Sermon Video: Turn to the Living God - Acts 14:1-20

Is there anything in common between the audience in Lystra that Paul preached to who mistakenly thought him to be a god, and the modern skeptical audience most likely to believe that there is no God?  At first glance there might not seem to be, the world has changed so much, but the humanity that inhabits it still has the same spiritual need.  Paul was mortified that the local responded to his miraculous healing of a lame man by trying to offer a sacrifice to him, so he responded by telling that that he was just a man like them.  It was not to Paul that they needed to turn, but "to the living God, who made heaven and earth".  The kindness of God, who sends rain in its seasons, was the way in which Paul attempted to share the Gospel with this crowd who had mistakenly put their trust in may gods who could not save them.
When talking to an agnostic or atheist in America today, the lack of worship for God, or gods, is not an indication of a lack of worship.  The worship of self has replaced the worship of God for many people, but the need for a relationship with the God who created us is not something that will go away.  On that level, the deep and abiding spiritual need that we all have, our efforts to share the Gospel in America today really aren't that much different than Paul's efforts so very long ago.

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Sermon Video: The Peril of Rejecting God's Grace - Acts 13:40-52

Having just concluded his message of forgiveness of sins through justification in Jesus, Paul now ends his message to the Jews at the synagogue in Pisidian Antionch by warning them to take seriously God's offer lest they fail to heed God's warning as their ancestors had.  Paul quotes the prophet Habakkuk who spoke for God to an unbelieving generation who scoffed at his message.  God's reply concerning his judgment through of his people at the hand of the Babylonians could just as easily have stood in for God's use of a suffering servant instead of a mighty warrior king as his Messiah, "I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you." (Habakkuk 1:5) 
At first, the warning to accept the message from God seems unnecessary.  Paul and Barnabas were invited to speak again on the next Sabbath, and many from the audience spoke with them afterwords as well.  That next Saturday, however, a massive crowd of Gentiles gathered to hear Paul speak.  Rather than being excited to see the grace of God at work among those who did not know him, the leaders of the synagogue were filled with jealousy and turned against Paul.  How sad to see those to whom the grace of God has been offered jealous of God's efforts to save others as well.
Paul then had to choose between his own people and the crowd of anxious Gentiles.  The choice was clear, though it wounded Paul deeply, "We had to speak the word of God to you first.  Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles." (vs. 46)  At this point, Paul is no longer welcome among his own people and they begin to work with the Roman officials to have him expelled from the region.  The Gentile crowd, in contrast, rejoice in God's forgiveness and large numbers of them believe in Jesus.
As Paul and Barnabas move on to Iconium, a final gesture from Paul speaks volumes about the danger of rejecting God's freely offered grace.  Paul, in imitation of Jesus' apostles, shakes the dust off his sandals before leaving to indicate that he no longer bears responsibility for the fate of those he had attempted to save.  God's mercy and loving kindness is vast, but it is not boundless.  His patience is deep, but it will not overlook the rejection of his Son, to reject the Gospel is to reject eternal life, a perilous course indeed.

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Sermon Video: "Everyone who believes is justified" - Acts 13:13-39

As the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas continues, the team leaves Cyprus and sails to Perga on their way to Pisidian Antioch.  It is at this juncture that John Mark, Barnabas' cousin, leaves the expedition and returns to Jerusalem.  Why did Mark leave?  In the end, any answer is just a guess as the text tells us nothing, but it does remind us that the journey was a difficult one and that those making it were ordinary people like us with real problems and limitations.
At Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas enter the local synagogue where they are invited to speak.  Paul's message begins with a recap of God's provision for the people of Israel under the Covenant from Abraham to David.  Next Paul speaks of the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist who proclaimed the coming of God's Messiah, the Savior Jesus.  Paul briefly explains that Jesus was rejected by his own people, just as the prophets of old whose rejection the Scriptures mourn, and put to death without cause.  However, God vindicated his Son Jesus by raising him from the dead, a miracle that many witnessed.  After this, Paul cites examples of prophetic predictions about Jesus from the Scriptures as further proof of Jesus' validity.
The conclusion of Paul's message is both simple and timeless: forgiveness of sins and justification before God are available through Jesus.  What's the big deal about forgiveness, isn't it available through the Law?  Sadly, no, the Law can cover guilt and hold back the wrath of God, but as the book of Hebrews will later make crystal clear, it can never take away sins.  Sin no only separates man from God, it also corrupts, ruins, and destroys our minds, hearts, and souls.  If we cannot find forgiveness for our sins, we are doomed.  If God has forgiven us in Jesus, we cannot fail.  Likewise, justification, the salvation of man from the guilty verdict hanging over our heads is also available through Jesus.  Instead of the just punishment for our sins falling upon us, it has been redirected to the only one who could accept it, the perfect and sinless Son of God. 
The song "In Christ Alone" has a great line that reflects the truth of Paul's message here: "no guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me".  It is a message of hope, a message of reconciliation, the very core and essence of the Gospel that we have been commanded to take to the ends of the earth.

