Second Presbyterian Church Sermons

Acts 10:9-24 shows us that we must value all humanity. Through prayer and listening to God, we are able to have our hearts and minds restored to God’s view of humanity.

 I. Prayer

Prayer helps us relinquish control to God; it slows our busy minds; and it shows us a transcendental reality beyond our comprehension.

 II. Listening

Prayer also puts us in a place where we can listen and hear God’s voice as we commune with him. 

III. Restored View of Humanity

In Peter’s case, God revealed to him that his faith had less to do with what he was eating and more to do with who he and others were serving.

We are all longing for a better homeland than the one we know. God calls his people to the homeland they were made for.

I. Call
This passage is commenting on God’s call to Abraham in Genesis 12. God called Abraham to a new place, made promises to him, and showed him his purpose for his life.

II. Journey
Throughout the journey, God shows us that his promises remain true despite how our circumstances may point to the contrary. God gave Abraham Isaac, which means “he laughs.” God turned Sarah’s laughter of unbelief into the laughter of belief by giving Abraham and Sarah the son he promised them all along.

III. Reward
In Mark 10:29–31, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” No sacrifice we ever make for Christ will ever be worth comparing to the reward he gives us freely.

1. What is the call God makes on the life of all Christians? What specific ways has God called you to serve his kingdom in your life?

2. What circumstances in your life tempt you to disbelieve that God’s promises are true? What proof has God given you in the past that he remains faithful to his promises?

3. In what ways does obeying God’s call on your life feel like a sacrifice? How is Christ proof that God is working for your good despite how circumstances may suggest otherwise? If you were ultimately made for a better country, what does that mean for how you ought to live now?

The Lord’s Prayer implies an organic, a directional, and a relational connection between God’s people.


I. Organic (v. 9)
As God’s people, we are not simply a collection of individuals; we are a connected body of believers. We must relate to one another based on the righteous character of God.

II. Directional (vv. 10-11, 13)
Although everyone in the body of believers comes from different places, we are all headed in the same direction - God’s kingdom. On this journey, God provides everything we need, even if only enough for that day.

III. Relational (vv. 12-15)
Our objective relationship with God never changes, in Christ. However, if we are living in sin, it does change the subjective experience of our relationship with God. This also true of our relationship with others. As those who have been forgiven much, we must be those who forgive much by extending forgiveness to others.

1. In what ways has Jesus connected himself to us? How can you live as part of the body of believers?



2. How is Jesus proof of God’s provision for us? How can you practically trust God to provide for a specific need in your life?



3. How has God forgiven you your sins in Christ? How can you extend forgiveness to someone in your own life to begin repairing a relationship?

When God’s people are in distress, God hears, cares, remembers, and acts to redeem them through Jesus Christ our mediator.


I. Timeless Problem

This passage, and the Bible as a whole, show us that no matter how much Egypt is oppressing, God is blessing. We too are oppressed by our own Pharaohs: success, materialism, lust, technology, legalism, and cultural and political orthodoxies. God does not simply come to improve the lives of his people in Egypt; he comes to deliver his people out of Egypt.

II. Priceless Solution

The narrative of Moses’ birth is the narrative of the birth of a mediator. He was born in the midst of his people’s circumstances, lived under the curse of death, and came out of death victorious. The reason we have a way out of our bondage is because God a found a way in to it. Seeing that Jesus is a mediator and knowing that God is making us like Jesus gives us an identity as God’s people and a mission toward those around us.

We must remind one another of the best news: celebrating liberation, loving the lamb, and committing to liturgy.


I. Liberation (vv. 14-20)
Unlike other sacred observances that would pass away as God progressed in his redemptive plan to the final provision of Jesus Christ, the Passover is established as a lasting ordinance (Ex. 12:14, 17, 24). The noun derives from the verb “to remember.” God knows regardless of how much he does for us, we have a sinful disposition to forget him. Therefore, he reminds us of his grace with a feast.

II. Lamb (vv. 21-27)
Grace also calls us to love the lamb of God. We love the lamb of God, because the lamb of God had to be sacrificed for our sins.

III. Liturgy (vv. 27-28)
God not only chooses nobodies to make them somebodies; he gives them the same Gospel message for everybody. If you belong to Christ, you are honored not only to have been visited, but to be commissioned with dignity to carry the good news to the nobodies around you.

1. What point from the passage and/or sermon resonated with you most? Why?


2. How does the Passover - what we now celebrate as the Lord’s Supper - serve to remind you that you are free from the dominion of sin and able to say no to it?


3. How does the Lord’s Supper prove to you that all your sins can be forgiven?


4. How can you commit yourself to take part in the liturgy of the Lord’s Supper more consistently this year so that you can be regularly reminded of God’s grace and his love for you?

God chooses nobodies, makes them somebodies, and gives them a message for everybody.

I. Nobody (vv. 8-9)

Shepherds were outcasts in their society. They were denied all civil rights, not allowed to fulfill judicial offices, and forbidden to testify as witnesses. Furthermore, they were labeled as “sinners” by the religious leaders of the day. They were nobodies to the people around them. But these nobodies were important to God.  He had made them in his own image and he wanted to glorify his grace by making them his worshipers and heralds.

II. Somebody (vv. 10-12)

These lowly shepherds were the visited. They were at the top of God’s short list to hear the announcement of Christ, because he delights in making somebodies out of those who properly recognize themselves to be nobodies.  The world had been waiting for hundreds of years for the announcement of this Savior and aside from the most obvious ones who needed to know, like Jesus’ immediate family, these despised shepherds were the first to hear the news!

III. Everybody (vv. 10-11, 17-20)

God not only chooses nobodies to make them somebodies; he gives them the same Gospel message for everybody. If you belong to Christ, you are honored not only to have been visited, but to be commissioned with dignity to carry the good news to the nobodies around you.

If you want to live the way God wants you to live, and if you want to live forever, you must ask Christ to move into your heart and make you righteous and accept the substitution of his sinless record for yours.

I. Uncommonly Kind (Matthew 1:18-20)

The righteousness the Holy Spirit had worked in Joseph enabled him to be uncommonly kind toward Mary.

II. Unquestioningly Obedient (Matthew 1:20-25)

Joseph’s unquestioning obedience can only be explained by the miracle of grace in his heart.

III. Undauntingly Protective (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23)

Joseph’s call to obedience would not get easier. Joseph had to protect his new son and wife. Once again, there is no record of Joseph’s hesitation or questioning. Undaunted, he steps into danger to protect those entrusted to him.