Sermon Series: Advent - In the Waiting

Sermon Title: Trusting God in the Waiting

Passage: 1 Samuel 1:1-20

Preacher: Ashley Herr

The Problem (v1-2)

The Pain (v4-8)

The Prayer (v9-16)

Three Postures of Prayer:

• Pray Humbly (v11)

• Pray Intimately (v12-14)

• Pray Honestly (v15-16)

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: A Church That Endures

Passage: Acts 14:21-23

Preacher: Ashley Herr

A Church That Endures…

1. Continues in the faith

2. Expects Suffering

3. Appoints Elders

4. Prays Together

5. Fasts

6. Trusts in the Lord

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: Finding Common Ground

Passage: Acts 14:8-28

Preacher: Ashley Herr

Two ways to find common ground:

1. Show God’s Love (v8-15a)

What Paul Did (v8-10)

• SEE the needs around you

• FEEL compassion for those in need

• Show God’s love by MEETING their needs

How They Reacted (v11-13)

How Paul Responded (v14-15a)

2. Share of God’s Goodness (v15b-28)

What Paul Said (v15b-17)

How They Reacted (v18-19)

How Paul Responded (v20-28)

• He continued the mission God had given him (v20-25)

• He celebrated all God had done through him (v26-28)

Reflection

• HOW will you show God’s love to those in your life, who are in need, loving your neighbor as yourself?

• WHO will you tell of God’s goodness?

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: Faithful to the Mission

Passage: Acts 14:1-7

Preacher: Robin Philip

Spoke in Such a Way (v.1)

• Faithfulness is not ultimately measured by visible results, but by obedience—especially obedience in how we share the gospel.

• What does it mean to “speak in such a way”?

  • They relied on the Holy Spirit, (not their eloquence)

    • Acts 4:31 — And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

  • They reasoned from the Scriptures

    • Acts 17:2–3 — And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

  • They spoke with boldness out of necessity

    • Acts 13:46 — It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles

  • They persuaded hearts and minds

    • Acts 18:4 — “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.”

Persevering Despite Rising Opposition (v.2–3)

• Faithfulness is not proven in the moment of enthusiasm, but in the moments of endurance.

• God’s response to their perseverance wasn’t removing the opposition, but adding His Power to sustain them.

Expecting Division as Part of Gospel Ministry (v.4)

• The gospel unites believers — but at the same time exposes unbelief, confronts pride, and brings hidden darkness into the light (John 3:19–20).

• Light doesn’t just attract — it also reveals and divides

Exercising Wisdom to Stay or Go (v.5–7)

• Faithfulness is not just about how long you stay—it’s about obedience to God’s direction, whether He says stay or go.

• “Is the mission of Christ the lens through which I make every other decision?”

• “Am I willing to go where the gospel is needed, even if it costs me?”

  
  

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: A Word of Encouragement

Passage: Acts 13:13-52

Preacher: Ashley Herr

• How will you respond to this message of salvation?

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: Led by the Spirit

Passage: Acts 12:25-13:12

Preacher: Ashley Herr

1. Gifted by the Spirit (12:25-13:1)

2. United by the Spirit (13:1)

3. Led by the Spirit (13:2-3)

1. Sent by the Spirit (13:4)

2. Led by the Spirit (13:5-8)

3. Filled with the Spirit (13:9-12)

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: Peter’s Deliverance

Passage: Acts 12:1-24

Preacher: Robin Philip

•  The expansion of God’s kingdom provokes hostility and opposition from the world (v1-3).

• The Herods of the world hold the sword, but the church holds prayer - in the kingdom of God, prayer is the greater power (v5).

• The church’s power comes from prayer. 

  • This kind of prayer is born from desperation — not only circumstantial desperation but spiritual desperation. 

  • Spiritual desperation is not a condition of circumstance; it is a posture of faith. 

  • Desperation awakens dependence.

• Dependence welcomes deliverance.

• Peter’s deliverance points us to the greater deliverance of the cross and the resurrection — where Jesus broke the chains of sin.

• God does for us what we could never do for ourselves. He still delivers.

• And just like Peter in Acts 12:11 — “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me” — we can say the same today.

  • We can look at our lives and say, “The Lord rescued me.”

• Deliverance compels declaration.

• When Peter shares his story of deliverance, the church doesn’t just witness a miracle — they witness a message

•  Acts 12 holds a high tension we can’t ignore. Peter is set free… but James is executed.

