In recent years our culture has really tapped into the power of testimony. Groups and assemblies of storytellers sharing wisdom gleaned from personal experiences have been cropping up in the US and Canada. Listeners are motivated, inspired, and guided. ‌ Confessional style storytelling of average people has been popularized by a non-profit called The Moth. They stage over 500 shows per year across the US. The Moth Radio Hour was launched in 2009 and is now on 500 public radio stations and has one million weekly listeners. The Moth’s weekly podcast is downloaded over 73 million times annually. Executive Director Sarah Haberman told Forbes that “no matter where you’re from and whatever your background, your story has the power to unite people, to break down walls—even when you can’t be in the same room. That pursuit feels urgent right now.” ‌ Author Richard Wagamese wrote: “All that we are is story. ... It is what we arrive with. It is all we leave behind. We are not the things we accumulate. We are not the things we deem important. We are story.”

The apostle Paul in Acts chapter 26 has this monumental task of sharing the the good news of Jesus with a very influential audience: Governor Festus and King Agrippa II.   There were probably a number of different strategies Paul considered while waiting to address these dignitaries. However, despite impressive education and vast knowledge of Scripture, Paul chose to simply tell his story. Is this a lesson we should consider when it comes to sharing the gospel? Your story, whether you realize it or not, is compelling. Think of how many times you have been convinced to do something simply based off of someone's personal experience. This is why one of the most powerful resources you have in sharing the good news about Jesus is your story of faith. Here's why: Your story opens hearts so God’s story can change hearts. To learn more give a listen to part 15 of our series, To The Ends of the Earth. 

Everyone knows that a letter carrier has one job—deliver the mail. Apparently a Brooklyn mailman spent a decade avoiding his job by intentionally hoarding over 40,000 pieces of mail over a ten-year period. In September 2014, Joseph Brucato admitted hiding over a ton of mail (2,500 pounds to be exact) meant for customers in Flatbush since 2005, according to a Brooklyn federal court complaint.

A postal supervisor became suspicious that Brucato was up to something weird when he noticed his personal car was stuffed with undelivered letters. Investigators pressed Brucato about the letter cache, and he admitted hoarding priority, first-class, and regular mail that had once been headed for Brooklyn businesses and residents in Flatbush. It took five postal agents five hours to remove the massive stash of purloined letters from his apartment. If convicted, Brucato faces up to five years in prison.

In Acts 17 the apostle Paul strolls into the great city of Athens, the epicenter of culture, philosophy and art even during the Roman empire. Athens wasn't going to be an easy city to share the good news about Jesus. A plethora of idols and altars adorned the city and the talk of the town always focused on the latest and greatest philosophy's of the day. Needless to say, it was a tough crowd. Yet it didn't deter Paul, he had a message of hope to deliver...and deliver he did! (Acts 17:22-34) The same goes for anyone who carries the name Christian. A disciple of Jesus is in many ways a "mail carrier" of the gospel; delivering good news to the ends of the earth.  This means, as followers of Christ we have a very important decision to make: Will we hoard the mail or will we deliver it? In this sermon you will discover the apostle Paul's strategy for sharing the gospel with the people of Athens. In so doing, you can learn how you too can utilize this method of delivering the good news in our everyday lives.

Visitors to a museum in Rome might be struck by four partially finished sculptures. These were figures Michelangelo originally intended to use on the tomb of Pope Julius, but midway through the project he decided not to use them and ceased work on them. There is a hand protruding here, a torso of a man there, a leg, part of a head, but none are finished.

Nearly everyone who sees these works senses the turmoil, the struggle embodied in these figures. It is as though they are crying to break free from the prison of the marble to become what they were intended to be.

Author Theodore Roder looked on these four figures that Michelangelo called "The Captives" and wrote, "When I looked at those partial figures, they stirred up in me a deep longing to be completed—an ache to be set free from that which distorts and disguises, imprisons and inhibits my humanness, my wholeness. But as with those statues, I cannot liberate myself. For that I need the hand of another."

The message of the gospel tells us that through King Jesus, "the hand of another" has reached in to set us free and shape us for a life of purpose.    In Acts chapter 16 we see this lived out as the apostle Paul and his team make their way into Europe on their second missionary journey. On this adventure they encounter three specific individuals looking for freedom, and through the message of the gospel they find it.   In this sermon we will discover how we too can be "unshackled" from our burdens and set free to participate in the mission of the Kingdom.

Acts chapter 15 is probably the most pivotal section in a book loaded with monumental moments. Tension builds as the Jewish Christians wrestle with what is essential for salvation, as multitudes of Gentiles pour into the Jesus movement. Is circumcision required? What about the food laws? Does the Sabbath still need to be honored? This obviously doesn't seem like a big deal to us because we are many years removed from this controversy. However it is still incredibly relevant, because as Christians we still have this tendency of adding on extra requirements for salvation; church attendance, being a good person, and various other religious and cultural traditions.     The lesson we all need to learn, and strive to pursue, comes from the apostle Peter as he stands among the church leaders in Jerusalem and gives this powerful charge: "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." ~ Acts 15:10-11 Despite this radical message of grace, we still find ways of binding up grace and adding burdens for people seeking new life in Jesus...including ourselves. In this sermon episode we will explore some of those burdens and discover that now, more then ever, we need to live out this message of unbounded grace.

