Acts - The Word Spreads
Fall 2018
God Gets the Final Word
November 18, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage starts off pretty bleak. James the Apostle is killed, Peter is imprisoned and awaiting execution, and Herod is triumphing over the church. But God... This passage helps us to see that in the darkest of times, God can surprise us by bursting through with glorious light. His work can be surprising and confusing. The one thing we need to have confidence in is that His Word will continue to spread and increase. So, in the darkest days, God's people pray.
Christians in Antioch
November 11, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage shows us a glimpse of the founding of the church in Antioch. The church in Antioch was the original church planting church. This passage shows us how we as a church can join God in His work as His Word advances. It’s an incredible passage that shows the power of the gospel and the value and role that each one of us has in the church.
Fear and Control
November 4, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
After Peter witnessed the movement of the Holy Spirit extended to the Gentiles in the salvation of Cornelius and his entire household, he returned to Jerusalem. The homecoming could not have been what Peter hoped for. His church family back home heard reports of what Peter had been up to and met him with criticism and questioning. This is not an unfamiliar story. When the Holy Spirit moves, it will always mess with our categories. Even today, feeling out of control can make us turn to fearful and critical hearts. Peter's thorough response helps us to see how to respond to each other in patience and love, pursuing unity as we join God in His work.
The Gentiles Receive the Spirit
October 28, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage is pivotal for the book of Acts and God’s work in saving all people because it shows us the moment that the gospel went to the Gentiles and the Holy Spirit fell on them. We will take a look at the pathway of both Peter and Cornelius as we spend time reflecting on the barriers that keep us from being part of God’s work in saving all people, and consider the barriers that had to be overcome for us to hear the gospel.
Pigs in a Blanket
October 21, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
One of the biggest challenges Christians face in the public square with rapidly shifting ethics is the criticism of inconsistency. You've heard it before - "If you believe in ______, then why do you eat shellfish? Why do you wear mixed-material clothing?" People will point to Old Testament laws on food and clothing, and then claim the ability to extend similar fluidity to other moral and ethical lines. We will see this Sunday that what feels like a complicated web of determining what ethical laws still stand, Scripture is remarkably clear and helpful for us. This passage stands at the center of that discussion as Peter had to wrestle through God's command to do what stood against some of the OT law.
Healing & Life
October 14, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage brings the Apostle Peter back into the narrative as we see his pastoral care for Christians who were scattered throughout the region. We also see the ministry of Jesus extending through Peter in power as he heals a man and raises a woman from the dead. It's a stunning and miraculous set of stories. It also shows us something important for our lives. Every one of us is fighting against wounds. For some they seem crippling this week. This passage will help us to cope with the reality of pain and suffering in life, and to find hope in a Savior who has the power to overcome it.
The Church Multiplied
October 7, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This section shows us the immediate aftermath of Saul’s conversion to follow Jesus Christ. In the face of intense pressure and attack, the Church still multiplied. We talk about multiplication a lot at RHC. This passage helps us to see the means God used to multiply the church, which shows us what we can focus on if we want to see His multiplying work in and through us.
Jesus Saves Sinners
September 30, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This is a critical moment for the early church. We have seen already that Saul was ravaging the church, overseeing the execution of Stephen, and persecuting and arresting Christians. In this text, a crazy turn is taken as Jesus met Saul on the road to Damascus. It's a powerful story and helps us to understand what happens in our own salvation. The power of the gospel is on full display for us as we dig in this weekend.
The Ethiopian Eunuch
September 16, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
Philip, who was introduced last week, follows God's leading from Samaria to a roadside encounter with an Ethiopian man south of Jerusalem. The evangelism we have seen in Acts thus far was proclamation to large crowds of people. This is the first of a series of individuals' stories that we see in the bigger story of the advancement of God's Word. We have a lot to learn from Philip's approach, as well as from the faith of the Ethiopian man.
The Word Spreads
September 9, 2018 • Pastor Bill Riedel
We begin with Acts 8:1-25 as we see that the persecution erupted in Jerusalem following the martyrdom of Stephen. The suffering was real and intense, but had an unexpected consequence that the Word of God and the gospel spread beyond the geographic and ethnic lines that we see represented in Acts 1-7. The first chapters of Acts are dominated by the ministry of Peter and the Apostles. In chapter 8 we see the scattered church proclaiming the gospel as Philip brought God's Word to Samaria.