Appleton Gospel Church

Paul in Athens: Have you ever been nervous about sharing your faith? In the first century AD, Athens was the center of Greek philosophy, religion, and cultural influence. The Apostle Paul had the possibly nerve-racking opportunity to share about Jesus with the Athenian elite. In his famous speech at the Areapagus, Paul demonstrates that the content of the gospel never changes, but the context does. Recorded on Jun 4, 2023, on Acts 17:16-34 by Pastor David Parks.

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul’s story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’ve been focused on Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series on the life of the Apostle Paul as a case study for learning the way of Jesus. The Apostle Paul was born Saul of Tarsus, a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then, in his mid-twenties, Paul met Jesus, and he became a Christian, which changed everything. By his early 40s, he had served as a leader of the influential church in Antioch before being sent out as a missionary to bring the gospel to other people/places around the Roman Empire. Today, we’ll see that Paul takes a unique approach in the famous city of Athens. His normal pattern of ministry, and even how he talks about Jesus, is very different from other places. But how could this be? Does the gospel somehow change? That can’t be right, can it? But, remember, the Apostle Paul was the most effective missionary in the history of the world. So if Paul used a unique approach in Athens, we need to understand why. And the secret we uncover here can make anyone more effective in sharing their faith. Have you ever tried to share your faith, and it just didn’t go well? Or have you ever been scared to talk about being a Christian because you weren’t sure what to say? Then this message is for you. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Acts 17:16. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well.

Acts 17:16-18 (NIV), “16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” Ok, let’s pause here. For the last few weeks, we saw how Paul started to bring the news of who Jesus is and what he accomplished to other people/places, along with a demonstration of spiritual power. He started with Barnabas in Cyprus and moved north into modern Turkey. And then, on his second journey, he went with Silas, Timothy, and Luke from Turkey to Philippi in Greece. This resulted in all kinds of people responding to his message, including men and women, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, and so on, because everybody needs Jesus. However, in addition to the spiritual fruit that he saw, Paul also faced spiritual opposition, which sometimes resulted in social upheaval and even violence. Let’s look at a map. From Philippi, in northern Greece, where Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned, they were chased over to Thessalonica,

Paul in Philippi: As the Apostle Paul ventures into Europe on his second missionary journey, he encounters three very different types of people — a wealthy woman of status named Lydia, a spiritually oppressed slaved girl, and a Roman jailer. All three experience the saving power of God in Jesus' name, highlighting a simple lesson: Everybody needs Jesus. Recorded on May 28, 2023, on Acts 16:11-34 by Pastor David Parks.

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul’s story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Sermon Transcript

The theme of our preaching ministry this year (which runs through the end of June) has been Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series on the life of the Apostle Paul. And we’re using Paul’s story as a case study for learning the way of Jesus. Because Paul was born Saul of Tarsus, a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then, when he was about 25, Paul met Jesus, and he became a Christian, which set his life on a completely different path. By his early 40s, Paul had served for a time as a leader of the vibrant, growing church in Antioch before being sent out as a missionary with his coworker, Barnabas, and their young helper, John Mark. They had a successful trip to the island of Cyprus (with the exception that John Mark bailed and went back home), but Paul and Barnabas continued into modern-day Turkey before coming back to their home base of Antioch. We saw most of this first missionary journey last week in Acts 13, and just a reminder that if you’ve missed any of the sermons in this series, you can always go back and watch on the Church Center App or on YouTube. Well, today, we’re picking up the story of Paul’s second missionary journey. But for the next few weeks, we’ll consider his work in several notable cities, including Philippi (today), Athens (next week), and then, on his third journey, to Ephesus. But today, in Philippi, we’ll see Paul and his team have remarkable success but also cause such a disruption they get beaten up by a mob and thrown into prison. Now, in some ways, this is just normal life for Paul. But through it all, we see a remarkable poise; we see that Paul has this unusual ability to have joy (and literally keep singing!), even as life seems to be crumbling around him. This joy, regardless of his circumstances, is exactly the theme of his letter to the Philippians Paul would write later — when he was in prison once again. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Acts 16:11. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well. But today, we’ll start with a little intro passage for context. And then we’ll encounter three people in Philippi who are saved by God: first a powerful woman named Lydia, then a slave girl, and then a Roman jailer. Let’s start with the intro:

Acts 16:11-12 (NIV), “11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.” So again, this is the second missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. But one detail we haven’t mentioned yet is that when leaving for this journey, Paul and Barnabas had a serious problem. At the end of Acts 15, Luke writes, “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.

Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles: The spiritual awakening at Antioch produced two things: generosity toward the poor and a heart for the lost. As a result, Paul and Barnabas were sent out to bring the gospel to other people and places. They traveled to Cyprus and then to Pisidian Antioch and shared the word of God with a demonstration of spiritual power — and both Jews and Gentiles responded in faith. Paul was sent by the Spirit with power from the Spirit to all peoples. Recorded on May 21, 2023, on Acts 12:25 - 13:48 by Pastor David Parks. (Apologies for the loss of about 10 seconds of audio!!)

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul’s story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Sermon Transcript

The theme of our preaching ministry this past year has been Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series on the life of the Apostle Paul. Now, Paul’s story is fascinating, but for us today, it serves as a great case study for learning the way of Jesus. Because Paul was born Saul of Tarsus, a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then Paul met Jesus, which changed everything. He became a Christian and had to relearn everything in light of the way of Jesus. In our passage today, it’s about 15 years after Paul became a Christian. He’s in his early 40’s and has been serving the church in Antioch (about 450 miles north of Jerusalem) for a year with his friend, Barnabas, during a great period of spiritual renewal/awakening. We looked at this time last week, and we called it an unexpected outpouring of grace. For the first time, a large number of Jews and Gentiles had believed the gospel and started following Jesus. As we said, this doesn’t really mean anything to us, but in their day, this was a radical change. There was a wall of separation (social/cultural/ethnic/religious) between Jew and Gentile and now they saw themselves as brothers and sisters in the same church because of Jesus. Maybe the closest thing to this for us today would be hearing that there was a church where people on the extreme political left and right were actively loving each other and seeing themselves as brothers and sisters because of Jesus. That would be unusual, right? Maybe unusual enough to seem suspicious? I’m sure that’s how many people felt about Antioch. But that’s what God was doing. Well, today, we’ll see what happened next. And what happened next was that this gospel-centered, Jew and Gentile uniting, radically new thing that God was doing in Antioch — that started to spread. In fact, as it spread around the Roman Empire, the world would never be the same. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Acts 12:25. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well. But today, we’ll work through this passage in three sections. First, sent by the Spirit. Second, sent with power from the Spirit. And third, sent to all peoples.

Acts 12:25-13:3 (NIV), “25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. 13 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

Paul and the Revival at Antioch: After Paul spent ten years in Tarsus, God was doing a new thing in the big city of Antioch — Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) were becoming Christians. Barnabas was sent to investigate and brought in Paul to help lead this new, unexpected outpouring of grace. Have you ever wanted to see a spiritual revival? This message is for you. Recorded on May 14, 2023, on Acts 11:19-30 by Pastor David Parks.

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul’s story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Sermon Transcript

