Bent Oak Church

As Paul's first missionary journey continues, they arrive in Antioch in Pisidia. Paul steps forward in the synagogue to speak. His sermon parallels earlier sermons in Acts. By this speech, Luke highlights the unchanging center of the church's message: Jesus. 

Acts' first missionary journey begins with opposition as Paul and Barnabas take the gospel to Cyprus and confront a Jewish false prophet who resists the truth. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul exposes this deception and demonstrates that the spread of the gospel involves a spiritual conflict, not merely a clash of ideas. The episode establishes a pattern for the Gentile mission: God’s power overcomes resistance and opens blind eyes.

Before Luke records the great missionary works of Paul, he pauses the story to give us another summary glimpse of the church, this time the church and its leaders in Antioch. It is a short passage but teaches a lot about how the church can embrace the misison of God. 

Before turning his attention to the church's missionary efforts, Luke returns to give us another story from Jerusalem. Under renewed persecution, Peter had been imprisoned by Herod. But once again, Peter would find a miraculous escape while Herod would meet his fall from pride and vanity. 

Jance Mosley shares how God has been faithful to his promises over time and through faithful obedience. 

Ella Braunberger shares how God has been faithful to her both in her sermon and special music. 

Shane Logan begins our Christmas Immanuel series by sharing a testimony of God's faithfulness through his life. 

Over the last few weeks, we've been discussing the need for an imagination, led by the Spirit for recognizing all that God is at work doing. In this passage, we get a closer look at Barnabas and how he models the kind of faith that allows him to recognize the genuine work of God. 

When word spread that Peter had entered the home of gentile, it lead to criticism. Peter was called in to answer questions in Jersualem. But as Peter gave an explanation, his critics were moved. By the end of the passage, there was a new unity and a move of worship. We explore how Peter's message can help us find a similar unity and worship.

Having arrived at the home of Cornelius, Peter began to speak. But before he could reach the end of his sermon, the Spirit fell on the household of Gentiles. They were filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues just as the Jewish believers had at Pentecost. We take a closer look at the importance of this event and how the Spirit and worship as responses to the word.