last week I sought to lay the foundation for our study of the book of Acts. We want to avoid the errors that others have fallen into because they failed to understand the overall purpose and structure of the book. When anyone studies a passage from any book of the Bible apart from either its historical or grammatical contexts they are in danger off developing doctrines that are in theological error. When that is done in relationship to an historical book like Acts, then the danger of theological error increases dramatically. We must be careful of using Acts as a foundation for theology since Luke was writing as an historian and not a theologian. Acts contains theological insights and examples, especially in its many recorded speeches, but we are to go to the Epistles for our theological foundations since that was their purpose and then interpret Acts accordingly.

The Book of Acts: Introduction

Sun, 28 Aug 2005 13:00:00 -0400

This morning we begin a journey through the history of the early church as recorded in the Book of Acts. It is a journey I have been looking forward to going through with you as I have been reading through this book over and over again the last month or so. I have found Acts to be a fascinating account of the spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. It is full of great examples of the faith of the first believers as they overcame personal difficulties, persecution and opposition from those who rejected the claim of salvation through Jesus Christ who was resurrected from the dead.