Acts
of Jesus through the Holy Spirit
Easter: Paranoia or Metanoia
March 31, 2024 • Trey Van Camp • Acts 3:11–26
We live in a paranoid world. From the chaos, violence, and immorality around us to the anxiety, pain, and trauma inside us, most of us live in a constant state of fear. And without any hope of rescue, this paranoia leads us to either alarmism, or escapism. But the gospel story gives us a better hope. Jesus came into a world just as paranoid as ours, and he confronted the root of our paranoia; we’re all stuck in spiritual slavery, sin, and sickness. And by living the perfect life, dying the death we deserved, and rising again, Jesus offers us hope. But to choose this hope takes an act of “metanoia,” or repentance. When we repent, we actively choose to reorient our lives around the reality of Jesus and his resurrection.
Acts: The Spiritually Lame & The Spiritual Leader
March 24, 2024 • Trey Van Camp • Acts 3:1–10
In https://biblia.com/bible/we/acts%203 meet a man unable to walk sitting outside of the temple. Separated from the presence of God and others, this man was left to beg for a living. But when Peter and John encounter him, they offer more than gold or silver; they offer him healing, both for his body and for his shame. Like this man, many of us today carry shame from our wickedness and woundedness that pulls us away from God and from others. And like Peter and John, at some point we will have the opportunity to extend healing from God to others. In order to deal with our shame and heal the shame of others, we must learn to confront it.
Acts: The Upper & Lower Room
March 17, 2024 • Trey Van Camp • Acts 2:42–47
Most of us carry unrealistic expectations when it comes to church community. We all want the perfect personality to lead us, the perfect people around us, the perfect programs to serve us, and the perfect place to make us comfortable. But few of us fail to realize that community based around these things won’t feed the deep longing we have in our souls for genuine community. Instead of settling for personalities, programs, people, and places, the book of Acts invites us to see what a more true and genuine community could look like. At the tail end of Acts 2, just as the gospel movement is about to spread, we see a glimpse of this type of genuine community shared by the first disciples. Rather than settling for personalities, people, programs, and places, they commit to the teaching of scripture, deep and vulnerable community, intentional rhythms of practice, and reliant prayer for the Spirit. The goal of our church is to do the same.
Acts 2: The Fire at Pentecost
March 10, 2024 • Brandon James • Acts 2:1–41
One of the most powerful themes throughout the book of Acts is that God’s people are empowered to bear witness to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s presence with us through the Spirit allows us to do what we could not do on our own, like share our faith boldly, know Jesus intimately, and do the work of the gospel powerfully. In https://biblia.com/bible/we/acts%202 see how the Holy Spirit first came to all believers during Pentecost, and learn how the Spirit empowers us today. In the Holy Spirit, God reveals himself to others through his people, God removes the obstacles to knowing him, and God receives all those who respond to him with faith and repentance.
Acts 1: Power, Spirit, and Bearing Witness
March 3, 2024 • Caleb Martinez • Acts 1:1–8
The book of Acts is the beginning of a story that we’re a part of. Luke, a Gentile physician and early follower of Jesus, writes about the origins of the church, the movement of the gospel, and the lifestyle of the first Christians. But his main goal is to do more than write a history book. Luke wants us to learn that the work that Jesus began in the gospels continues through his people, and by extension, through us today. Jesus commissions his disciples to continue the work of the Kingdom by receiving power, living open to the Spirit, and bearing witness to his life and resurrection. When we take our role seriously and reorient our lives to make space for the Spirit of God, we too can bear witness to the way of Jesus and change the world.