Mercy Hill Church Sermons

We may be prone to think that the day of Pentecost is primarily about the Holy Spirit. And, seen from one angle, certainly that is the case. But, at the deepest level, Pentecost is first about Jesus before it is ever about the Holy Spirit. Indeed, we can't even understand what is happening in Acts 2 without seeing it in relation to Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Ultimately, it's about him! And here's what it's telling us about him: he's the new Adam, the new Abraham, the new Moses, and he's bringing the new wine!

Have you ever had an important decision to make and you didn't know where to start or how to go about it? You want God's will for your life, but sometimes you wonder what that is and if you'll ever really know. What's beautiful about this scene here with these disciples in the upper room is that they show us a way forward in this. They lay out some steps that we can all take when looking for God's guidance in our lives.

Judas' story is tragic, but there's a lot we can learn from it. He chases the shiny things and ends with nothing. The apostles look to replace him with a twelfth. But why? Do they just need additional help, or is there something more?

The Gospel not only confronts our sins (of injustice) but also transforms and empowers us to live and love others with humility, selflessness and generosity for His glory!,

In the face of opposition, we can persevere together through prayer and action as we remember God's presence and power in Christ Jesus!

The disciples have to wait about a week from the ascension of Jesus to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. And much of their time is spent in this "upper room" of a house somewhere in Jerusalem. But what are they doing there? And what lessons can we learn from it all?

If you go and talk to almost anyone today who's not a Christian-someone who, in particular, may be skeptical of Christianity-undoubtedly, one of the first objections you'll hear from them will bring attention to this issue of hypocrisy in the church. Have you ever struggled with it? What do you make of it? Does such hypocrisy invalidate the Christian faith? Or does the Bible give us another perspective?

Jesus’ resurrection and ascension can be distinguished from each other but they cannot be divided.  In many ways, the ascension carries to a climax the trajectory set in motion by the resurrection.  But if that’s the case, why, comparatively, do we think so little about the ascension?  And what does it actually mean for our salvation and relationship with God?

As God's people, we are called to serve Him together and one another for His glory!

Sometimes Christians can get so distracted with theological conjecture and debate that we neglect the things God has made plain to us in his Word. Jesus is here calling us to keep the main things the main things!