The Promise of Power

This sermon on Acts 1:6-26 was preached 9/14/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)

Do you ever dream that you’re in school, sitting down to take a test, and realize, “I never studied! I never even went to class!”

Or perhaps you dream that you are about to begin an athletic event – and realize you never practiced.

How do those dreams make you feel? Do you feel that way when you are called upon to be a witness to Jesus? Do you think, “I don’t know enough! I need years of study to properly witness! I can’t possibly make these people listen!”

Last week we began our series in the book of Acts. We saw that this book is not really the Acts of the Apostles. Only two apostles are prominent, but it is not a synopsis of their lives either. Instead, Luke opens by saying that his first volume, his gospel “dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.” Acts then deals with what Jesus continued to do. Acts tells of the continuing work of Jesus. (more…)

Continuing What Jesus Began to Do

(This sermon on Acts 1:1-5 was preached 9/7/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)

Think of an important historical figure. What was his or her greatest accomplishment?

  • For Thomas Jefferson, perhaps authoring the Declaration of Independence.
  • For Abraham Lincoln, keeping our country together.
  • For Martin Luther, taking his stand on the Word of God, and returning much of the church to biblical authority.

Some of you may be thinking of scientists, missionaries, authors, or explorers. Different men, different women, different fields of endeavor – but for all their varied accomplishments, the question makes sense.

Now: Consider Jesus: Can we ask the same question about Him? What was Jesus’ greatest accomplishment?

I hope when you hear that question you’re somewhat uneasy. For if we were to judge Jesus’ accomplishments on the same basis as the others we’ve mentioned – frankly, there’s not much there. For a period of time shorter than one US presidential term, he traveled around with a dozen men, in a backwater province of the Roman Empire; He taught publicly, and made some pretty outrageous claims. He healed people, a few rather dramatically. Perhaps during His lifetime as many as 200 people believed He was the promised Messiah. But one of his closest associates turned Him in to authorities for a few thousand dollars. The Roman governor executed Him.

That doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment compared to Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, or Isaac Newton, does it?

But there’s a huge difference with Jesus: His death is not the end of the story.

We celebrate what Jefferson, Lincoln, Luther, and others accomplished prior to their deaths. For Jesus: We celebrate what He accomplished in His death, in His resurrection, and what He continues to do after death.

We begin today a series on the book of Acts. This is the second volume written by Luke, the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. This volume was written about 30 years after the crucifixion. Each volume begins with a note to a man named Theophilus, who seems to be a prominent Roman official who has heard much about Jesus, but needs assurance of the truthfulness of the reports. So Luke says he writes: “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4).

Luke opens the book of Acts with these words.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,  2 until the day when he was taken up

This is a pretty strange statement. Imagine two-volume biographical study of Lincoln, written decades after his death, with the second volume beginning, “My first volume dealt with all that Lincoln began to do until his assassination.”

That makes no sense for Lincoln. Why does it make sense for Jesus?

To speak this way implies that Jesus is still at work.

John Wilkes Booth’s bullet ended Lincoln’s accomplishments. But the cross did not end Jesus’ accomplishments. The cross was only the beginning. (more…)

Abortion and the Election

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

On November 4, we will decide who will serve as the next President of the United States. Two weeks ago, I wrote about our biblical role as citizens of the kingdom of heaven temporarily exiled in this country. Over the next couple of weeks, I will write about some important issues in this election. Today: Abortion.

Abortion is one of the clearest issues separating Obama and McCain. What does the Bible say about abortion? Where do the candidates stand? How much importance should we assign to this particular issue?

Today, I want to briefly outline answers to these issues for readers who believe the Bible is the Word of God, and thus has supreme authority. For those of you who would like to see this issue addressed without appeal to the Bible, I recommend Randy Alcorn’s book, Why Pro-Life? (available for free as a pdf file) and the Abort73.com website.

Consider these seven points: (more…)

Receive the Spirit

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

Have you received the Holy Spirit? Are you filled with the Spirit?

While these questions look similar, biblically they are distinct.

Two weeks ago I exhorted you from Scripture to be filled with the Spirit. We need the power of the Spirit to fulfill God’s purposes for us, to live the Christian life to His glory. This is true in every area of our lives, from craftsmanship to marriage. So in Ephesians 5:18 Paul exhorts those who are already believers to be filled with the Spirit.

