Sermons from Sweet Home

Acts 5:27-42 Fighting Against God

The Apostles were bold. They get arrested for preaching the Gospel, gets thrown into prison. An angel saves them from that prison. And what do they do? They go preach in the Temple courts. Nothing will keep them quiet.
But then the Jewish establishment arrests them again and brings them in for rebuke and questioning. The Apostles answer: "We must obey God rather than man". Flogged and released, they continued to peach. 
In this piece of text there are many tings to take note of: Satan uses Earthly authority to silence the Saints, we must pay careful attention to whom we obey (God or man) and we must remember to be happy when people dislike us for doing God's will. 

The Topic Jesus spoke About the Most

In this new series entitled "The Top Ten Hits of Jesus" we discuss the topics that Jesus referred to the most. We have heard people say Jesus spoke most about money, or about love, or about faith. Well, which is it?
It turns out that Jesus spoke more about God, His Father than anything else. He came from God, was sent by God, represented God, displayed God. It is therefore understandable why He spoke so much about Him.
It makes us wonder, if we are Christians, followers of Jesus, do we speak about the same things as He does? Do we speak about God? Did you mention God today in conversation? And what if all Christians everywhere chose to mention God in one conversation per day, would that make any difference in the world? I think so!

Dear Mom & Dad - Leviticus 20:9

Which behavior was serious enough for God that He would impose the death penalty...and why? This is the main question that informs our reading of Leviticus 20. In verse 9 it becomes quite apparent that God is highly concerned with how we treat our parents. Afterall...isn't one of the ten commandments about honoring our parents? 
Well, what if you have bad parents? Tune in to find out. 
It seems like there are a number of ways we can bring honor to our parents, like forgive them, speak well of them, esteem them publicly, seek their wisdom, support them and provide for them. 

Acts 5:12-26 - Another Revival

Luke takes a pause in the greater narrative in this text to explain to us how the situation of Ananias and Sapphira had impacted the Christian movement. Guess what? It did great things for the church and the mission of Christ. The church was filled with awe, the apostles performed incredible miracles and the church grew rapidly. It seems like God's discipline is good and so is a church that will not compromise God's will. 

Acts 5:1-10 - Satan Attacks from Within

As we read the lines of Acts, we see between the lines how Satan is trying to stop the movement of the Holy Spirit. He tried with persecution, it didn't work. And in this story of Ananias and Sapphira we see Satan trying a different method of halting the mission. He attacks the church from within as these two people are enticed by the evil one to lie. The punishment is harsh, but I think there is a good reason. Tune in to chew on it.

Acts 4:32-37- Benevolence on Another Level

Luke takes his Apostolic story to a pause of and on to describe the life of the early church. Once such instance happens here in chapter 4. Luke describes what a church looks like that is "one in heart and mind". This united mindset produces incredible generosity and love in the Jerusalem church to the point where church members sell their possessions for each other. 

Death Penalty for Sex?

From verses 10 to 17 of Leviticus 20, we see God calling for the death penalty for atleast five types of sexual sins. It seems like God is quite serious about our sex lives. But why? Why does God care so much about the "with who, when, what, where and how" a person has sex?
For the atheist sexual rules are petty. But the atheist is ignorant. Imagine for a moment what the world would look like if sexual behavior was left unbridled? The Bible says deviant sexual behavior starts with atheism. Unfortunately, atheism is the primary school of thought that educates our kids at school. Therefore don't be surprised if the younger generation starts to become more sexually deviant.  
To the Godly, sex is powerful, good and a huge blessing. God made it and there is no shame in it. It should be respected. But it should also be enjoyed. 

Acts 4:23-31 The Power of United Prayer

Here in the fourth chapter of Acts we see the first Century church come together in prayer. Their prayer was powerful and it was done in unity. The result was two-fold: (1) The place where they were praying was shaken, and (2) the disciples continued preaching the Word of God boldly. 
What would the content of a prayer be that inspires the bold proclamation of the Word and literally shakes up the place of prayer? 

Acts 4:1-22 The First Christian Persecution

In this text we see the aftermath of Peter and John simply being like Christ and healing a man born lame. A crowd gathered around them. And they started preaching the Gospel. But when the Sadducees came to hear what they were preaching, they were greatly disturbed. Why? Well, they were preaching the resurrection of the dead, something that Sadducees didn't believe in at all. 
Immediately the Apostles were apprehended and placed in jail. But despite them being thrown into jail the church grew to about five thousand. The next day Peter and John appeared before the Sanhedrin, the highest council on all of Judaism. And there again the Apostles were faithful and preached the Gospel without hesitation. In this lesson you will hear how we can make applications from this story to the mission and church today. 
 

From Lagging to Lacking

Perhaps the most fundamental reason why we "lack" in certain areas of our lives is because we are "lagging" in commitment and discipline in those areas. In simple terms, sometimes we don't have what we want or need because we are lazy!
This lesson unpacks three specific texts that shows if we are lazy in one area we will end up lacking in another area. Jesus says if you lag in generosity you will lack in heavenly treasure. James says if you lag in perseverance, you will lack maturity. James also says if you are lazy in your prayer life, you will lack wisdom.