It’s amazing how the memories from our childhood can shape the course of our lives. I still remember being picked up, along with my cousins, by a kind woman named Ms. Hughes. She would load us into her station wagon every Sunday morning and take us to Sunday School. Before then, I had never attended. Because of her dedication to the Lord, she saw the value in planting seeds of faith in young hearts—mine included.

It’s amazing how the memories from our childhood can shape the course of our lives. I still remember being picked up, along with my cousins, by a kind woman named Ms. Hughes. She would load us into her station wagon every Sunday morning and take us to Sunday School. Before then, I had never attended. Because of her dedication to the Lord, she saw the value in planting seeds of faith in young hearts—mine included.”

I grew to love my Sunday School teacher, Ms. Jamison, and the lessons she shared with us. To this day, I can still recite the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments she made sure we memorized. I even remember her teaching us the song “Deep and Wide.”

Recently, I had the chance to return to my home church. As I shared a few remarks, I was able to express how the people there laid the spiritual foundation of my walk with Christ. I stand today on their shoulders, deeply grateful for their obedience to the call.

Sometimes we don’t see the fruit of our labor right away. But like Moses preparing the way for Joshua, we too are called to lay a foundation for others to grow in the Lord.

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We live in a unique time in history as modern air travel allows us to arrive nearly anywhere in a matter of days or even hours. Consequently, people are migrating all around the world. With the advance of technology, the gospel has advanced. Yet, of the approximately 12,000 unique people groups known to exist, more than 7,000 remain less than 2 percent Christian and roughly 3,000 of those remain unengaged with the gospel. How will the millions of people who are part of these people groups hear the Good News?

The U.S. is a country filled with people of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. Over the years, America has become so diverse that we can do “international missions” in our own neighborhoods.”

The U.S. is a country filled with people of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. Over the years, America has become so diverse that we can do “international missions” in our own neighborhoods. But that doesn’t negate the call for us to go to the nations. The church at Antioch understood its role in the Great Commission and has much to teach us today.

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Sitting on our front porch, my wife and I were enjoying a quiet evening watching neighbors stroll by on the sidewalk. With little warning, a stray cloud unleashed a sprinkle of rain as a couple was passing by. Frantically, they scurried beneath a tree in our yard for shelter. Admittedly, I was a bit amused by their reaction to a light sprinkle of rain, but I invited them to join us on the porch where it was dry. In the ensuing conversation, I inquired about their home country as they were clearly of foreign descent. They were thrilled to know I had visited their hometown in South Asia. When the sky grew darker and rain picked up, I drove them home, along the way learning more about their background and their faith.

It’s tempting to stay within the circle of those we already know. It’s easier to talk with people just like us, but those are not the only people we encounter on a daily basis. We should enjoy encountering people who are different from us because everyone is made in the image of God.”

It’s tempting to stay within the circle of those we already know. It’s easier to talk with people just like us, but those are not the only people we encounter on a daily basis. We should enjoy encountering people who are different from us because everyone is made in the image of God. Christ died for all, and we should embrace the privilege and opportunity to introduce them to Jesus.

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Lazy summer days were interrupted when my father announced to my brothers and me that our house needed a fresh coat of paint, and we would be the ones to meet that need. He had come home on a lunchbreak with several buckets of paint, three brushes, and a roller. Since our house was old and we were painting outside, his painting lesson lasted about fifteen minutes before he left again for work. We managed, over the next week, to cover every inch of the exterior—and plenty of grass and sidewalk—with paint.

A few years later, I signed on with the custodian of our church who was making extra money as a painter in the evenings. He was a skilled painter. The skills he passed along to me were significantly more advanced than dad’s tutorial. In fact, my mentor eventually handed me his business. Keeping it in the family, I recruited my old painting partners, my brothers, and we literally “painted the town,” that is, many of the houses and buildings in the small town we called home.

No matter how confident we become in ministry and sharing the gospel, we must always maintain a dependence on Him through prayer.”

As we learn a new skill, we get progressively more self-reliant the more we hone that skill. That’s a good thing in every area but one: we should never lose our dependence on God in any area of our lives. No matter how confident we become in ministry and sharing the gospel, we must always maintain a dependence on Him through prayer. Jesus’s followers model that for us in Acts 4.

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We are familiar with the cynical expression: “No good deed goes unpunished.” That is not a biblical statement, but good deeds do occasionally get us into hot water.

Trying to fly home from Nigeria with a volunteer team, our luggage was being inspected by military personnel in the airport for anything we might have purchased in the country that they deemed “taxable.” While our missionary work wasn’t illegal in that country, we weren’t trying to advertise why we were there. One of the officers, however, was quick to discern the purpose of our visit. She talked openly about her love for the Lord and invited our team members into her line where she began to expedite the inspection. Her superior, displeased by her actions, offered her a stern rebuke. Recognizing that I was the group leader, he then confronted me, requesting my passport. Upon handing it over, I was shocked to watch him place it in his pocket and walk away.

We are familiar with the cynical expression: “No good deed goes unpunished.” …That is not a biblical statement, but good deeds do occasionally get us into hot water. In Acts 4, Peter and John did a good deed that drew attention to Jesus Christ, and that got them in hot water with the religious leaders who opposed them. Their experience shows us how God gives us courage to stand strong in the face of adversity.”

In Acts 4, Peter and John did a good deed that drew attention to Jesus Christ, and that got them in hot water with the religious leaders who opposed them. Their experience shows us how God gives us courage to stand strong in the face of adversity.