  • The same God who opened Peter’s prison door also opened heaven’s door for James.

  • Deliverance looked different for each of them, yet God’s hand was in both.

  • When we can’t answer the “why,” we cling to the Who.

• We serve a God who is loving, patient, and abounding in mercy — but let us never mistake His patience for weakness.

• Our God is not fragile, and He will not be mocked.

• Justice is His alone, and no evil escapes His sight.

• God is kind but he’s not weak, He is gracious and he is holy holy holy and that should create a sense of healthy fear of God in our lives.

• How dependent are you on God in this season of life?

  • Why does your prayer life look the way it does?

  • What is the loudest thing your life declares?

  • Where have you replaced dependence on Him with confidence in yourself

• Confess the ways you’ve misplaced your trust — turn to His strength.

  • Turn from self-sufficiency to surrender

  • Turn from pride to prayer

  • Turn from control to trust.

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: One Church

Passage: Acts 11:19-30

Preacher: Ashley Herr

• The what: witnesses of all we have seen, and heard, and know to be true of Jesus

• The where: our Jerusalem, our Judea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth

• The who: YOU!

• The how: by the power of the Holy Spirit within you

• Sometimes we receive help from others (v22-26)

• Sometimes we send help to others (v27-30)

• Pray for churches in our neighborhood: Trinity United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Martha & Mary, Golf Road Baptist Church, Armenian Evangelical Church, St Paul Lutheran Church, St Raymond Catholic Church, Community Presbyterian Church, The Bridge, St John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, Chicago Mar Thoma Church

• Pray for churches in our network: Casa de Oracion (Round Lake), CrossPoint Church (Ingleside), Fierce Church (Grayslake), Meadowland Church (Johnsburg), New Hope (Round Lake), Northbridge Church (Antioch), The Orchard Church (McHenry), Redemption (Belvedere) - Learn more about Converge (our network) and Converge MidAmerca (our district)

• Pray for churches in our world: those we support (Elise Lex Deux Rives), those that are being persecuted (OpenDoors.org)

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: Peter’s Story

Passage: Acts 9:32-11:18

Preacher: Ashley Herr

• Reflect on: what salvation is and who it is for - what salvation does and who brings it about - by reading Ephesians 2

Sermon Series: Acts - Our Story, Our Mission

Sermon Title: Embracing Your Enemy

Passage: Acts 9:10-19,26-27

Preacher: Ashley Herr

• WHO is your enemy?

• WHY do you view them as your enemy? What makes them your enemy?

1. Forgive your enemy because Jesus commands us to forgive

2. Forgive your enemy because forgiveness releases you of their hold over you

3. Forgive your enemy because forgiveness is a required step toward reconciliation

4. Forgive your enemy because you are an enemy who has been forgiven

1. How will you respond? What will you do? Will you embrace your enemy by praying for them, forgiving them? Or will you continue to remain enslaved in your self-made prison of anger and resentment? What step of faithful obedience to the words of Jesus is God calling you to take to embrace your enemy? Read Romans 12:14-21.

2. Why will you embrace your enemy? Read Romans 5:6-11

• “An enemy is someone we have defined as being against us in contrast to someone who is for us. Many of us have a strange need to divide the world up into people who are for us and those who are against us. Even more strange is that our identity is often dependent on having enemies. We don’t exist without an enemy. We define ourselves by what we are opposed to. We define the enemy and the enemy is there to define us.” - Henry Nouwen, Following Jesus, p64

• “Hating the enemy costs us. We often allow the enemy to have power over us…Feelings of hatred, rejection, jealousy, and resentment enslave us in our self-made prison of fear.” - Henry Nouwen, Following Jesus, p66,67

• “In the New Testament our enemies are those who harbor hostility against us, not those against whom we cherish hostility, for Jesus refuses to reckon with such a possibility.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship, p147-148

• “Through the medium of prayer we go to our enemy, stand by his side, and plead for him to God.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship, p149

Recommended Reading:

• Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer - specifically Chapter 13. The Enemy

• Escaping Enemy Mode: How Our Brains Unite or Divide Us by Jim Wilder and Ray Woolridge

• Following Jesus by Henri Nouwen - specifically Chapter 3. The Challenge: Love Your Enemies

• Forgive by Tim Keller