God works in mysterious ways. That is not only a pithy phrase. It is a biblical reality. We are continually reminded that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts and that God’s ways are better than our ways. Now imagine if you were Philip, the great evangelist of the early church, and the Spirit invited you to leave a revival in Samaria to head out on a desert road. Would you protest? Would you doubt? Would you question God? This is exactly what we see in our study this weekend in the book of Acts. Prepare to be amazed!

There is absolutely no one like Jesus. In every aspect of character, Jesus stands alone. Only Jesus is Lord, Savior, Messiah, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Only Jesus is Emmanuel (God with us) and the Prince of Peace. And only Jesus can offer humanity the Unique Assurance it craves to live lives to the full. As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus this Resurrection Sunday, we will look at the uniqueness of Jesus.

Two thousand years ago, when Jesus entered into Jerusalem riding on a humble donkey, everything was about to change. Something was about to happen that would radically transform literally everything. Looking back on that fateful day, we now commemorate it as Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. This Easter season at Crossroads is going to be special as we reflect on the Unique Assurance of who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

As we bring our study in the first section of the book of Acts to a close, we focus our attention on three very different people. Each person is unique and in a unique situation. No one is the same. Yet, for each person, God has a plan. What we will learn from this powerful section of Scripture is that God is always working. Not only in the good and beautiful things but also in the horrible situations of life.

In our lives, we often want to have things all figured out, and we can even take this mindset into our relationship with God. We want God to work in ways that we can expect and understand. Stephen’s speech is a reminder that God has never really fit into the box that people create, and the story of Israel proves it. Reflecting on that story is an opportunity for us to think about our own expectations, shift the way we look at our own circumstances, and truly see God at work in our midst.

The role prayer played in the early church and the role it plays today.

We have a tendency to believe that when God is at work, everything will be easy. We expect smooth sailing when God is in charge. But expectations can ruin relationships. The Bible is full of accounts where God is definitely at work, but rather than things being easy, they can be downright messy and confusing. Acts 5 is a perfect example of this. With all that God is doing inside the early church, we are shocked to see this account of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. And to compound it, there are increasing tensions with the Jewish religious leaders. 

We often think that if we were walking in the perfect will of God, everything would be easy and simple. But over and over again, the Scriptures tell us a different story. Oftentimes, the perfect will of God walks us directly into harm’s way. We see this with the early church. After the miraculous healing of the man at the Beautiful Gate, you might think that people will simply celebrate. But no!! Peter and John are promptly arrested and thrown in jail. What will God do next? Join us for this message and see!

Jesus had promised His disciples that when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they would be His witnesses. And Jesus is no liar! Almost immediately, we see God do a unique work in and through the early church. Rather than make a plan, the apostles just continued about their normal routines. But God was moving and they were simply obedient. You will be so encouraged by this message!

The gifts and work of the Holy Spirit are boundless. Sometimes He moves in power through the outward working of His gifts, sometimes it’s a slower process of transforming our character to display His fruit. As we study through the second half of Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost, we uncover how the Holy Spirit moves through the unlikely apostle to expand the early church and beyond. May today’s message encourage and re-energize you in your journey of Simply Responding to Jesus.