It Starts With One
Acts 1-6
Growing Pains
September 17, 2017 • Dr. Carlo Serrano • Acts 6:1–7
“You cannot grow without change and change is never comfortable. A lot of people want the church to grow as long as it doesn’t make them uncomfortable. But if the church is going to continue to grow, we must be willing to serve outside our comfort zones.” - Rick Warren
Growing Further Faster
August 20, 2017 • Chris Edmondson • Acts 2:41–47
At the end of Acts 2, there was a sudden explosion of believers from a 120 to about 3,000—in one day! Yet in this passage, we don’t find any personal pronouns. It’s not about us as individuals—it’s about the Body of Jesus called the Church working together. Let’s discover how being a part of something bigger than yourself makes outliving your life more possible.
Day One
August 13, 2017 • Chris Edmondson • Acts 2
Thousands of people had come from dozens of surrounding countries to gather in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. It had been 7 weeks since Jesus’ resurrection. You could hear the hum of hundreds of languages being spoken across the city when suddenly, they were silenced by a loud noise that could only be the power of God. Before this moment, God’s followers had occasionally been empowered by His Spirit—Samson had superhuman strength, and David’s mighty men won impossible battles. But at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus’ followers in a new, even more powerful way. His disciples were filled with the Spirit permanently rather than temporarily, which enabled them to proclaim the good news boldly in languages they had never spoken or even studied before.
Changing Your World
August 6, 2017 • Chris Edmondson • Acts 1:1–14, John 14:16–26, John 16:5
Have you ever wondered if your life is really making a difference? It’s something we all think about from time to time, and the question is rooted in a desire that was hardwired in us by God. We are the church, and the Holy Spirit has empowered us with the job of spreading God’s Kingdom here on earth. So what are we going to do about it?
Resurrection Power
July 30, 2017 • Chris Edmondson • Acts 1:1–3, Luke 1:1–4, 1 Corinthians 15:3–17, John 14:12
In 1939 three men, led by Albert Einstein, approached the president of the United States with the secret to the power of chain reaction. Their work became known as the Manhattan Project, and the chain reaction led to the atomic bomb. Equally powerful, although in a different way, is the power and truth of the gospel. When Jesus appeared alive to His disciples, history changed forever.