bpchurch Sermons

Acts 12 describes a fearful time for the early church. They are experiencing opposition and persecution, and their leaders are being attacked, arrested, even executed. They pray and God intervenes, but there is a new "King of the Jews" who is growing in both power and popularity. How will they hold up against this new attack against the gospel of Jesus the Messiah? It's a spiritual battle, and victory or success is not on them, but from God, and that's what God has to tell us too.

I'm not talking about believing hard enough, but rather what is it that we believe about prayer? You see, what we believe about prayer is a reflection of what we believe about God. Likewise, what we are believing about God will define what we believe about prayer. In Acts 12, God will use an ironic story to teach His church some things we need to know about God and about prayer.

While Julie and I were visiting her father in the hospital last week, the medical team was regularly checking his vital signs, those essential indicators of life and relative health. This week, I've been thinking about the vital signs of a local church. What would they be? What indicators would you expect to see in a spiritually healthy and vitalized church? Acts 11:19-30 suggests a few church vital signs. How healthy is bpChurch?

This Sunday we return to our journey through Acts. Conveniently, we pick up with a built-in review when Peter rehearses what happened in the previous chapter. Previously we have seen the gospel of God's grace in Jesus attacked by unbelievers, and yet the church grows. As new people are included in God's salvation, opposition now comes from within the church, from other Christians. What happens when holiness collides with grace or when the gospel challenges the way we've always done it?

Good Friday and Easter Sunday give us a unique opportunity to invite those who don't regularly attend church to hear the hope of the gospel. On Good Friday, we'll reflect on Jesus' final words - "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit" - and how His death reveals the heart of what it means to truly know and follow Him. On Easter Sunday, we'll speak to the ache of those who feel disappointed with God - who wonder where He was when life fell apart - and discover how our risen Savior meets us in our doubts and offers real hope. Pray with us that, through the Gospel, God would speak powerfully to our church family and to every guest who joins us.

Pontius Pilate judges Jesus, but he cannot wash his hands of his own guilt. We learn a lot about Pilate in this passage, but what can we learn from him?

This Sunday we welcome Yoel Ben David, who serves with Jews for Jesus in Jerusalem, Israel, along with his wife Adel and their adult daughter Naomi. You may remember Yoel speaking to us of Christ in the Passover two years ago. This year he is sharing a message born out of the last year and a half of war in Israel and its impact on the Christian community. You will be challenged and encouraged by what Yoel shares with us.

In Luke 22, the table is set for the betrayal of Jesus. Each of the disciples are asking if they could be the one. But they may be asking the wrong question, there are multiple ways that Jesus will be betrayed in this chapter. Yet, in the midst of betrayal, Jesus' faithfulness to us and for us shines brighter than ever. Let's talk about it.

Acts 10 seems like the next logical step, for Jesus has said "to make disciples of all nation." And yes, Acts 10 cracks the door open for the rest of the New Testament. Peter has his eyes opened, but he's not the main character in this story. Who is? Let's talk about it.

In this portion of Acts, once again the lame walk and dead are raised in Jesus. It’s exciting to see what the Lord did, but what do we do with this today? Does it really relate to us? Let’s talk about it.