Global Church, Deep Unity, Wise Decisions (Acts 15:1-35)
Legalism is like the Applebee's menu. It promises so much and yet never delivers (apologies to you Applebee's fans 😉). Legalism is not debatable, though. Adding anything to Jesus as the ground of salvation is wrong and it robs us of life. Legalism never relents, it manifests itself in all times and in all cultures. The church in Acts 15 responds swiftly, clearly, and graciously in how it dealt with it in its own time and I think we have a great example of how to respond, teach, and disciple the church on how to reject legalism, all the while embracing the way of Jesus Alone love, which may involve choosing to avoid certain things for unity sake. Legalism is the forcing of unbiblical commands. Love is the choosing to give over rights for the sake of the common good. I think Sunday will be helpful to all of us as we seek to live by grace and truth together.
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Seven Marks of a Healthy Church (Acts 14:21-28)
The text this week is a summation of the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. It lists a bunch of important and basic things these missionaries did as leaders in local churches. We will take the seven marks of a healthy church this Sunday and look at them. It might be helpful for folks looking at joining CHBC and hopefully it will help us value the basics more as a church, to long for growth in each of these reasons, and to see how we can help with our spiritual gifts in the growth of these health markers.
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Mini Jesus Ministry (Acts 14:8-20)
The passage this week has a lot to say about a couple things. First, is gospel clarity. Paul and Barnabas go to great lengths with their word and actions to make people clear on what they represent - the heavenly gospel, not an earthly worldview gospel. To that end, they push glory and honor away. Paul is then physically tortured because of this clarity, almost to death. But, with gospel power and hope, Paul gets back on his feet and heads right back onto mission? How? The dude was scared for life, physically. Well, because he knew he was in Christ and so lived like Christ, he believed his scars would lead to glory. May we feel reminded and anchored in that hope, for our own gospel scars, this Lord's Day as we sit under the good and loving Word.
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Near, Far, Wherever You Are... Preach the Gospel (Acts 14:1-7)
A new chapter. A new city. But the calling is the same. Regardless of their location, we see Paul and Barnabas the proclamation of the good news to the Jews and to the Gentiles alike. In doing so, God bears witness to the word of his grace by signs and wonders (good works) done by the apostles. The text invites us to consider how we too can boldly share the gospel, join God in doing good works, and remain faithful to that calling regardless of where we are.
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The Gospel Takes Root and Stirs Things Up (Acts 13:43-52)
I confess that I often struggle to step out into my spheres of influence, even as a pastor, because I am fearful of the response. Preaching is intimidating, for instance. It never ceases to be so. What if the congregation rejects this? How clear should I be about what is in the passage? What if I have to teach a culturally unacceptable truth? This week's passage was a reminder. It was the Holy Spirit saying to me: "Jay, this is for you, too. Take care of the depth, and I will take care of the breadth." CHBC, this is the Word of the Lord for you, too. I bet there is a place in your spheres of influence you are hesitant to step forward in because you are not sure about how it will be received. Based in the passage this week, you can do it, because God has sovereignly planned out the result, both the fruit and the fall out. You can trust Him with that and this week we study the depth of that.
Brasil