Month: May 2017

Acts 2:1-24, 36-41
John 14:1-11
Have you ever read the Book of Acts and wondered why we don’t see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the church today like it was in those early days of the church?

Have you ever read the Book of Acts and wondered why we don’t see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the church today like it was in those early days of the church?

Some Bible scholars explain the apparent difference between then and now by saying that it was necessary to give the early church a jump start, so God gave the apostles the power to do miraculous signs that attracted many folks. But as the church quickly grew by leaps and bounds and the NT came into being, God no longer needed to work His miraculous power in order to reach people. And so the prevalence of signs and wonders diminished over time. In other words, Christ’s disciples haven’t changed that much, rather God did.

Others cite Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever,” and therefore insist that our churches today should resemble the early church. And the reason it doesn’t, they would say, is that the people of God have become complacent, or grown cold, or . . . you get the picture. In other words, God hasn’t changed; we have.

I believe there’s merit to both views. But it is not my intention to debate them, but rather to share four Biblical ideas that are important about Pentecost Power, which when taken seriously will enable us to resemble an Acts 2 church. (more…)

Genesis 1:1-5, 26-31
Acts 1:1-5, 2:1-21

Today we begin a new series focusing on the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit, how do we receive the Spirit and what is the role of the Spirit in our lives? Along the way, we’ll be discussing what it means to be baptized in the Spirit, led by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, sealed with the Spirit, and what it means to walk in the Spirit.

Today’s message is sort of an Overture. You all know that an overture is a selection of music that precedes a symphony and incorporates a slice of music from all the songs in that symphony serving to whet the appetite for what is to follow.

As we begin, I want to let you know that my source for this series will be The Bible; I am sure you wouldn’t want it any other way, right? And so I encourage us to drop all of our predilections and biases about the Spirit and be open to what God wants us to know through His word, the Bible.

In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:1-5)

On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!” Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below—blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
 will be saved.’ (Acts 2:1-21)

A children’s catechism class was learning the Apostles Creed; each child had been assigned a sentence to repeat. The 1st one said, ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth.’ The second child said, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son.” When he had completed his sentence, there was an embarrassing silence. Finally, one of the kids from the back says, “Looks like the boy who believes in the Holy Spirit got spooked.” (more…)

Luke 24:36-53
Acts 1:1-11

You don’t have to look too far to see that there’s a lot of hopelessness and therefore, sadness in this old world today! Rather than me reciting hundreds of articles and newsfeeds, allow me to show you a few quotes I found:

‘Sometimes all you can do is lie in bed and hope to fall asleep before you fall apart.’
‘To live without hope is to cease to live.’
‘Due to recent cutbacks and until further notice,
the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.’

Hopelessness is not unique to the 21st century. The 1st century had its fair share . . . even with the disciples of Jesus; especially with the disciples of Jesus.

Ever since they had first met Jesus, they had been living in the midst of a most extraordinary time of hope and joy. They witnessed Jesus calm the sea, rebuke a storm, feed thousands, accomplish many healings, and even the raising of people from dead. They were surfing the ultimate wave! When Jesus triumphantly entered the capital city, they watched as the adoring crowds called for God’s blessings on their leader.

But five days later, after they saw Jesus nailed to a Roman cross, all bets were off . . . all hopes were dashed; their great joy turned to overwhelming sadness. Two of His disciples on the Road to Emmaus spoke for them all, “We had hoped He was the guy.” We ‘had hoped’ . . . past tense. They were on their way home . . . back to the way it was before Christ . . . sadness . . . despair . . . hopelessness.

But then everything changed dramatically! Jesus was alive again!! (more…)

Mark 16:1-7
John 21:1-17

In the various accounts of the resurrection of Jesus that appear in the four gospels, I believe the most personal, the most touching, the most poignant words can be found in the first gospel we read, the gospel of Mark. The phrase is so short that we easily gloss over it without realizing the tremendous significance that it had on that first glorious Easter morning . . . as well as this day.

I’ll read the verse again, and emphasize the little phrase of which I speak:

but the angel said, ‘Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.’

See how easily those two words gets lost in the holiness of the angel as he speaks, in the initial incredibility and amazement of the empty tomb, in the shadow of the One who has been raised from the dead.

‘Now go and tell His disciples; including Peter!’ Including Peter? Why Peter? Why not John or James or Andrew or one of the others? Why does Peter get special mention? (more…)