Evangelism on SermonAudio

In this evening message from Acts 11:19-30, Pastor Rockhill presses a single searching question upon the congregation: what does it mean to be a Christian? Drawing from the account of the scattered believers who carried the gospel to Antioch, he shows that the name first given to the disciples there marks not merely a label but a life visibly conformed to Christ. Pastor Rockhill traces four marks of true Christianity from the passage. Believers were diligent in sharing the gospel with all who were in need, breaking through old prejudices to reach Jew and Gentile alike. In Barnabas, the encourager, he sets before the flock the calling of every saint to build up and strengthen one another, and he notes the early seeds of Presbyterial oversight in the church's care to see all things done decently and in order. In the year-long teaching ministry of Barnabas and Saul, he reminds hearers that every Christian is called to be a disciple and learner. Finally, in the famine relief sent to Judea, Pastor Rockhill highlights the church's mercy ministry, as Gentile believers generously served their suffering brethren. He underscores the unity of Christ's one body, where the members bear one another's burdens. Applying the text to a day of rising hostility toward the faith, he urges believers not to wear Christian merely as a name but to live it out through gospel witness, encouragement, discipleship, and self-giving love, that the watching world may know them as true disciples of Jesus, to the glory of God alone.

This sermon concludes a series on the Kingdom of God by examining the Great Commission in Matthew 28, reframing it as a cooperative mission where believers work alongside the King. The central argument challenges the common emphasis on evangelism alone, asserting that the primary responsibility of the church is to make disciples through ongoing, kingdom-focused instruction. Drawing from Ephesians 4, the teaching explains that spiritual leaders are called to equip the saints for the work of ministry, leading them toward full spiritual maturity rather than leaving them as newborn believers. The message emphasizes that true kingdom service requires a deep understanding of God's commands and a transformed life, positioning instruction as the essential pathway to effective discipleship and global impact.

There is only one way to live, and that is to live under the total lordship of Christ. We live in orientation to Jesus Christ, now enthroned, reigning with power for our salvation and the renewal of all things. He has already accomplished all that is needed. He is at the centre of all, above all, and the goal of all; He is the meaning of everything in the book of Hebrews. The tabernacle and the temple are about Him and His work. The priests and the ceremonies pointed to Him. The blood that was spilled day after day and year after year was about Him. The veil that was torn invites us into direct communion with Him. He is reigning as priest and king extending His reign on earth through His Spirit and through His church. All things are from Him, through Him, and to Him.