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On a train in the bowels of the busiest airport in the world, I noticed an elderly woman trying frantically to communicate with the passengers around her. She was showing her boarding pass to anyone who would look, but they were unable to understand her Spanish and she, their English.

Unfortunately, most of what little Spanish I once knew I’ve long since forgotten. But I know a lot about airports, so I intervened. The Atlanta airport has 192 gates spread across 7 concourses in 2 terminals. That’s 192 opportunities to fly somewhere, but only one flight would take her from Lima to Louisville. My immediate challenge was how to convince her not to get off at any of the next three train stops, then hope she would trust me enough to get off at the fourth one and follow along with me to Gate B11!

Our world abounds with religions and spokespersons telling us their version of how to know God and how to get where everyone wants to go—heaven. But there is only one way to know God and only one way to heaven.”

Our world abounds with religions and spokespersons telling us their version of how to know God and how to get where everyone wants to go—heaven. But there is only one way to know God and only one way to heaven. Just as only one gate would take that lost traveler from Atlanta to Louisville, the death and resurrection of Christ alone opened the way for us to come to God. Having come to see the truth about Christ and the gospel, Peter and John wanted others to know the truth of salvation through Christ alone.

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I’ve had the privilege of teaching five different people how to drive a car, including my wife, three of my children, and a missionary kid who grew up overseas where she didn’t have the opportunity to practice. One of the most stressful moments for a driver-in-training is the first venture through a busy intersection. There’s so much to see! And the risk of an accident is always elevated with so many vehicles stopping, starting, and turning. One of the keys to navigating an intersection safely is awareness. A good driver is always aware of the other vehicles.

Busy intersections also exist in life. On most days, we intersect with other people. But do we take the time to notice them? If a good driver lacks awareness they end up stressed and might even cause harm to others. The intersections of life are no different. God puts us on the pathway of life to impact and influence the lives of others along our journey. Making an impact on others requires us to see them, hear them, and seek to connect with them.

Intersections are opportunities. Opportunities begin with awareness.”

Intersections are opportunities. Opportunities begin with awareness. What does that look like? Peter and John will show us.

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In today’s world it’s hard to grasp the concept of forever. For us, anything longer than two-day Prime delivery seems like forever. That’s a far cry from the phrase “. . . to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” we see in Ephesians 3:21. For us to think about an eternal God requires a rewiring of our brains—a capacity to imagine a God who can look at the surface of a full-length movie and see the entire story of humanity, rather than the clip that we can see at any given time.

In today’s world it’s hard to grasp the concept of forever. For us, anything longer than two-day Prime delivery seems like forever. That’s a far cry from the phrase “. . . to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” we see in Ephesians 3:21. For us to think about an eternal God requires a rewiring of our brains—a capacity to imagine a God who can look at the surface of a full-length movie and see the entire story of humanity, rather than the clip that we can see at any given time. Yet, the book of Ecclesiastes says that God has “put eternity in [our] hearts” (Eccl. 3:11).”

Yet, the book of Ecclesiastes says that God has “put eternity in [our] hearts” (Eccl. 3:11). That means that on some level the Lord has given us the capacity to grasp the infinite. During this unit we’ve talked about God’s character. His holiness. His justice. His omnipotence. His love. But what if, after every one of these, you attached a temporal modifier:
— God is holy . . . for now.
— He’s all powerful . . . for now.
— He loves you . . . for now.

That would negate God even being God. The eternality of God is what grounds every other attribute of God. These aren’t just temporary promises. They are for all time.

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There are words that change everything. They put in perspective all the moments that came before and redirect all that are to come. A minister says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” An ultrasound technician says, “There’s the heart beating!” The judge says, “Not guilty.” The doctor says, “You are cancer free.”

There are words that change everything. They put in perspective all the moments that came before and redirect all that are to come. A minister says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” An ultrasound technician says, “There’s the heart beating!” The judge says, “Not guilty.” The doctor says, “You are cancer free.” The Bible says, “He is risen!””

With just a few simple words, the world is transformed in a moment. There is hope where there was despair. The tables are turned; the script is flipped. It’s a brand-new day.

One Sunday morning two thousand years ago, three frightened women heard a sentence that didn’t just change everything for them; it changed everything for everybody. This good news would topple empires. It would redraw maps. It would
change the way we mark time itself. It would alter eternity. It was the most life giving, paradigm shifting, world transforming sentence that has ever been spoken. It is the reason we are reading this session today. What was this sentence?

He has risen!

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Semper Fi. Since 1883, it’s been the official motto of the United States Marine Corps. It means “always faithful.” As far as the Marines are concerned, there is no such thing as a former Marine. The ethos of Semper Fi is expected to be demonstrated in every aspect of their personal and professional lives.

Once a Marine, always a Marine. And pity the non-Marine who dares to sport a Semper Fi tattoo! Some tattoo artists even refuse to ink a Marine tattoo unless the customer can produce his record of service.

“Always faithful” is a noble aspiration. But it is impossible for any human being to always be faithful in every single area of his or her life. For example, it may surprise you that divorce rates among Marines are among the highest of any branches of the military.

We’ve all failed to keep a vow, pledge, or commitment. There is only One in the entire universe and through all recorded history who has never broken a promise. Never violated a covenant. Never left a commitment unfulfilled. His name is Yahweh, and He alone is always faithful. Oorah.”

We’ve all failed to keep a vow, pledge, or commitment. There is only One in the entire universe and through all recorded history who has never broken a promise. Never violated a covenant. Never left a commitment unfulfilled. His name is Yahweh, and He alone is always faithful. Oorah.

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