Since last July, we’ve been focusing on Learning the way of Jesus. We’ve had sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount, the Epistles of the NT, and the Ten Commandments, all focusing on the unique way of Jesus. And we’ve seen that this way isn’t simply a list of things to know/believe but a way of life to learn and follow that impacts and transforms everything. Today, we’re continuing our final series under this theme on the life of the Apostle Paul. Now, Paul’s story is fascinating, but it also serves as a great case study for learning the way of Jesus. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians at the very start of the Christian movement. But then, Paul met Jesus, which changed everything. So, Paul the persecutor became Paul the persecuted for his bold preaching about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. He was initially met with fear and skepticism by the other Christians because of his past. But he had several faithful brothers who were willing to vouch for him, including Ananias and Barnabas. Three years after becoming a Christian, he had people who tried to kill him in Damascus, so he went back to Jerusalem. It wasn’t long before he had people trying to kill him there, too. So the believers put him on a boat and shipped him back home to Tarsus in Cilicia (modern Turkey). Paul disappeared from the Biblical narrative for about ten years as he lived and worked in Tarsus. But then, in Acts 11, he comes back into the story because of Barnabas, of course. A revival or spiritual awakening was happening in the city of Antioch, and no one was better suited to help than Paul. But in this chapter of his life, we learn some key principles about spiritual revival/awakening, or what I’ll call the unexpected outpouring of grace. If you’ve ever longed for revival, if you’ve ever mourned the brokenness/darkness of the world, or if you’ve ever wondered what it would look like for God to do a miraculous work, then this message is for you. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Acts 11:19. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well. But today, we’ll read through this whole passage on Paul and the revival at Antioch and then go back and unpack it together.

Acts 11:19–30 (NIV), “19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done,

Paul the Persecuted: When Saul (Paul), a brilliant but violent persecutor of Christians, met Jesus on the road to Damascus — it changed everything in his life. His passion and direction in life were now running in the opposite direction: He wanted to tell everyone about Jesus! Of course, it wasn't long before he started experiencing persecution himself. There is no in-between with Jesus. Recorded on May 7, 2023, on Acts 9:19-31 by Pastor David Parks.

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul’s story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series on the life of the Apostle Paul. And Paul’s story is fascinating, but it also serves as a great case study for learning the way of Jesus. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians at the very start of the Christian movement. But then, Paul met Jesus, which changed everything. So, as we saw last week, Paul the persecutor became Paul the Christian after seeing the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus and being baptized by Ananias. What would happen next? How would this zealous persecutor of Christians explain his conversion to Christ? Would his peers, friends, and family accept him or reject him? What would happen when he goes back to Jerusalem? Would the Christians accept him after his intense persecution of them, or would they be hesitant like Ananias was initially? One thing is sure, after meeting Jesus, Paul’s life would never be the same. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Acts 9:19. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well. But today, we’ll read through this passage and unpack it as we go, and I’ll close with just one takeaway from Paul the Persecuted.

Acts 9:19–22 (NIV), “Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.” Ok, let’s pause here. So after his conversion and baptism, Saul stayed with his new Christian friends in Damascus. Given his incredible zeal and his education as a Pharisee, it shouldn’t surprise us too much to find that he immediately started preaching. But where did he start telling people that Jesus is the Son of God? At the synagogue. The synagogue was a congregation of Jews who gathered together to pray, read from the Hebrew Bible, sing songs of praise (usually from the Psalms), and live out their faith together. It would have been similar in many ways to our church today. But the synagogue was where Saul was most comfortable. Remember, he was raised by devoutly Jewish parents who traced their lineage to the ancient Israelite tribe of Benjamin and who sent him to school under the most respected rabbi in Jerusalem. But for Saul, becoming a Christian didn’t mean his Jewish faith no longer mattered. He saw Jesus as the fulfillment of his Jewish faith. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. He was the one the whole Hebrew bible was about. He was the one in whom Yahweh God was accomplishing h...

Paul the Christian: Paul's conversion experience on the road to Damascus is one of the most awesome and best-known conversion experiences in the Bible. But after he spends three days praying, we see an act of great faith on behalf of a local Christ-follower. Ananias is called to go visit a man that he knows is a violent persecutor of the early Church. But through his faithful obedience, Ananias helps to kick off the most prolific missionary ministry of all time. Recorded on Apr 30, 2023, on Acts 9:1-19 by Kyle Wagner.

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul's story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Paul the Persecutor: We're introduced to the Apostle Paul in the Bible as Saul, a zealous young religious leader at the killing of Stephen, a deacon in the early church. After this, Saul went from house to house, seeking to destroy the church. In the face of this intense persecution, the church scattered. Despite all this, God did miraculous works as the gospel spread throughout Judea and Samaria. Recorded on Apr 23, 2023, on Acts 7:54-8:8 by Pastor David Parks.

