Pastor Jon Lilley joins us this morning and encourages us to celebrate God's glorious grace as He chose us for himself! He chose us before the world began, so that we might be holy and blameless, and to be his children. What grace! Let's celebrate. Ephesians 1:4-6

In this famous scene in the church planting work of the Apostle Paul, we see him engage with neighbors in the cultural epicenter city of Athens. As we learn from Paul about the urgency to share the gospel with our own neighbors in Cleveland, we ask of this passage what was Paul's Motivation, Method, and Message? This concludes our study through the book of Acts; we've been marveling at the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Acts 17:16-34

"What must we do to be saved?" That is the question behind Acts 15. As representatives from the Church gather in Jerusalem to consider the matter, we see in this passage the Gospel Threatened, Clarified, and Internalized. Acts 15:1-21

In Acts 14, we find Paul sharing the gospel with various religious communities. What can we learn and apply from this passage for our own context in Mayfield Heights? We see that Paul reached the religious communities with the gospel by: Starting new churches, Seeing where there was hurt, Uncovering their idols, and Giving what their hearts longed for. Acts 14:1-23 

In this week's sermon, we're reminded that the Gospel has the power to bring people together who were once divided. We see through Peter's sharing of the gospel to Cornelius what is the root of division, the right way to view others, and the good news of peace. Because we have peace with God in Christ, we have peace with one another through Christ. Acts 10

In the second part of Acts 9, we see Christian friendship on display. In this weeks sermon, Pastor Jeremy shows us the beauty of Christian Friendship (it creates community for those who don't belong to a community), the power of Christian Friendship (it displays the gospel to our neighbors in a way that is attractive to them) and the cause of Christian Friendship (Jesus teaches us what it means to be a friend, and demonstrates his friendship in laying down his own life for his friends). We want to be a community that invites our neighbors to be a part of that kind of friendship at Story Church. Acts 9:26-42

In Acts 9, Luke tells us about the conversion of Saul, a Pharisee who was breathing murderous threats against the early church. In this week's sermon, we learn that what makes a pharisee is holding to strong convictions while looking down on those who don't agree with us, what stops a pharisee is an encounter with Jesus that exposes our sin and our inability to save ourselves, and what saves a pharisee is receiving a new name, a new identity, a new righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. (Acts 9:1-19)

In Acts 8:26-40, we meet a man who's background has led to him feeling like an outsider from God. But as the story unfolds, we see how Jesus orchestrated a divine appointment between this man, who was in a desperate situation, and Philip, who shares with him the good news of a double identification. The Gospel tells us that Jesus came into this world to identify with us, in our shame, guilt, and feeling like an outsider. He so identifies with us that he died in our place on the cross. And through faith in Him, we become identified with him, receiving his honor, his glory, and his righteousness. The good news of the gospel is that because of Jesus, even when we feel like an outsider, he welcomes us in. (Acts 8:26-40) 

In Acts 8:1-8, we read about how everyday christians, as they were scattered into the world, went about sharing the gospel because they understood Jesus was sending them for their neighbor's good. The gospel reached the city as it brought about spiritual revival, physical healing, and crossed cultural boundaries. We can have that happen in our own city as we look to Jesus who poured out his life for us, so that we can pour out our lives for our neighbors. Acts 8:1-8

He is risen! On this Easter morning, Pastor Jeremy shows us that because Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, if you have hope in Him today, you will have life everlasting. Jesus invites us to find our hope in him now, and not in some future and distant hope. Hoping in Jesus is trusting the certainty of His own resurrection, which has accomplished our own redemption and everlasting life. (John 11:17-27)