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The lust of humanity for gold that glitters

There's a line in The Lord of the Rings that reads, "all that is gold does not glitter" which is Tolkien's rearranging of the well known proverb from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, "all that glitters is not gold".  Tolkien was trying to emphasize that not all things of value shine on the outside, whereas Shakespeare's point is that not everything that looks good on the outside is worth it on the inside, but both metaphors utilize the fact that gold has a hold on the imagination of humanity.  It has been sought after, fought after, killed and died for, for as far back as we have records.  I just finished watching "Klondike" on the History Channel last night, a mini-series based on the actual experiences of miners who went to Dawson City in the Yukon during the gold rush that lasted from 1896 to 1899.  In those few years, an estimated 100,000 people headed for the Yukon with only about 30-40,000 surviving the journey and only about 4,000 of them finding any gold.  After Dawson City the gold craze moved on, just as it had before from California and before that North Dakota; the list goes on and on back into history.  The craze for gold continues to this day, it actually has intrinsic value now in the electronics industry beyond its age-old use for currency and jewellery.  The show "Gold Rush" on the Discovery Channel chronicles the lives of would-be gold miners, some of whom work like professionals and some of whom appear to be still amateurs.  The human stories behind the quest for gold are interesting, but the question of why man has been so fascinated with this substance remains.
Gold isn't the only rare thing that has caused empires to rise and fall in history, but it does seem to rise above more practical commodities and has certainly been a part of some of the worst crimes of humanity against itself from the horrid working conditions of the South American mines of the Spanish Empire to the gold extracted from the teeth of Jews killed by the Nazis.  The insatiable quest for gold over thousands of years has yielded roughly 377 million pounds of gold; surprisingly, that amount would only be a cube of 68 ft. on each side.  All that risk, all that killing and death, for a pool sized cube of metal?
If gold didn't exist, humanity would be fixated on something else.  Gold isn't the cause of the sickness that is associated with it, simply the window through which the human soul is illuminated.  The same attributes and potential terrors can be ascribed to the pieces of colored paper that replaced gold as the currency of humanity, or even the electronic money that doesn't even exist apart from the computers that keep track of it.
Which topic does the Bible spend the most time talking about?  Which human vice fills more pages of God's Word than any other?  To hear many preachers and Christian lay people talk, you think it would be sexual sin, whether that be pre-marital or extra-marital sex, pornography, homosexuality, or abortion.  We certainly have great troubles in society connected to our misuse of God's gift of sex, but it isn't the number one vice discussed in the Bible.  The Bible spends more time talking about the proper use of, and abuse of, money than anything else (over 800 times) except love.  So why are we so reluctant to talk about money?  Perhaps it is because we as Americans have so much of it.  Perhaps it is because we do such a lousy job of utilizing our money for the good of the kingdom of God and such a great job spending it on ourselves. 
How often do I preach about money?  I haven't analyzed each of my sermons over last seven years to have stats, but since I normally preach verse by verse through a book on the Bible once I start, I'm guessing that its pretty often.  Do yourself a favor, don't skip over the next part of the Bible you read about money, actually take some time and figure out if you're doing what the Bible says you should be doing with the money that you've earned through the blessings of work, life, and health that God has given you. 

Sermon Video: Who is on the Lord's side? - Acts 12:19b-13:12

Is it better in life to pick a side, win or lose, or stay on the fence?  There are a lot of people who think that they can sit on the fence with God, that they don't have to make a choice.  The truth is, they already have, each of us is either a child of God, forgiven and living according to his Word, or we are not.
In Acts, Luke tells us two men who opposed God and lost, three men who followed God's lead in service, and one man who was willing to listen when God's message came to him.  Herod Agrippa had long opposed the work of God and lived a life of false piety as part of his quest of personal gain.  When the people of Tyre and Sidon tried flattery in their negotiations with him by saying, "This is the voice of a god, not a man", his doom was sealed because Herod accepted their praise and gave no glory to God.  Immediately, Herod was struck down in pain and died five days later.  It was not just that moment that caused Herod's demise, but a life lived apart from God that was confirmed in that supreme moment that cost him his life.
Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit calls Barnabas and Paul to leave Antioch and begin the first missionary journey, with them goes Barnabas' cousin, John Mark.  These three obey God, drop everything, and serve.  When they arrive in Cyprus they are called to explain their message by the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus.  Sergius, an aristocrat, actually listens to Paul's message about Jesus and believes.  Sergius' mind is open to God's call despite the best efforts of a local Jewish man named Elymas ("sorcerer") whom Paul condemns for his continued actions against the will of God.  Elymas is already spiritually blind, Paul conveys to him God's judgment of physical blindness as well.
Each of these men in Luke's narrative was clearly either on the Lord's side, or not.  Herod and Elymas had walked down a path that led toward destruction for a long time before God's verdict came against them.  Likewise, Barnabas, Paul, and John Mark were already serving God in Antioch before the call to serve him more came to them.  Lastly is Sergius, a man who had been oblivious to his need for Christ until the moment Paul told him the truth, but that was a situation he quickly remedied when he believed.

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