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul's story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series we started last week on the life of the Apostle Paul. We were reminded last week that everyone has a story. You and I have a story just as Paul had a story. And God has the power and intention to take our stories and shape them and mold them in incredible ways for his glory and our joy, and the good of all people. Paul’s story is fascinating, but it also serves as a great case study for learning the way of Jesus. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who, as we’ll see today, was a violent persecutor of Christians at the very start of the Christian movement. But then, Paul met Jesus, which changed everything. So, Paul, the persecutor, became Paul the Christian, which we’ll see next week. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who has ever lived. Throughout this series, we’re going to continue to ask: How did all this happen? How did someone so diametrically opposed to the Christian faith become the greatest missionary for Christ? How do you explain this? Well, today, we'll consider the darkest chapter of Paul’s story, when, as a young man zealous for the religion of his ancestors — angry, violent, blaspheming, ignorant, and unbelieving — Saul of Tarsus waged a personal vendetta to destroy the followers of Jesus. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open to Acts 7:54. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well. We’ll read through this whole passage, and then we’ll go back and unpack it together. And I hope you’ll see three things: 1. The Battle 2. The Believer 3. The Beauty of a God who saves by grace.

Acts 7:54-8:8 (NIV), “54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. 8:1 And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

Saul of Tarsus: Born Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul was a brilliant young man, a rising star in the Jewish faith, who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, and it changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who has ever lived! If God changed Paul's story in such a dramatic way, what might he do with our story? Recorded on Apr 16, 2023, on Philippians 3:1-14 by Pastor David Parks.

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul's story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we get to start a brand new sermon series on the life of the Apostle Paul. Now, Paul’s story is a fascinating story, but also, Paul’s story serves as a great case study for learning the way of Jesus. And the reason is that Paul wasn’t raised in a Christian home. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians at the very start of the Christian movement. But then, Paul met Jesus, which changed everything. So, Paul, the persecutor, became Paul the Christian, and one who was persecuted himself for Christ. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who has ever lived. Paul’s life and ministry have influenced billions of people for 2,000 years. How did all this happen? How did someone so diametrically opposed to the Christian faith become the greatest missionary for Christ? How did the one who sought to have Christians imprisoned or killed become one who gave all of his life and suffered many hardships for the work of advancing the gospel among all peoples? In our Easter service last week, we considered the plausibility of the resurrection of Jesus. Paul’s story is a compelling piece of evidence that Jesus is alive to this day as the King of all Creation. How else would you explain his conversion? But over the course of the next ten weeks, we’ll follow the story of his life, his conversion to Christianity, his suffering, his ministry, and more. We’ll be mostly in the book of Acts, but, as we’ll do today, we’ll draw on a few passages from his letters, as well. So today, we'll begin the story of Saul of Tarsus, the mighty Apostle Paul, and our case study on learning the way of Jesus. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open to Philippians 3:1. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well. But we’re going to unpack this text as we work through it in four parts, and then I just have one takeaway for you at the end.

Philippians 3:1–3 (NIV), “Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—“ Let’s pause here. So we’re coming right into the middle of a letter, so it might feel a little random. But Paul is using really strong language here to warn his brothers and sisters in Christ about a dangerous way of thinking. We’ll get to what the threat was in a minute, but from the beginning of the letter, it’s clear that Paul is writing to Christians in the Gr...

Easter Sunday 2023: Everyone has things in their life they wish they could change, things that might be silly, embarrassing, or even shameful. The resurrection is the culmination of the work of Jesus. There was a conspiracy to cover it up, but hundreds of eyewitnesses supported the truth of this claim. But if Jesus is alive, then it changes everything! Recorded on Apr 9, 2023, on Matthew 28 by Pastor David Parks.

