Acts 12
Deliverance, or Power Encounter Introduction: Acts 12 presents one of the great power encounters of the New Testament. The power of prayer and the power of God go up against the power of Satan, with the same victorious result as in the case of so many the great power encounters in the Old Testament, like Gideon and the Midianites, Samson and the Philistines, or Elijah and the prophets of Baal. I suggest to you that victory is also ours today if we will use…
Acts 13-28
The Spreading Flame Note: I encourage anyone reading this sermon to do so with an open map of Paul’s missionary journeys, available in the back of most Bibles. Introduction: So far in our study of the Book of Acts we have covered the first decade or so of the Christian Church. From small beginnings on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon those praying in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, we have seen Christianity become a major movement within Judea…
Acts 13:13-52
How to Be Free Indeed Introduction: Everyone cherishes freedom. Political freedom is sought by people everywhere, and they will devise ingenious methods to get through the Berlin Wall, or pay exorbitant sums to gain a place on a boat leaving Indochina, or risk their lives in the face of guns in the Philippines, all for political liberty. People are also desperate for religious freedom. Our own church’s forefathers cherished freedom from the state churches of Scandinavia, so much so that they named their…
Acts 14:8-20
Is the Medium the Message? Introduction: Marshall McLuhan is viewed as a sort of prophet of the Electronic Age. A Canadian communications theorist who died in 1980, he is perhaps best known for coining the slogan, “the medium is the message.” By that he intended to convey (if I as a communications layman understand him at all) that the way in which information comes to us—whether radio, T.V. movies, books, or a live speaker—the way it comes to us so shapes our environment…
Acts 15
Great Church Fights Introduction: Leslie B. Flynn, a Conservative Baptist pastor, is one of my favorite leisure‑reading authors because of his quick wit and profound insight. The book of his that I have enjoyed the most is one entitled, Great Church Fights. In this book he humorously treats the friction over widows that resulted in the appointment of the first deacons in Acts 6, the knock‑down drag‑out between the two women, Euodias and Syntyche, at Philippi, the politicking behind Apollos, Paul, and Peter in…
Acts 16
The Most Important Question in the World Introduction: There is a question that is upon every thinking person’s mind, but inhibitions prevent many people from putting it into words. It’s the question being asked by thousands of people who are laid off from their jobs. It’s the question on the lips of countless farmers who are facing bankruptcy. It’s the question facing thousands of refugees, drug addicts, and alcoholics. I’ll guarantee it’s being asked by everyone who has contracted aids. And, most importantly, it is the…
Acts 17:15-34
A Seedpicker Takes on the Eggheads Note: This sermon was edited considerably and preached again 13 years after the original series. It was delivered at First Free in St. Louis right after I returned from a trip to Athens in 1999. Introduction: I have decided to share a message related to the journey from which I just returned. I had a unique privilege over the past two weeks of visiting some of the amazing sites of antiquity in Greece, Turkey and Italy. Thirty-seven of…
Acts 18
What You Can’t Learn in Seminary Introduction: The road to virtually any worthwhile goal is long and tough. To become a pilot in the U.S. Airforce you have to start with a college degree. If you make it through the brutal application procedure (over 95% washout) you spend three months in Officer Training School. Then comes a year of undergraduate pilot training, two years of operational training, and two more years of co-pilot training. The goal of becoming a captain in the Air Force from…
Acts 19
Satanic Devices to Hinder the Church Introduction: I’ve entitled my sermon today, “Satanic Devices to Hinder the Church.” Ever since Jesus Christ proclaimed to His disciples, “I will build my Church,” Satan has had as one of his principal goals to render the Church anemic and ineffective. We’re going to see today in Acts 19 how he pursued that goal with a vengeance. Now it’s interesting to me that the methodology Satan utilizes has some fascinating parallels to the methodology Communism has used to attempt…
Acts 20:6-12
On Being Alert Introduction: I was undecided for some time as to what to do with the first part of Acts 20. I didn’t want to skip it, for it has been said that the church service Paul conducted at Troas is one of the most encouraging incidents in the Bible for pastors, because it demonstrates that even when the great Apostle Paul spoke, people fell asleep. I suppose, however, that the average layman could read something sinister into a decision to…
Acts 20:17-38
Farewell to Ephesus Introduction: Our journey through the book of Acts brings us today to the Apostle Paul’s final stop in Asia on his third missionary journey. Having traveled thousands of miles over a timespan of some ten years, in the most primitive fashion imaginable, he was now heading for Jerusalem and what he hoped would be an opportunity to preach the Gospel to his fellow-countrymen at the very heart of Judaism. Paul had left the Greek mainland and sailed across the…
Acts 21:1-14
Finding the Will of God Note: I am not ashamed to acknowledge my debt to two authors from whom I have borrowed extensively in the preparation of this sermon. The book, Decision Making and the Will of God, by Garry Friessen and Robin Maxson, is one of the ten most influential books I have ever read. I purchased a copy in 1980, have read it many times, and have taught through it more than once. I encourage you to buy it and read it carefully. I…