Sermons from Sweet Home

Acts 17:16-34 Mars Hill

Perhaps one of the most powerful sermons Paul had ever preached was preached here in Athens. In intricate style Paul engages the philosophers of Athens in one of the polytheistic capitals of the world and reveals some truths about God and His connection to us.  

Acts 17:10-15 Noble People

The Jews in Berea were of a different kind than Paul was used to. Luke actually calls these people "noble". They were more noble than the Thessalonians because they had "open minds" and "open Bibles". They were actually willing to listen to Paul and check his assertions with Scripture instead of just fobbing off his teachings. 

Acts 17:1-19 Sorry Jason

The Apostles had a fairly tough ministry in Thessalonica. There was a strong Jewish community that opposed Paul and incited a mob against him. The mob went looking for Paul at Jason's house, where he stayed. But because Paul was not there, they arrested Jason and gave him some grief. It is worth it to have good friends. 

Acts 16:16-27 Those Chains (Part 1)

Paul and Silas gets thrown into prison because Paul set a demon-possessed girl free from her spiritual chains.  Then God comes and sets Paul and Silas free from their chains. It seems like God is in the business of setting people free from chains, but Satan is not. 

Winter is Coming: Dress Up (Love)

As the world gets colder, as people start loving less, we will be tempted to love less too. But we have to counter the trend as Christians. And we can. Through obedience we can love people even if we don't particularly like them, or get along with them, and even if they hate us.
This is hard. But Jesus shows us how. The love of Christ embraces inconvenience. The love of Christ shatters the boundaries of difference. The love of Christ gives without expectation. What makes Christianity unique in the midst of all other religions is that it is founded on love. Take Islam for example. Islam essentially says, "love those who love you, kill those who persecute you". In sharp contrast, look at what Christianity says, "love those who hate you, bless those who persecute you". 

Acts 16:11-15 Down to the river to Pray

The first person to be converted in Europe was a lady that was a successful business woman. Her name was Lydia. Tune in to listen to the story of how she cam to meet Jesus. 

Acts 16:6-10 Prevented, Blocked, Summoned

For the first time we see how God keeps Paul and his companions out of certain regions. It seems to be indeed true that God directs the steps of his missionaries. But he also calls his people in a direction where he wants to use them. 

Acts 16:1-5 Enter Timothy

In this text we get to see the "how, why and where" of Timothy's inclusion in the mission work of the Apostle Paul. Paul saw something spectacular in Timothy, that is why he selected him to accompany him in the ministry. What was so unique about his qualities?

Acts 15:36-41 The Split

In this section of text we see that even Apostles disagreed with one another. In fact, the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas was so big that they decided to depart company. What could bring them into such a sharp dispute? The beauty of their disagreement is that they did not let this get in the way of the mission. 

Winter is Coming: Take a Bath!

Just like a nice and warm bath makes us warm in the winter, so repentance from sin creates spiritual warmth in a cold world. Repentance breaches the gap between us and God that was created by sin. Our sin has to be dealt with seriously and deeply, otherwise it has the potential to linger around and remain undetected. And undetected sin leads to unrepented sin. Unrepented sin leads to separation from God.