Sermons

The spread of the gospel has followed the pattern that was promised by Jesus in Acts 1: first Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, then to the ends of the earth. As we see the gospel go to Samaria in ch. 8, we see God working in the middle of some messy situations with some messy people. But we can also see that God is not afraid to meet his people in the middle of the mess. The Holy Spirit does his best work when we are honest about the mess that we are in.

Discussion Questions

1. Who has God put in your life that you can be 100% real, gut-level honest about the “mess” in your own life? Are there things that you have been holding on to that need to be shared? What fears in your own heart keep you from being fully honest?

2. In our honesty, we don’t want to wallow in sin or celebrate our mess, but bring it to Jesus. How does the “messiness” of the cross give us hope that Jesus could really forgive us, love us, and transform us?

3. How could God use our honesty and transparency to further the spread of the gospel to those who have not yet believed in Jesus?

Prayer Points

1. Pray that God would shape us to be the kind of church community that openly shares our sins, fears, struggles, and messes with each other so that we can experience the redeeming grace of Christ.

2. Pray for that we would be open, humble, and loving in such a way that draws unbelievers to come to know Jesus and believe the gospel.

As the Jesus movement spreads and grows, opposition reaches a fever pitch against one of the early church deacons, a man named Stephen. As he teaches that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures, the temple, and the law, he is misunderstood to be against these things. What can we learn from this story and the ways that we misunderstand Jesus even today?

As the Jesus movement spreads and grows, opposition reaches a fever pitch against one of the early church deacons, a man named Stephen. As he teaches that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures, the temple, and the law, he is misunderstood to be against these things. What can we learn from this story and the ways that we misunderstand Jesus even today? 

Despite the amazing things that God did in and through the earliest followers of Jesus, the church community was far from perfect. In the early verses of Acts 6, we learn of a situation that requires wise, skilled, and dedicated servant-leaders. We also see that when this type of servant-leader does well, it shows the way that Jesus loves and serves all of us. 

At the end of Acts 4, the followers of Jesus were living a radical, new life of generosity, selflessness, and compassion for one another.Barnabas is set out as an example of this type of living. However, the enemy attacks the believers by appealing to the sinful flesh and raising up greed, pride, and deceit.  God’s swift and righteous judgment reminds the believers that sin is serious and that he has saved us to live a new life.