The Holy Spirit Working Through Ananias 11AM

Grace of Christ

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The Holy Spirit Working Through Ananias 11AM

May 12, 2024 • Curt McFarland • Acts 9:1–31

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Today we celebrate Mother’s Day. And we should! Today is a day we give thanks for the sacrifices and love of moms. It is also a day when heartaches are exposed, and some feel left out. Some of us did not have mothers who loved us as God intended. Others wanted to be moms but physically, or relationally, could not. And there are those who feel guilt for how they failed as a mom. Wherever you are this morning … God knows, God heals, God forgives.

Last Sunday we had the gift of hearing the testimony of one of our own. Kathy wonderfully, clearly, beautifully, described how God has been her Father from her earliest days. Through dark and challenging times, as she faced deep grief, a dire health diagnosis, a broken marriage, she came to believe in the goodness and love of her heavenly Father. And her heavenly Father provided her the blessing of her adoptive and supportive parents and brother. If you missed last Sunday, you need to go back and watch, and give thanks to God!

Today we read another life-changing testimony. Few would have thought Saul would become a Christian. As we see the transformation in Saul we discover there is hope for each of us, and those we know. Even the most hard-hearted, Jesus-hating, soul is not beyond the powerful, compassionate reach of God. Do not give up on yourself, or those you know and love. God hasn’t.

The Holy Spirit Working Through Barnabas & Saul pt,2 11AM

June 23, 2024 • Curt McFarland • Acts 14

I grew up inundated with TV commercials, radio pitches, slick magazine promotions. As a kid I selected toys based on incredible claims of endless fun … promises broken. I’m bombarded with ads for restaurants, detergent, sodas, clothes that look great on a perfect body, bottled water ($3 for 16oz of water, what?). Kathaleen and I once got hoodwinked into test driving a car because of the dealership’s marketing campaign. They offered two roundtrip tickets to Las Vegas if we took a test drive … they were bus tickets. In our passage this morning Paul and Barnabas continue their first missionary journey. As they visit cities and towns they talk about Jesus. What they don’t do is try to “sell” or “market” Jesus. Quite the opposite, they talk about how difficult it will be to follow Jesus. No sugar added, no celebrity endorsement, no promise of ease and comfort. They were honest, no bait and switch. How refreshing!

The Holy Spirit Working Through Barnabas & Saul pt.2 9AM

June 23, 2024 • Curt McFarland • Acts 14

The Holy Spirit Working Through Barnabas & Saul pt. 1, 11AM

June 16, 2024 • Curt McFarland • Acts 13

This morning, not only in our church but across the country, father’s, grandfather’s, uncles, men of all shapes and sizes, are celebrated. I am thankful for those who stepped into my life and helped me understand what it meant to be a man; particularly a Christian man, husband and father (now grandfather). Many of those who influenced and guided me were not related by blood, but by a shared faith. In our long passage today (even though only a portion is included below, please read the entire passage) the Holy Spirit is present, the church listens, obeys, and sends. Three men set out. Their message of Jesus infects and inspires as it crosses national borders, religious prejudices and persecutions and reshapes human history, our history.