Courage in Life

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Courage in Life

Acts 23

October 10, 2021 • Mike Burt • Acts 23

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From Paul’s conversion and earliest training he was warned of the opposition he would face as he served the Lord. Jews would despise and the World would hate the messages he shared and the works he did. So it is not surprise that we find Paul on trial and in jail. As crowds assembled to demand his death he faced them with grace. As plots were hatched to assassinate him by ambush he trusted in the Lord for protection. We will compare this story to an Old Testament account in Esther – God protected then as well! Our job of trust is not helping God figure out what to do – it is trusting that God already has the plan – we need to rest and trust and obey when called upon. Sunday I will challenge us to live well, listen well and look toward Heaven. I was reinspired by a book from Billy Graham written near the end of his life - Nearing Home: Life, Faith and Finishing Well. We should do so well!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Mike

More from Acts: Church Gathered and Church Scattered

End of the beginning!

November 7, 2021 • Mike Burt • Acts 28

Rome at last! After several years – three trials – assassination attempts – shipwreck – snakebite – Paul finally reaches the city of Rome. This last chapter of Acts is our final story of Paul but the beginning of the accounts of the Church. The Gospel was handed to the early Apostles at the beginning of Acts and then the baton is passed to Paul after meeting Jesus on the Road toward Damascus. Three Missionary Journeys later Paul is taken to Rome under bonds and placed in house arrest. While there and sensing the end of his ministry Paul pens his final books to Churches and Pastors. What we will note most significantly is that the book has no clear ending – no finale – no swan song – not even a final soliloquy by our star. The saga is unfinished because the task is not finished by any single generation. We must shoulder our portion and carry it with passion while training the next wave of servants to continue the ministries we have received until the King returns! Acts 28 is an open and unfinished account because much of the World has not heard the Good News! A favorite pastor of my reading times is Oswald J Smith and Sunday I will pair a few of his thoughts with the power of Paul’s final chapter. Join us! See you Sunday – Pastor Mike

Don't look down!

October 31, 2021 • Mike Burt • Acts 27

“Tough times never last but tough people do!” Robert Schuller What often happens when someone advises us ‘don’t look down!’ – we look. Paul could have been disappointed that his appeal to Caesar did not deliver him to freedom but rather to Prison. Paul’s appeal to Herod Agrippa launched him on a trek to Rome – to meet the Caesar! Paul heard the promise of God to get him to Rome – just had no way of guessing how God would do it. This same promise sustains him during a perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea. Through a deadly storm and ending with a shipwreck that God used to display His loving care and providence. Sunday we will talk about trusting God when we see danger and trusting God when we do not see any solutions. In the storm He is there – in the midst of enemies He is there – even in the shipwrecks of life He is there! My favorite quote here is the John Flavel quote below – a little heady but so true! See you Sunday – come dressed as a worshipper who is really a student! Pastor Mike “The providence of God is like a Hebrew word – it can only be read backwards.” John Flavel

Almost Persuaded

October 24, 2021 • Mike Burt • Acts 26

“It is not the pain but the purpose that makes a martyr.” Augustine The testimony of Paul is questioned yet again! From his persecutions by the Sanhedrin and then to Felix and then to Festus his trials end with an examination by Agrippa II. Paul follows the same format we heard a few weeks ago about how to share our testimony – who I was – who Jesus is – what I am now in Christ! Paul is clear about his past and how God saved him! Festus declares him ‘mad’ and Agrippa complains that he is trying to convert him so quickly. Sunday we will see the anger of the Jews, the curiosity of the Romans, the peace of the believers and the love of our Lord – all in one story! Don’t miss it – Paul is preparing for his one way trip to Rome. We must finish this journey together – see you Sunday. Pastor Mike “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Tertullian