You'd be shocked too, if the crippled man you saw every day on the way into Temple was jumping around, hooting and hollering. You'd want to know what was happening too. Why is this healed man clinging to that Galilean, Peter? Peter stands up and explains... and he says this isn't merely about one miracle, it's about everything wrong with the world being made right. By the end of his speech, the authorities are dragging Peter to prison... what did he say?
Read MoreIs the summary of the early church there to show us what we have to do in order to see daily miracles and converts? If we believe that, we've taken these early days of the Gospel of Jesus and applied them... without the Gospel of Jesus. But if we start with the recognition that all this is a response to believing Jesus is on the throne, it changes everything!
Read MorePeter's sermon in Acts 2 might be the most immediately effective evangelistic sermon in history. What did he say, and what happened, that so many people were convinced they were wrong about Jesus, and immediately joined this rebel troupe of Nazareans (aka, Christians)?
Read MoreWhat if, after all the debate about tongues and prophesies and miracles, we discovered that we're asking the wrong questions about the Holy Spirit? Either he's a personal or church assistant (who may or may not be giving special "words") OR he's the Third Person of the Trinity, every bit GOD as much as the Father and the Son. If we start there, his grand entrance in Acts 2 takes a whole different tone. Meet the Spirit, as if for the first time.
Read MoreActs 1 opens with Jesus Christ giving a clear command to his followers to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth, and then floating into the sky. Floating into the sky? What is going on here?
Read MoreThe Gospel is absolutely central to the Christian life and to the vision of LCC. But what IS the gospel?
Read More1 John tells us that "God is Light." This is both encouraging and troubling when we consider the overwhelming darkness of life as we know it. This sermon is an invitation to consider darkness in a totally new way as we prepare for the birth of Christ.
Read MoreGiven the task of 1 John's letter, to give guidance about genuine faith to a wavering church, we may expect that the conclusion of the letter would summarize his main points that true belief begins with the incarnate Son, or that a true believer can be recognized through obedience to Christ or love for a brother and sister. Instead, John gives two unexpected applications: prayer and the avoidance of idols.
Read MoreIn this passage John speaks three different times about "conquering the world." Sounds great, until we realize how big the world is and how difficult it is to even conquer ourselves! How is this world conquest possible?
Read MoreIn the middle of John's great meditation on love, we discover the power for true love not in our own hearts, but in the Holy Spirit. How does the Spirit empower us?
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