Chapel Hill Bible Church - Sermons

Last Sunday, we arrived at the final chapter of our journey through the book of Acts. In Acts 28, we find Paul shipwrecked on the island of Malta, eventually making his way to Rome itself—all the while proclaiming Christ with the same unshakable boldness that has marked his ministry from the beginning.

From crushing the head of a viper on a remote island beach to teaching the Kingdom of God under house arrest in the capital of the world, Paul embodies the great theme of the entire book: the Spirit of God empowers ordinary people to keep proclaiming Christ. Even in suffering and rejection, darkness is doomed and light shines again. As we close this study, we will face the question that Luke leaves hanging in the air for every generation of the church that follows: When it comes to the city where God has placed us—when in Rome and when in Chapel Hill—will we follow suit?

Last Sunday, we entered one of the most gripping, surprising, and "Odyssey-like" chapters in all of Acts: Acts 27, the account of Paul’s shipwreck on his voyage to Rome. In a story full of howling winds, desperate sailors, and a prisoner who somehow becomes the most trusted voice on the ship, we will discover that God never wastes a storm. He uses them to purify, prepare, and save.

The promise of this text is that the same God who guaranteed Paul’s safe arrival in Rome holds your story just as firmly.

Last Sunday, we continued our journey through Acts by studying Acts 25–26 and Paul’s defense before Festus and Agrippa. In the midst of imprisonment, accusation, delay, and uncertainty, Paul displays an unshakable confidence rooted in one central reality: Jesus Christ is truly risen and truly alive. Together, we considered how a deep-seated belief in the resurrected Christ transforms how we view our time, our reputation, our suffering, and our witness. As Paul boldly proclaims the Gospel before rulers and authorities, we are invited to ask ourselves a searching question: Do we truly believe that Jesus is present with His people through the Holy Spirit—and what would change if we lived like it?

Paul is on trial for proclaiming and believing the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise it holds for His followers. But is it a logical belief? And if so, how does it actually shape and form the life of the believer? The resurrection of Jesus Christ is still on trial today, and we do well to examine it and to live in light of the verdict.

If you have ever been falsely accused, misunderstood, or pressured to keep your faith quiet, this passage is for you. This week we continue our journey through Acts with Paul's dramatic arrest in Jerusalem and his harrowing transfer to Caesarea under Roman guard (21:37-23:35). Beaten by a mob, hauled before the Sanhedrin, and targeted by a conspiracy of forty men sworn to kill him, Paul faces accusation and trial at every turn — and yet the gospel advances at every turn. From his powerful testimony before the Jerusalem crowd to the Lord's midnight word of courage in the barracks, we see that accusation is not the end of the story, but an unlikely stage for God's faithfulness.