This is the fifth sermon in the series titled “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 2”.

Theme – Our tendency as human beings is to put certain people up on pedestals.  And we certainly do this in the church!  But as the people of God, each and every one of us has been gifted by God to serve Him in a unique way.  When Barnabas and Saul were commissioned to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, it may look (at first glance) like they are more special than the other believers.  But upon further reflection, we see that the whole church was involved in their sending—because their particular calling was really the calling of the whole community of believers.

The text for the sermon was taken from Acts 13:1-3.-

This is the fourth sermon in the series titled “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 2”.

Theme – Stress and anxiety are major problems for people today.  And whether you experience a lot of stress or just a little, no one is immune.  As we deal with stress and anxiety, Acts 12:1-24 is a helpful reminder that, no matter what happens in life, God is still and always will be in control.

The text for the sermon was taken from Acts 12:1-24.

This is the third sermon in the series titled “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 2”.

Theme – One thing we know from Scripture is that true spiritual growth always leads to action.  That’s what we see in the story of the new church in Antioch.  Barnabas and Saul spent a year teaching them, helping them grow in their faith, and when the Judean church was in need they responded with tremendous generosity.

The text for the sermon was taken from Acts 10:9-48.

This is the second sermon in the series titled “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 2”.

Theme – One thing we can know for sure about God is that he doesn’t tend to let us stay inside our comfort zone.  Sometimes, when God pushes the envelope, it’s downright surprising!  This was true for the early church.  When God poured out the Holy Spirit on Gentiles, Peter was astonished!  God was forcing Peter and the early church out of their Israelite comfort zone by welcoming Gentiles into the family God.  And aren’t you glad those early Christians welcomed what God was doing?

The text for the sermon was taken from Acts 10:9-48.

This is the first sermon in the series titled “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 2”.

Theme – One of the most amazing stories in Scripture is the conversion of Saul, the enemy of Christianity.  But even more amazing is the fact that God chose this persecutor of Christians to be his instrument to take Christ’s name to the Gentile world!  The good news for us in all this?  If God can use someone like Saul, he can certainly use someone like me.

The text for the sermon was taken from Acts 9:1-2 and Acts 9:3-9.

This was a continuation of our missional dialog dealing with non-incremental, sudden change  that threatens existing or traditional authority  or power  structures, because it drastically alters the way things are currently done or have been done for years.

Theme – We live in an age of incredible change.  And it’s getting more and more difficult to know how to be the church in a world that seems so unstable and unpredictable.  So what’s the solution?  That’s a good question.  The best place to start is to simply ask the question, “What’s God up to?”

The text for the sermon was taken from Acts 7:59-8:3 and Acts 8:26-40.

This is the second sermon in the series titled “Naming”.

Markus is on study leave and the sermon on January 24th was delivered by Josh Kerkhoff.  Josh is the Next Generations Pastor at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church.

Theme – In this great story of Exodus, we encounter Moses, an ordinary man in the midst of an ordinary workday, who encounters an extraordinary God. God’s revelation alone is not enough for Moses to trust and dare to follow after God. Through their encounter, we are challenged to let God be God and not limit God by our expectations or assumptions about who God is or is not.

The text for the sermon was taken from Exodus 3:1-15.

This is the first sermon in the series titled “Naming”.

Markus is on study leave and the sermon on January 17th was delivered by Josh Kerkhoff.  Josh is the Next Generations Pastor at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church.

Theme – Many commonly call him John the Baptist but he started out John, the Son of Zechariah. What sort of difference did his name make to his life and mission? What was significant about the naming process and how he was identified by God? The question for us to consider: what does his naming process show us about our identity and mission in this New Year.

The text for the sermon was taken from Luke 1:57-66.

This is the second sermon in the series titled “Twenty-Ten: Priorities for a New Year”.

Theme – There is a problem in western Christianity.  We have a tendency to become complacent.  We think that spiritual growth will just happen.  In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul demonstrates that spiritual growth requires intentionality.  Just as Paul “strained” toward that goal, so we must “press on” to know Christ more deeply.

The text for the sermon was taken from Philippians 3:12-14.

This is the first sermon in the series titled “Twenty-Ten: Priorities for a New Year”.

Theme – If we think of our life as having a balance sheet with a “profit” column and a “loss” column, there are a lot of things we could put in the profit column.  The apostle Paul also had a lot of things he could have put in the profit column.  But all of these he considered loss because he had discovered that there was only one thing that could truly consider a profit.  And it is this one thing that we would do well to focus on in the new year.

The text for the sermon was taken from Philippians 3:4-11.