In Galatians chapter 3 Paul issues the church with a reminder; they have been justified by faith and not by works of the law. This is not to say the law had no purpose in God’s redemptive plan, for it was the instrument He used to bring us to Christ – without it, we wouldn’t have known our need for a saviour. Here we’re reminded of the incredible news that the blessings promised to Abraham’s offspring belong to all those who are united to Christ.

In the 1st century, the head of a Jewish household would wake each morning and thank God that he had not been made a gentile, a woman or a slave. The prejudice is regrettable, but it does highlight that such people were considered outcasts. Yet as we enter the 16th chapter of Acts, we find the good news of the gospel spreading to Macedonia and transforming the lives of marginalized outsiders. Here we learn of the miraculous regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, the authority we’ve been given in Christ, and the anchored assurance we can have in the face of persecution.

Paul and Barnabas had lived out the exciting expedition that was their first missionary journey, and had experienced the adrenalin rush of waging war against a false gospel. But now their course, at least for a moment, will drop down a gear or two, as they move from the heights of the new and the extraordinary back down to the plains of the familiar and the ordinary. It is here we learn that Christian ministry typically involves the day-in-day-out, long term shepherding of souls in the context of the ordinary rhythms and ordinary interruptions of life. And as we put our hands to this plough, this occasionally extraordinary but usually ordinary plough, Luke reminds us that there are 4 realities we need to prepare ourselves for; some more pleasant than others: controversy, conciliation, closed doors & curious callings.

In Acts chapter 15, Luke records a historic moment in the life of the early church when the purity of the gospel was threatened. Gathering together in Jerusalem, the apostles and elders resolve that the salvation of the gentiles is not contingent on their submission to the Mosaic law, but simply on their reception of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. Here we are reminded that preserving the purity of the gospel is of utmost importance and that we ought to learn how to live harmoniously within the ethnically diverse body that is the church of Jesus Christ.

Faithful preaching of the gospel will bring division. Rejection and persecution is bound to follow. Jesus said not to be surprised as he was hated and rejected. The power of the gospel gives us strength and hope that we can persevere as we are not alone and there is a reward.

In this sermon, Grahame is expounding Luke's account to encourage in order to inspire The Project Church to serve the purposes of God in our generation as well as to encourage others to fulfill the mission and consider their legacy.

In Acts chapter 13 we find the church in Antioch earnestly seeking the Lord’s direction. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the church commissions Saul & Barnabas to cross the Mediterranean and bring the gospel into gentile territory. Though they will encounter new opposition, God sovereignly manifests his power so that the Roman proconsul can hear the good news of the gospel uninhibited.

The loving offer of life in Jesus is stunning, but it doesn’t come to us automatically. We have to work out what we will do with Him. Will we come close, or will we avoid him.