At the height of Jesus' ministry in Galilee there was this particular scene when the crowds were approaching him (and the disciples), in what looked like a "sea of wheat". In that moment, Jesus says these words: "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." ~ Matthew 9:37-38 The disciples of course are thinking of the scores of Jewish people surging to see the Messiah. Little did they know, in just a few years, they would be experiencing a tidal wave of Samaritan and Gentile crowds who were hungry to experience the good news about Jesus! The problem: 12 apostles can only go so far. Thankfully, these disciples of Jesus knew how to make more disciples, so that as the doors of opportunity opened for Gentiles to hear the gospel, they were well equipped to scale the movement...and here we are! The harvest was plentiful and the workers responded. Here's a question worth pondering: Is the harvest still plentiful? To learn more, check out the next part of our sermon series, To The Ends of the Earth.

The first part of the book of Acts begins with Jesus' final command to his disciples. Here's a refresher if you've forgotten. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." ~ Acts 1:8 Was Jesus serious? I know, it's a strange question but hear me out. To command his disciples to be on the mission of making disciples from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth means they are going to need to be prepared to face adversity and challenges, but it also means they must go and engage people who are very different then they are. Was Jesus serious?  This will be the ongoing tension throughout the book of Acts as the disciples grapple with Jesus' command to be witnesses to all people, even those who are outsiders. This issue is significant, and one we will explore this Sunday in Acts chapter 10. However, it also presses us to consider the same command Jesus gave you and I. If I'm a follower of Jesus, then I'm on the same mission--not only because King Jesus told to me to, but because at some point someone shared the Gospel with me (an outsider) and it changed my life! To continue this important dialogue check out part ten of To The Ends of the Earth.

Jesus tells this story about how God is like a shepherd looking for his lost sheep.  "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ~ Luke 15:4-6 In this story Jesus is teaching us a valuable lesson about God: lost people matter to him. It doesn't matter who they are or what they have done, he is intent on pursuing them! The disciples of Acts chapter 8 & 9 must put this lesson into action as they are challenged by the Holy Spirit to pursue two "lost sheep". What can we learn from these events as we journey with Jesus on this same mission?   To be a part of the conversation, check out part nine of To the Ends of the Earth.

Giant redwoods are the most massive individual trees on earth. The redwood can grow to 270 feet tall and 25 feet in diameter. You might think that something that huge must have an incredible root system that goes down deep in order to stand that tall. This is not the case at all. The redwood tree has no tap root and remarkably shallow roots—only five or ten feet deep.

It seems to violate the laws of physics that they can stay upright for hundreds – even thousand – of years. That is, until you know one more fact: the redwoods grow in thick groves because their shallow roots are intertwined, and over time, fused together. They start out as individuals and become one with others as they mature and grow.

So, beneath the surface of these incredible statuesque trees are roots like an army of men who have their arms interlocked and supporting each other. They are preventing the adversaries of life from knocking each other down.

In our divisive culture, the image of unity as displayed by the redwood trees seems like a mirage. However, this is exactly what the church is supposed to be! A group of diverse people, standing together as one--an image unlike anything our culture can muster. Yet, more often then not the church fails to live up to this standard of unity. What divides our culture seems to find its way into the church and splinters Jesus followers into different groups. How can we overcome our differences and live as one? Acts chapter six tells of a potential situation which threatens to tear the church in Jerusalem apart. Jesus' followers obediently follow his teachings and the problem is solved, the differences are healed and the church multiplies! To learn how to utilize these principles in your life and in our church give a listen to part 8 of...To The Ends of the Earth. 

The book of Acts introduces us to the birth of what we often refer to as the church. This fledgling community of Jesus followers are modeling God's Kingdom through their love, generosity, fellowship and disciple-making; the residents of Jerusalem are taking notice! Then seemingly out of nowhere a very disappointing event happens, very similar to that moment when your brand new vehicle gets a scratch. The new, shiny, clean looking church gets it's first blemish--and it's a bad one. In Acts chapter five a husband and wife want to be very generous like everyone else in the community, so they sell their land and tell everyone that they gave the proceeds to the church. The truth is, they didn't give what they said they gave, and the fallout is very troubling.   What lessons can we learn for today, as we strive to live as Jesus followers in his church? On Sunday, guest preacher Jared Nassiff will use the events of Acts chapter five to remind us that following Jesus leads us to a life of authenticity and freedom; the type of community we all long for. To learn more, check out part seven of To The Ends of the Earth.

Acts chapter four begins with a very tense moment. Two key leaders of this still relatively small group of Jesus followers have been arrested by the governing Temple officials. There is a sudden pause in the enthusiasm for following Jesus as Peter and John now have to stand in front of the power brokers of the city.  In this pivotal moment for the first disciples, we pay close attention to their response, but also their courageous decision to press forward with the mission they have been given. These examples help teach us a valuable lesson about how we are to respond when life becomes difficult because of our allegiance to King Jesus.    In this teaching, one of our elders, Jerry Anthony will continue our sermon series To The Ends of the Earth by pointing out where each of these Christians found their courage to carry on in the face of adversity.