Sermons from Sweet Home

Acts 3:1-10 ”Look at Us”

In the text under discussion Luke tells us about a lame beggar sitting by the beautiful gate at the entrance to the Temple. He used to sit there begging from those who went to the afternoon prayer. Why did he sit there? How did he get there?
Well Peter and John went to pray and Peter healed him. This great miracle ignited a great unsettlement in Jerusalem, because nobody could deny the miracle. But how did God use this miracle, where did it lead Peter? How did it advance the Gospel?
This is a powerful and spiritually loaded story that teaches us numerous lessons about beggars, the true help that people need, and also about how God works in us and trough us to advance an agenda that is bigger than our own individual lives. 

Acts 2:42-47 The Life of the Original Church

The five verses under discussion here were jotted down by Luke to paint a word-picture of how the first and unadulterated church operated. We can see clearly what the church was devoted to, how they felt, how the treated each other and what the results were of being such a church.  
It is unfortunately a sad truth that most contemporary churches today do not experience the same type of life and love as the original church. This passage is always a very good "calibration tool" for the contemporary church to evaluate how it is operating as the bride of Christ.
The Jerusalem church was growing, respected by outsiders, deeply in love with each other to the extent that they shred their possessions, were one in heart, were overwhelmed with joy and carried no fear. Christy was their king. The big question is this: How can we be more like the Jerusalem church today?

Easter Sermon: A God who does what other gods can only imagine.

Various ancient myths related to pagan gods are quite similar to the story of Jesus. Mithra, the Iranian god, was said to have been crucified and resurrected after three days. The story of Mithra was in circulation hundreds of years before Jesus was born. How do we make sense of this? Is the story of Jesus and His resurrection just a similar myth? Or....
Did Jesus potentially fulfill the myths created by men in previous generations to prove to the world once and for all who the real God was? The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the reason, and only reason why Christianity exists. Christianity is not some random belief, it is a belief based on historical fact, the fact of an empty tomb.
In this talk you will hear that Jesus was crucified because he promised to be resurrected. Many have tried to provide alternative theories to explain the empty tomb and the resurrection appearances. But nothing suffices. Jesus did rise from the grave, and proved through the resurrection that he is God, because everyone from every pagan religion that was ever created knows that only "gods can raise the dead". 

Acts 2:37-41 Peter Unlocks the Kingdom

In this text we see the conclusion of the first Gospel sermon ever preached. In a neat and forward way Peter tells the onlookers on the streets of Jerusalem that they had killed Jesus. How do they respond?
Well, they respond better than we do sometimes. They placed what Peter said "in their hearts". It touched them. They moved the message of Peter from Head to Heart and then asked: "What shall we do?" Their repentance was pure because they wanted to do the right thing.
And then Peter tell stem what to do. And it is pretty simple. It makes one wonder why so many Christians and churches no longer just preach it the same way as Peter did. Tune in to find out how Peter unlocked the Kingdom of God with his message of salvation. 

Seeing he Unseen: The Worst Temptation: A Trial

When we hear the word "temptation" we generally think it has something to do with pleasure. But Satan doesn't always tempt us with pleasure in order to sin, very often he tempts us with pain to reject and resist God. 
In this talk we look at the famous story of Job and see in what way Satan caused pain to Job in order to get him to "curse God and die". Satan still uses the same things today: Money & possessions, death and disease.  
We also see in this story the tools that Satan uses to accomplish pain in our lives. He can use nature, evil people...and yes, even good people to cause us hurt which in turn could cause us to doubt God. 

Acts 2:14-36 Peter: ”Let Me Explain”

The text under view here is simply Peter's sermon delivered to the people on the streets of Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. He explains to them what is happening with the speaking in tongues, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the events that lead up to this point.
In a nutshell he is explaining to the people, "you have killed Jesus, say you are sorry". Peter draws from ancient Psalms and eye witness testimony to show that what has transpired in Jerusalem with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is not "fake news" but the truth that was prophesied about and witnessed. 

Cave Syndrome

There is a growing trend to be reclusive, live in isolation, avoid people. There are various reasons for this behavior, but it is not a good thing, especially for Christians. The trend seeks to separate people, instead of drawing people closer to each other. Society is getting cold, and if we are not careful the church will get cold too.
Jesus said: There will be so much more evil in the world that the love of most believers will grow cold (Matt. 24:12). If Christians avoid each other, don't eat meals together, don't care to visit one another, it is a sure sign that there is no love there. For some this type of behavior borders on spiritual death. 
In this talk the question is asked: Is reclusiveness a Godly attribute? The word recluse appears once in the Bible, what does the verse it contains say? Do we need each other? Does separation from people glorify God? Does God want us to be isolated or does this come from Satan? 

Acts 2:1-13 No Spirit, No Plan

Before Jesus left in return to His Father, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem. At various times Jesus had indicated to them that He must leave, but they will stay behind and do great things and participate in the building of the Kingdom of God. They did not fully understand how this would happen, or by what means the kingdom would spread.
In the text under discussion in this talk, we see how God reaches down to these disciples who have been waiting in accordance with the will of Christ. The Holy Spirit, the power of God, falls upon them and they start proclaiming the message of the cross in different languages. 
This event catches the attention of the people on the streets of Jerusalem. Luke tells us that those who gathered closer were from places all over the world. As in Babel God separated humankind through language, now God unites humankind through language. There are loads of lessons to learn, but perhaps one stands out: Sometimes we need to just wait and let God instead of making plans of our own.

The Devil made me do it?

Believe it or not, many convicted criminals have used "demons" or "Satan" as a defense in their court cases. Sometimes we do it too. Eve blamed the snake, and Adam blamed Eve. If Satan is around, and he is a master at deceiving and tempting us, who gets the blame for our sin? Is it Satan's fault, or mine?
This talk is an explanation of Satan's manipulation and temptation tactics. He is a mastermind. He is a powerful being. He seduces, blinds minds, puts content in our hearts, enters people, works in people, fills people's hearts, takes them captive and binds people. 
But He can do none of this without God's permission and our individual decisions. Despite his power, we have free will and God reigns supreme. So there is always hope for us as we battle with sin. In conclusion, the devil doesn't make us do things, but he certainly helps us along. 

Acts 1:15-26, The Number is 12

The text in question during this talk deals with the work, consequences and death of Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus. The Apostle Peter reveals to the other disciples that the Psalmist had prophesied that a man would betray the Messiah. The Psalmist was correct, but he also prophesied that another man needs to take the betrayer's place.
And that is what the disciples do in this section of text. They are preparing for the mission that is about to befall them, but they need to find another apostle because they were only 11 men. Their number was incomplete. How they go about the "choosing and appointing" is interesting. But it also raises the question of how we should go about in determining how to make decisions in life.
Two things stand out particularly in this story. (1) God is the "knower of hearts". Nobody else. He knows our hearts and the hearts of others, and we have no business in determining the content of other people's hearts. (2) Scripture is totally trustworthy. We can doubt many things, we can question many things. But Scripture is a sold rock of truth we can rely on.