But in the text we will consider the next several Sundays, Peter, speaking to those who are not yet believers, says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Peter is clear: All those who repent and trust in Jesus for forgiveness will receive the Holy Spirit. (more…)

Christians and Politics

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

What is the relationship of the Christian to politics?

As we move towards November’s election, what should role should Christians play?

As a church, we explicitly say in our vision and values statement: “We are not tied to any political party. We value speaking biblical truth to the issues that confront our society, regardless of what parties might be made uncomfortable by the proclamation of that truth.” Over the course of the next several weeks I will address issues facing us this election. My goal is to do just that: to bring out the ways that biblical truth sheds light on the issues discussed in this election.

But prior to looking at specific issues, we need to understand our fundamental role. To that end, consider some key biblical texts: (more…)

Filled with the Spirit

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

How can you live the Christian life? How can you fulfill the purpose of your creation through glorifying God? How can you resist temptation and obey the command to rejoice in the Lord always?

The message of the Bible is: You can’t. That is, in your own power, through your own resolution, by means of your concentrated effort, you can’t.

But you can – by the power of God.

Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But that same verse implies that with Him, when you are connected to Him, leaning on Him, depending on Him, you can live to His glory: “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. . . . By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:5, 8).

God gives us power for living the Christian life through filling us with the Holy Spirit. Next month, as we consider Acts 2 for three or four sermons, I’ll have much more to say about the different images that Scripture gives of the activity of the Spirit within Christians. For today, consider these different passages that discuss the filling of the Spirit.

Why does God fill His people with His Spirit? (more…)

Seven Years On

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

This week marks seven years. Seven years since the towers fell. Seven years since terrorists hijacked four planes, aiming to kill tens of thousands of innocent people. Seven years since they succeeded in killing almost 3,000. Seven years.

In God’s providence, the Bible reading plan I developed eight years ago schedules for the 11th reading in September Jeremiah 39 and 52 – the accounts of the terrible destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC. In the following days I read the Psalms that look back on that event – Psalms 74, 79, and 94 – as well as the book of Lamentations. On September 11, 2001, I read of Jerusalem’s fall without much feeling in the morning; that evening, knowing of the attack and the destruction of the towers, I reread the account, and continued to read these psalms and Lamentations – and wept.

Today, much of our visceral reaction to that attack has faded from memory. Newspapers this year used more ink talking about lipstick on pit bulls and pigs than they devoted to remembering 9/11.

But we must remember. We must remember.

What must we remember? (more…)

The Acts of Jesus Christ

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

What is the main point, the central message of the book of Acts?

This Sunday we begin a sermon series on this great book that chronicles events during the first thirty years of Christ’s church. Most Bibles entitle this book “The Acts of the Apostles.” That’s not an accurate summary of the book, however (and that title was not assigned to the book until about 100 years after it was written). The eleven disciples who remain after the death of Judas are listed in Acts 1:13; of these, only three are mentioned again in the book: Peter, whose actions dominate most of the first twelve chapters; John, who accompanies Peter in the events recorded in chapters 3, 4, and 8; and James, whose death is recorded in chapter 12. The other eight do not appear again. The activities of Paul – the apostle “abnormally born” (1 Corinthians 15:8 NIV) – dominate chapters 13 through 28.

Given that focus primarily on only two apostles, should we entitle this book “The Acts of Peter and Paul”?

No. The main purpose of the book is not to provide us with a history of the church, much less biographical accounts of Peter and Paul.

What then is the central message of the book? (more…)

The Heart of the Gospel

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

What is the heart of the Gospel? What does the Gospel teach at its core?

In our adult Core Seminar this week, we consider this issue by means of J.I. Packer’s “The Heart of the Gospel,” chapter 18 from Knowing God (republished by Crossway this year in In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement). In this chapter Packer explains the central importance of propitiation – that is, of averting God’s anger over sin by an offering. He explains the reason why so many take offense at the idea, the biblical support for the idea, and the importance of the idea in our Christian walk.

Here is a brief outline of the chapter to whet your appetite. Please read it if at all possible, and join us this Sunday as we glory in Christ’s work on our behalf. (more…)