Easter is not just a nice religious holiday or a burst of sentimental seasonal optimism; it is the announcement that Jesus has risen and has opened a new reality inside our broken one. In John 20, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb in darkness, grief, and disorientation, unable to imagine anything beyond death, loss, and fear. But the risen Jesus meets her personally, calls her by name, and turns her despair into recognition, worship, and witness. And this is not only Mary’s story; it is ours as well. Easter tells us that Jesus comes to meet us in our pain, struggle, and longing, but it also asks a piercing question: what is keeping us from seeing Him, embracing Him, and trusting Him? Like Mary, when we hear His call, receive Him as our own, and embrace His resurrection, we too can live in His new reality, where pain, death, worry, and struggle are no longer the most powerful or prominent forces in our lives.

This week we continue journeying with Paul on his third missionary journey as he begins to make his way back to Jerusalem for Pentecost. Along the way, he makes multiple stops to encourage the disciples and other followers of Jesus. He also calls followers of The Way to “encourage one another,” which is crucial for building unity, collective testimony, and strength in the church as they spread the gospel in an ever-changing world.

For us, Acts 20 serves as a powerful reminder that as we encourage one another and stay committed to the mission of Jesus, the Holy Spirit will empower us to share the transformative message of love, hope, and salvation effectively. Despite many obstacles, the Gospel will continue moving forward in power across generations, geographies, and demographics.

In this week’s message, we see that the Gospel does not merely inform a city or add a religious layer to our lives; it confronts the deep powers that seek to shape us as individuals and as a society. Luke presses us to see that real change comes when people stop trusting false sources of power and begin living by the strength of God rather than their own. In Ephesus, that transformation does not come without resistance: the exposure of counterfeit spiritual powers, the costly surrender of old allegiances, and the unsettling of idols literally drive the city into a frenzy. In the end, this is a message about what happens when Jesus is truly received: lives are reordered, false powers are unmasked, and the word of the Lord continues to grow and prevail.

In this week’s message we walk through Acts 18:1–22 and explore what it takes to live for Christ when the going gets tough. We follow Paul’s ministry in Corinth, a city full of both opportunity and opposition. During his time there Paul experiences highs and lows, facing critics, fears, and even public threats. Yet through it all Luke shows us how God provides what Paul needs to keep going. And this is not just a story from the past. God’s people still face opposition and wrestle with fear today. So if you sense that our church (or you personally) could use a fresh reminder of where our courage comes from, join us as we dive into this passage and ask God to give us resilience.

In Acts 17 we read how Paul arrives in Athens and is deeply distressed by the city’s many idols, prompting him to reason daily with Jews, God-fearing Greeks, and the philosophers who gather in the marketplace. Invited to speak at the Areopagus, he proclaims the “unknown god” they worship as the one true Creator who gives life to all and cannot be confined to temples or crafted images. Paul explains that God has placed everyone in specific times and places so they might seek Him, and now calls all people to repent because He has appointed a righteous Judge, whom He validated by raising Him from the dead. While some Athenians mock the resurrection, others express interest in hearing more, and a few believe and join Paul.

In this week’s message we move from decision to implementation as the Spirit sends the church on mission. As Acts 16 begins, the Spirit opens unexpected doors, redirects plans, and leads the team into three striking encounters (a wealthy seeker, an oppressed captive, and a skeptical city official). As we consider all three we not only see how the Gospel meets different people in different ways, but how Jesus is for people from every walk of life. In the end, our aim as Cedar Mill Bible Church is to grow in our witness here and now, trusting that when we follow the Spirit together the Gospel of Jesus’ is truly unstoppable.

In this week’s message we arrive at the “Jerusalem Council” and the church’s first big collision over identity, law, and mission. Luke presents a messy, human, Spirit-led process in which testimony, Scripture, and pastoral wisdom collide and then culminate in a decision that refuses to make conversion into cultural assimilation. The major themes are clear: the gospel saves by grace, not by boundary markers; unity does not require uniformity; and the church must shape practices that remove stumbling blocks so the gospel can move freely. This chapter invites us to wrestle with what it means to follow Jesus and ask: which convictions are essential, which cultural practices can be reshaped, and how must we argue and decide together so mission is unhindered.

Paul (and Barnabas’) first missionary journey feels like something out of legend: false prophets are defeated, schemes against them are exposed, Paul epically withstands an attempted murder. It can feel like it happened not only a long time ago, but can also feel a million miles away from our daily lives with God.

Yet there is another story. A story of ordinary mission. Returning to childhood haunts and confronting painful mistakes. This is a story of life on mission in community with the Holy Spirit. A story we can all join.

In today’s message we’ll see that gospel advancement almost always provokes worldly pushback, and the church must rely on God’s sovereign rule when pressure comes. That reliance doesn’t promise ease—suffering, loss, and real cost are part of the Christian story—but it does shape our response: persistent prayer and wise, practical action. Our story today reminds us that even in the darkest moments we can have peace, hope, and courage, because God’s power cannot be matched. Knowing this, the church can move forward in mission with confidence, trusting that the Lord’s purposes are unhindered.

Acts 10 marks a decisive turning point for the early church. Luke shows that God is already at work in both Cornelius — a devout Roman centurion — and Peter — a Jewish apostle whose categories of “clean” and “unclean” must be reshaped. Then, an angel directs Cornelius, a vision interrupts Peter, and God brings the two men together as the story becomes more than simply Cornelius’s conversion: it is also Peter’s continued conversion to a Gospel way of thinking and living that freely crosses cultural lines. To confirm all of this, the Spirit is poured out on these new Gentile believers (a Pentecost sequel) and water baptism is encouraged to publicly validate the Gentile’s full & formal inclusion. In the end Acts 10 is a call to humility, hospitality, boldness and obedience and it powerfully reminds us that the gospel advances unhindered when we not only share the Good news of Jesus with others, but also allow God to use others in our own continued conversion.