September 18, 2023
Good News | Acts 2:14-41
With His Power
Every person has a story. Humanity has a story, too, and it is best and most accurately recorded in the Bible. When Peter got the chance to share the good news, he used his people’s story to point to Jesus and call them into a healed and life-giving relationship with the God they thought they knew.
Listen to an audio version of the message
Songs for this week: Spotify
- What’s your story? How does it point to Jesus, who is Lord and Messiah?
- Unpack each of the Old Testament passages Peter quotes. Why did he use each of them in his Good News message?
- Peter pulls no punches. He talks to his audience directly about sin. How can Christians talk about sin without sounding “judgey?”
- Sometimes, skeptics want to discuss creation vs. evolution, the Crusades, or LGBTQ matters. These are important and worthwhile discussions, but how can a Christian keep the focus on Jesus as Peter did?
- Did you share your faith last week? How did that go? How are you doing in your efforts to explain “The Gospel in 60 seconds?
Share with a friend
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.
