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September 24, 2023
Good News | Acts 4:1-22
Even With His Enemies
You would think that people with good news would only be celebrated and loved! “The ice cream truck is coming down the street!” “The burgers are ready!” “The Jays won!”. Christians have the best news to share, but it isn’t always celebrated, and we aren’t always loved. In today’s passage, Peter and John have to face the authorities who are pretty keen for this ‘Christian problem’ to go away. Peter and John have to figure out whom they will obey. Will it be threatened leaders or the God who died on the cross for them?
Songs for this week: Spotify
- Have you ever been shut down, intimidated, or silenced for being a Christian? Tell that story.
- How did Peter and John respond to being ‘grilled’? Highlight both words and attitudes.
- Do you ever have to decide between “pleasing people or obeying God”? Share that struggle.
- The religious leaders “took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Could the same observation be made of you? What does ‘being with Jesus’ look like in your life these days?
- Share any stories of sharing your faith from the past week.
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Recent Sermons
John 12:9-19 -When Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the shouts and cheers of the crowd, there was no mistaking what was happening: the King was back in his rightful place. There were several responses to this long-awaited event: some celebrated, some grumbled, and then… everyone went home. It may have looked anticlimactic, but Jesus wasn’t going anywhere. He had come to do what only the true King of Israel could do.
John 14:1-14 -John’s biography of Jesus slows as he chronicles the week leading up to Jesus’ death. Jesus has a long, careful conversation with the disciples, and today, we listen to the beginning of that conversation. He begins with a strong command: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He then reinforces it with three unshakable assurances: He is going ahead of them, He has cleared the way to the Father, and He will send supernatural power so they can continue His work.
John 8:48-59 -Jesus’ friend John was very careful to record the things that Jesus said about Himself. As an observant Jew, John knew that there is only one God. From time to time, God sent prophets, ordained priests, and crowned kings so that the people of God had someone to lead them to Him. Everyone knew that these leaders only ever pointed to God; they never claimed any status beyond being messengers. But when Jesus came, He was different. He claimed to be “the Light of the World,” “the Truth that sets you free,” and “the Resurrection and the Life”—all of them ridiculous claims for anyone but God to make. That was exactly His point.
Luke 15:11-32 - Jesus tells a story about a father with two lost sons. The rule-breaking younger son was lost in self-indulgence, and the rule-keeping older son was lost in self-righteousness. The father loved both generously and even recklessly. Both needed to be found. Were they?
John 4:4-26 - Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God had arrived and everyone wondered what that would look like. Would it mean swords and fighting or a political takeover? John records a couple of one-on-one conversations that Jesus had. What an interesting Kingdom! It turns out that each person matters in the Kingdom of God, each woman and each man matter eternally.
John 1:1-14A - The story of the Bible is the Story of Jesus, God’s plan all along was to come as one of us to rescue us from sin and death and to reset us to live radically different lives. Today’s passage offers a different (still true!) beginning to the story of Jesus' life on earth.
