This has been a timely series for us as a church, and I have had a lot of fun preaching through the Beginnings of the early church, seeing the foundation of what we are and what we should pursue as a church. This Sunday we will focus in on Acts 6:7, which shows us what we should pursue in order to be a part of the advance of God's Word.
Empowered to Die
May 13, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This is a huge narrative section that shows us the ministry, life, and death of Stephen. Death is a shadow that hangs over every one of us. In a world that seems every-increasingly bent toward self-realization and expression, it is a shocking text to see someone self-sacrificially committed to the transcendent kingdom and cause of another. This text shows us how Jesus reorients our lives, and how Christians see and experience death.
Empowered to Serve
May 6, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
As the early church grew quickly, some complaints rose up within the church family. The Apostles, filled with the Spirit, led with wisdom, though, and didn't allow things to fester. An all-church meeting was called to roll out some new structures to accommodate the needs of the growing church. This passage is essential for us. It shows us that the church is one body with many members, and that the opportunity for and burden of ministry falls on all of us together. It also shows us some of the foundations for the structures of the church that we carry through to today.
Empowered to Rejoice
April 29, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage shows the Apostles brought back in front of the Sanhedrin to be questioned, for a second time. The council was in a rage and ready to kill the Apostles, just like they had killed Jesus. Peter stood boldly, though, and an older Pharisee named Gamaliel spoke up with some prophetic words of caution. This passage will show us why Christians can rejoice even in the midst of real opposition and suffering.
Empowered to Public Witness
April 15, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
The Holy Spirit moved through the early church to shape it with great grace and great fear. In this week's passage, we see that the power of God was not limited to stay within the already-existing community that had formed. This new community, the Church, took ministry to the streets. There was a public-facing witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That also doesn't mean it was easy or unopposed. This week's text will help us to better understand the role and calling of the church in public life.
Empowered to Experience the Power of God
April 8, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage shows a massive contrast in the early church. It was a community shaped by the gospel of Jesus Christ that showed off the grace of God beautifully. Still, in those earliest days, people tried to take advantage of the community and elevate themselves to notoriety. That's right, the first Sunday after Easter we're jumping into the story of Ananias and Sapphira. This passage shows us the stark contrast between true gospel Christianity and self-centered religiosity. Let's lean in and learn from it together.
Empowered to Pray
March 25, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
After Peter and John stood boldly in the face of their own arrest and questioning at the hands of the men who had killed Jesus, they were set free. This passage shows us that they went straight to their friends and church family, and that they all gathered together to pray. It's a helpful passage because it shows us how we can pray together in the face of massive opposition and suffering.
Empowered to Boldness
March 18, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
After Peter healed a crippled beggar at the Temple gate, and preached a sermon showing how all of Scripture points to Jesus, he and John were arrested. They were dragged in front of the same group of religious leaders who condemned Jesus to death just a couple of months earlier. Peter, who abandoned Jesus the night of his arrest, and denied even knowing him in the High Priest's courtyards, is back in the place of his denial. He is faced with his greatest failure and pressed to stop proclaiming Jesus. This time, though, filled with the Spirit, he is bold and clear. This Sunday we see, in Peter, that the Spirit empowers us to boldness.
Empowered to Preach the Promise
March 11, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
Last week we saw Jesus heal a crippled beggar at the gateway into the Temple courts, through the Apostle Peter. That healing created a ruckus. Everyone knew that old crippled man and were shocked that he was walking around on strong legs. As a crowd gathered on a covered porch in the Temple called Solomon’s Portico. The once shy Peter stood and preached his second sermon in Jerusalem since the Holy Spirit came on the Apostles in power. This passage is that sermon. In it we see the overwhelming centrality of Christ and understanding who Jesus is, along with a beautiful promise and assurance to us through Him.
Empowered to Heal
March 4, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage transitions us from the day of Pentecost to the earliest days of this newly formed, Spirit-empowered community. A shocking event occurred one day in the Temple courts, as Peter and John strolled through the gate into the Temple grounds. Peter healed a crippled beggar in the name and by the power of Jesus Christ. This surprised everyone who saw it, just like it would surprise us today. So, we will spend time together exploring miracles and healing. The same Spirit who worked through the Apostle Peter is at work through God’s people today.
Gospel-Shaped Community
February 25, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage is absolutely foundational for us as a church. It is referenced in every Foundations Class we have ever taught, and shaped our longings and vision from the earliest days of planting Redemption Hill. It shows us what the earliest church devoted itself to, and how it was shaped by the gospel into a new family and community. It also shows us the incredible impact that a gospel-shaped community can have.
Repent and be Baptized
February 11, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
As the first Christian sermon concludes, Peter’s hearers were “cut to the heart” and asked what they should do. Their sin was exposed. Peter’s call was to repent and be baptized. This is the normative pattern in the New Testament: God’s Word is proclaimed, people are cut to the heart, they repent, and they are baptized. We will take time to explore what real repentance is and why baptism is important.
Jesus the Christ
February 4, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
In the first Christian sermon, Peter established that Jesus the man is the Savior we need. He didn’t stop there, though. He went on to proclaim the powerful reality that Jesus is the King we need as well. He came in the line of David, anticipated by David’s own Psalms, and Jesus is the ultimate King that was promised to David. The implications for us are massive, not only individually, but on the whole of how God’s people think about the role we play in this world corporately.
Jesus Our Savior
January 28, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
After the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles in power, just like Jesus promised, the Apostles spilled into the streets of Jerusalem speaking in tongues. The crowds responded with wonder and amazement, while some mocked them and thought they were drunk. Peter stood up and delivered the first Christian sermon. The same man who had denied knowing Jesus just a couple of months earlier now stood with boldness, beautifully applying the texts and prophecies of the Old Testament and pointing the the supremacy of Jesus the Christ. 3,000 people were saved that day. This Sunday we begin a 3-week look at Peter's sermon, and we will see that Jesus is our Savior.
Pentecost
January 21, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
The waiting finally came to an end on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit filled the Apostles and worked in power in Jerusalem. Christianity swept through the Roman Empire and on across the world in the most unlikely of ways. This passage is what started it all. Join us as we take a look at how to recognize the movement of the Spirit of God in our own lives and church.
http://www.redemptionhilldc.org/acts-beginnings/acts-2113
