Sunday Sermons

We have been created to worship God. And so, naturally, it is a theme that we see woven throughout the scriptures. Within this grand narrative we see our hearts turn from God at the fall, his great provision for us at the cross, and a picture of his people in the end worshiping him eternally before the throne.

The greatest gift that God can give to us is his presence and, in creation, we see that we were made to enjoy him forever. While his presence is our highest joy, sin has created our greatest tragedy by removing him from us. The Bible tells us the ongoing story of how he has, and will ultimately, restore his presence with us.

In this second week of our series, we look at the idea of covenant and its place throughout the entirety of the scriptures. What we see is the crucial role that it plays in God’s working out of his people’s redemption and the way in which he relates to us up to this day.

This week we begin a new series: Know the Story. Each week we’ll be taking one of the major themes of the Bible and tracing it from Genesis to Revelation. The point of doing this isn’t just to know more about the Bible, but to understand that the Bible is a story, a true story, about what God is doing to redeem a special people for himself. The only way we can make sense of our lives, is to find our place in the story. This week, we look at the theme of Kingdom: God’s rule and reign over his people.

We have finally made it. The end of the book of Acts. The last two chapters of the book are filled with a very detailed chronicle of the journey, harrowing events, and a seemingly underwhelming journey that serves as an open door for the gospel to continue to spread.

Similar to last week, Paul is in custody and is placed in a position to defend the faith before powerful people. His insistence on being tried in Roman courts was keeping him safe from the dangers of Jerusalem but detained for the foreseeable future. The proclamation of a gospel with a resurrected Jesus and the inclusion of the Gentiles was scandalous and would carry him all the way to the great city of Rome.

After the events in Jerusalem that got Paul placed into custody, Paul remains under lock and key with threats on his life from the outside. In Acts 23:12-24:27 we have a series of events that bring Paul out of Jerusalem and headed toward Rome. And though we don’t see anything directly supernatural happen in this passage, it is a demonstration of God’s providential work to bring the gospel to the nations.

With his missionary journeys behind him, Paul now travels to Jerusalem where he is almost instantly met with hostility. In this text he faces a bloodthirsty mob, arrest, a near beating, and an unruly council. Paul’s example in these things shows us the amount of courage that being a faithful witness of Jesus requires. From this point forward, we only know Paul as a prisoner headed toward Rome.

Our passage for this week follows Paul in the latter half of his third missionary journey. This section focuses in on the personal relationships that have been developed as he gives farewells on his way to Jerusalem. In his final words to the Ephesian elders, we can see his heart for the church and desire to see it led well.

Paul begins his third missionary journey and spends a lot of time in Ephesus, clearly and faithfully preaching the gospel and it has a profound effect: individuals believe, receive the Holy Spirit, repent, and experience transformed lives. By the time the story comes to a close we discover that clear and faithful gospel preaching, empowered by the Holy Spirit, transforms the whole city of Ephesus.