WestGate Church Teaching

After 20 weeks of surveying of the Book of Acts, our time in this exciting book comes to a close.  WestGate Church lead pastor Steve Clifford reviews the high points of the book, talks about his own personal takeaways, and outlines a few crucial key lessons from the early church that are applicable and essential to us, even now, 2000 years later.

Andy Gridley

Acts 27 deals with one of the thorniest theological issues out there: God's sovereignty. WestGate Church’s lead pastor outlines four different views of God's sovereignty and makes a case for the one that has the most Biblical support.  Because correctly understanding - and living in - the paradox of our responsibility and God’s loving control can help us stay on track (and stay Biblically grounded).

Ever had a moment when life took you on an unexpected detour?  Moments like that are often disorienting, and can leave us wondering if God knows what he’s doing.  In Acts 23-26, we see the life of the Apostle Paul take an unexpected detour.  He’s jailed, unfairly.  He’s put on trial multiple times in front of multiple Roman leaders.  It all seems very unfair.  And a waste of time.  But if we look closely enough, perhaps examining how Paul handles these unexpected developments in his own life can help us do the same in ours.

n Acts 21-23, we see three snapshots into Paul’s life, where each time some element of his freedom is taken away.  But Paul doesn’t seem to mind.  Even to the point where it becomes clear that he will be imprisoned by the Romans (and likely killed) Paul continues to assert that he is free.  In this sermon, campus pastor Mark Averill examines whether it’s possible that our modern ideas of freedom are incomplete (and in some ways, just incorrect).  Does Paul show us a different, more robust (and Biblical) definition of freedom?  And is there such a thing as a “liberating restriction?”

In Acts 19-20, Paul spends time in the great city of Ephesus, where Luke records three riveting events that all center around - in some way - a struggle for power.  In the midst of this, Paul’s words and life remind us who exactly is the real power in the Universe (hint: it’s not you) and what the proper response is.

In Acts 17-18, Paul enters the great city of Athens, a city filled with commerce, power, education and...idols. While there, Paul gives a series of speeches that both affirms and confronts the people of Athens. And through this episode in one of the largest cities of the ancient world, we see hints about how you and I can engage our culture in a way that’s both winsome AND effective.

In Acts 16, Luke continues the grand narrative about what God is doing to build the early church.  In this chapter, Luke gives us three vignettes of three different people whose stories and backgrounds literally could not be more radically different from one another.  In the process, we see three different ways that God uses to capture of the hearts of these three.  And Luke tells about this church in Philippi, we find ourselves in these three stories, and realize a crucial truth: no one is ever too far away from the power of the love of God.

In Acts 16, Luke continues the grand narrative about what God is doing to build the early church.  In this chapter, Luke gives us three vignettes of three different people whose stories and backgrounds literally could not be more radically different from one another.  In the process, we see three different ways that God uses to capture of the hearts of these three.  And Luke tells about this church in Philippi, we find ourselves in these three stories, and realize a crucial truth: no one is ever too far away from the power of the love of God.

In Acts 15, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the second really big fight in church history (and the fourth major crisis in the history of the early church).  This growing movement, which originally was comprised mostly of Jewish people who believed Jesus was the Messiah, suddenly faces an identity problem when it’s flooded with non-Jewish folks from around the Roman Empire who begin to believe in Jesus.  What are the entry requirements to this faith?  And how do we fellowship with one another then when we come from such diverse backgrounds?