Sermon Transcript

So all year, we’re focusing on Learning the way of Jesus. The big question we’ve been trying to answer is this: If the gospel is true, how then should we live? We just finished a series on the Ten Commandments, which, if you missed any of those sermons, you can always go back and watch online or listen to the podcast if you’d like. Next week we’ll start a brand new sermon series on the life of the Apostle Paul, which is a fascinating story, but also serves as a great case study on learning the way of Jesus. But for today, for Easter Sunday, we’re considering the claim that Christians have made from the very beginning, a claim that is at the heart of the gospel message: that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world, was buried, but on the third day he rose again from the dead. And if that’s true, as Christians believe, if Jesus really is alive, then it changes everything. Everyone has things in their life they wish they could change. Everyone has silly/embarrassing/even shameful memories they wish they could erase. Everyone has things they said or did or that were done to them they wish they could forget or, if it were possible, somehow go back and undo. But if Jesus is alive, it changes everything! If Jesus was raised from the dead, then he truly is who he claimed to be, and every terrible detail of our lives becomes part of a new story of redemption/forgiveness/hope/life/glory. But for many people today, a resurrection, a person coming back from the dead after days in the grave, seems impossible. If that’s you today, I’d simply ask you to listen to the story and see what you think. Even Christians believe that this event wasn’t something happening all the time — it was unique to Jesus. See if the story seems plausible to you. Because if it isn’t true- if Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead- then nothing in the Christian faith is helpful at all. It’s just a made-up story, a delusion. But if there’s even a chance that it might be true, then it’s worth investigating, right? If it is true, then it changes everything. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Matthew 28:1. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well. And we’ll read through this story in three parts; first, we’ll see the culmination; second, the conspiracy; and third, the commission. Let’s start with v. 1, this is the culmination.

Matthew 28:1-10 (NIV), “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.

Good Friday 2023: Why should people consider something as dark and terrible as the shame and violence of the cross of Christ? When Jesus was betrayed, condemned, abused, crucified, died, and buried. Because you can't fully appreciate the majesty and the beauty and the power of the resurrection without first gazing upon the hill of Calvary. Recorded on Apr 7, 2023, on Matthew 27 by Pastor David Parks.l

Sermon Transcript

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to our Good Friday service. I’m Pastor David, and whether you’re joining us in person or online today, I’d like to welcome you to Appleton Gospel Church. As a church, our mission is sharing good news, and I hope you experience that today, even as we consider something as dark and terrible as the shame and violence of the cross of Christ. But I don’t think we can fully appreciate the majesty and the beauty and the power of the resurrection without first gazing at the hill of Calvary and consider the atoning sacrifice of the Son of Man, offered on our behalf. The darkness of Good Friday makes the light of Easter Sunday shine all the brighter. I don’t have many announcements for you today other than to invite you all back for Easter. We have two services on Sunday, one at 9:00 am and one at 10:30 am. But for now, would you join me in prayer as we open God’s word? Let’s pray. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open to Matthew 27. As we’ve done in years past, we’re going to read through the whole account of the suffering, death, and burial of Jesus on that first Good Friday. I would encourage you to follow along in your own Bible as we will not be putting so much scripture up on the screens. Or, if you’d like to just listen to the narrative, that would be fine, too. I’ll only make a few comments on each section as we go. So first, we see the Son of Man betrayed.

Betrayed: Matthew 27:1-10 (NIV), “Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor. 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” Jesus knew and had told his disciples on at least three different occasions before arriving in Jerusalem that he would be delivered over to the Jewish chief priests and teachers of the law (elders) who would condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentile rulers to be killed. He knew this would happen, but he still came. This wasn’t an accident; the cross was central to the mission of Jesus. Part of the Roman occupation of Judea at this time meant that the Jewish people could not carry out capital punishments on their own. The chief priests and elders had condemned Jesus but they couldn’t put him to death. This is why Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Jerusalem, was involved. Jesus had also known that one of his closest followers, Judas Iscariot, was going to betray him.