Sermons from Sweet Home

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. 

Acts 3:11-26 Gospel in the Temple

The healing of the man born paralyzed drew a crowd together in the Temple courts which produced the opportunity for Peter to proclaim the Gospel in the heart of  Jewish religious life. This was surely orchestrated by God. 
Peter does his job well by declaring the story of Jesus to be founded upon eye-witness testimony and supported by Scripture. And ofcourse Peter says it as it is, "you guys need to repent". If you do that "revival will happen". 

Dancing with Devils

Someone once said, "you can't keep dancing with the devil and wondering why you're in hell". There might be some truth to it. Evil spiritual beings surround us, work with us, and even work within us, and we don't seem to have a problem with it. Not because we don't care, but because we are unaware.
In this talk, two key ways we tend to dance with demons are explored. From the earliest ages people have "worshipped demons". They thought they were worshipping gods by bowing down to inanimate matter, but the text says they were actually worshipping demons. Now we don't bow down to idols often, but do we sometimes come close to actually worshipping demons?
It is also true that we often "welcome demons". This happens in a variety of ways when we believe lies, have unregulated inner turmoil, grieve the Holy Spirit or consult mediums and fortune tellers. 

Roaring Lions Need to be Resisted

Although the apostle Paul calls Satan the "ruler of the kingdom of the air" and Jesus calls him the "ruler of this world" we, meek and mild Christians, can actually resist this evil king. We don't fight Satan, and we don't take flight from him, we resist him. 
But how do we do that? How do we stand our ground against Satan? James was a very practical writer and thinker, and he tells us pretty neatly how to do this: submit to God, humble yourself before Him, draw near to Him, wash your hands from sin and purify your heart.
One thing is very clear, we resist Satan with the presence of God. Make not mistake, Satan is not scared of us. There is only one person he fears. You know who that is? Yes, God himself. The more He is present in our lives, the less Satan can have any power in harming us.