The Birth of the Church: A New Age Begins
A Sunday Sermon Series in the book of Acts (April-November 2020)
by Nathan Parker, Senior Pastor
“New Life: How the Spirit Makes People New from the Inside Out”
July 5 – “What Prevents Me from Being Baptized?” Acts 8:26-40
July 12 – “Scales Fell from His Eyes,” Acts 9:1-30
July 19 – “He Presented Her Alive,” Acts 9:32-10:23a
July 26 – “The Holy Spirit Fell on Them Just as on Us,” Acts 10:23b-11:18
We are blessed to have a lot of letter-writers at our church. Some people say that hand-written letters are a lost art, but not at Woodmont! I know what a boost a letter can be to someone who is discouraged. A letter is a tangible expression of someone’s care for another, that they would take the time to put pen to paper and stamp to envelope in order to lift someone’s spirits.
The Book of Acts is actually a letter. It was written by a guy named Luke to another guy name Theophilus. Why would Luke bother send Theophilus this account of the early church? Well, we need to remember that this is part two. The first letter that Luke sent to ol’ Theo was an account of the life, ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts is only the sequel to the Gospel of Luke.
I think Luke wanted Theo (and us) to connect the dots between the life and work of Christ and the new covenant work of God’s people, the Church. On this side of the empty tomb, we get to experience the transforming, sanctifying, renewing work of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way. We actually get to be a part of that work! This month we are going to dwell in passages from Acts that show us the amazing work that the Spirit does in the lives of individuals like Philip, Saul, and Peter in order to bring new life to an African court official, a dead woman named Dorcas, a Roman centurion, and countless others.
The Gospel of Jesus has the power to bring dead things to life - including you and me! My prayer is that as we spend time in these texts, we will more deeply understand how God makes us new so that we can play our part in making all things new.
Grace and peace,
