bpchurch Sermons

We have one more Sunday in the Book of Acts, where we will look again at the bigger picture Acts provides of God's character, His purposes and the hope we have in the Gospel. This Sunday we also will begin a new adult class for the summer. Doctrines that Divide will consider various doctrines that differ from one church to another. Some of these are essentials we should divide over, others are important differences that we should understand in order to know how to relate to others and why we believe what we believe.

The book of Acts begins by referring to what Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:1. It's fitting that the book closes with what Jesus continues to do. In this last act of Acts, Jesus continues to do what He has been doing through Paul. He continues to do so for 2 more years in Rome. And it's this same thing that Jesus continues to do through us today. This Sunday, may God challenge us to faithfully continue in what Jesus continues to do.

We are almost to the end of our journey through the book of Acts, and Paul is almost to Rome. As the hymn says, "Faith has brought me safe thus far..." yet to finish well requires us to continue trusting our God and Savior. In Acts 28:1-16, God shows us three specific ways in which we can continue to trust Him. Join us to hear from our Lord in His Word.

Acts 27 is a dramatic chapter that drew me into the world of 1st century shipping and the suddenly arising Mediterranean storms called "medicanes." In the midst of this stormy sea voyage, God tells us what we need to do when we find ourselves in the eye of a storm.

Do you believe the Scriptures? I know that you believe. In our passage this Sunday, Paul asks King Agrippa this simple but very pointed question. And yet, there is more going on beneath the surface. The real question Paul is asking is: "will you believe in Jesus?" What if someone asked you that question? You would probably say "Yes, I have already believed in Jesus!" But like Paul, I would like to press a little deeper with that question, do you believe in Jesus, and what difference has that made in your life?

Acts 25 seems to read a lot like Acts 24. The same story seems to repeat, a couple more times, as if it's a loop on repeat. It feels a little frustrating as we read it, it must have felt all the more frustrating to Paul to live it. There's a world to reach with the Gospel, yet Paul is stuck in a cell in Caesarea. There's a new governor, but the same false accusations, failed plots and political paralysis. But Paul doesn't stay stuck, and God has something to say to us from how Paul takes the next step in God's calling, according to God's Word and by the means God has given.

Peter tells us to always be ready to give an answer to others concerning the hope that we have in Jesus (1Pet 3:15). But it can be hard to give an answer when everyone is shouting... In Acts 24, Paul is accused before the governor, in ways that parallel Jesus on trial before Pilate. In Paul's answer, our Lord shows us how to give an answer that might be heard beyond the shouting. There's an answer here for Felix to hear, and there's also a word here for each of us who know someone who needs to hear.

In Acts 23:1-11 Paul could seem to be acting somewhat randomly before the council. He claims to live in all good conscience, then blasts the High Priest, for which he then humbly apologizes. He seems to align himself with the Pharisees of all groups, and is once again at the center of a riotous commotion. I can imagine the evening news reporting on the latest chaos Paul has caused. But that would not be an accurate report. Actually, Paul is the one person staying steady in the midst of this storm. From his experience, the Lord speaks to us about how we too can stay steady in the midst of storms and opposition to our testimony of Jesus and His Gospel.

This simple question changes the course of history. It has in the past. It could change your future. In Acts 22, Paul tells his story to an antagonistic crowd. In that story he tells how one man was sent to him by Jesus, to ask that very question. "You have seen the truth; you have heard God's Word. Why do you wait?" I think it's a question that we need to be asked now and again. I also think it's a question which, in one direction or another, God will ask you this from His Word.

What is the right way to worship? If you asked ten people from ten different churches you would probably get ten different answers. We all have traditions, and practices, and preferences when it comes to worship, and this has been true all the way back to the start of the Church. In Acts 21, as Paul arrives in Jerusalem, some rumors have gone ahead of him and people are concerned that Paul wants to disrupt the way that they worship the Lord according to their faith in Christ. But what we find out along the way is that WHO we worship is far more important that HOW we worship.