Sermons @ Hope

Acts 9:32-11:18 presents a huge breakthrough for the mission of the church. Acts 11:18 summarizes this development, “And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” I am skipping over Acts 9:32-43 because we have covered similar texts elsewhere. In summary, since Acts 1, the gospel is going from Jerusalem and beyond reaching first the whole Promised Land.Different kinds of people are being saved. Accompanying the gospel, there are miracles that are very similar to those Jesus performed in his ministry. They show the continuity between what Jesus did and what the apostles were doing. [i] Outline: The biggest development in Acts 9:32-11:18 is the salvation of Gentiles. It begins with (1) meals together (Acts 10:1-24) and good news for all (Acts 10:25-43), and results in the equality of all in Christ (Acts 10:44-11:18). First, through Peter’s Vision we see the importance of meals together in Acts 10:1-24. This is the content of A...

Helpful resources. [i] Two Sundays ago, I woke up to find out that my brother had died. This is by far the most tragic event that has struck my family. I have struggled with sleep. I have been really sad. I am still in shock, and get anxious when I ask “what if” questions. I wish my brother was here and I wish he was with me. I wish he could play with my kids and be a meaningful part of the rest of my life. None of that can happen because he is gone. As a Christian, I need to know how God fits in this situation. Because suffering is so common among us in all its forms, I wanted to take an extra week off of Acts to look at Psalm 13. Psalm 13 arises out of an unknown crisis that leads to a deep sense of abandonment and ends with confidence. [ii] The nature of the crisis is unclear. In many Psalms the vagueness is intentional. The vagueness allows all of God’s people across the ages to appropriate the psalm in their particular situations. This is the overview of the Psalm. Psalm 13 begi...

Il y a deux dimanches, je me suis réveillé et j'ai appris la mort de mon frère. C'est de loin l'événement le plus tragique qui ait frappé ma famille. Je ne dors pas très bien. J'ai été très triste. Je suis toujours en état de choc et j'éprouve une certaine anxiété en me posant des questions "et si". J'aimerais que mon frère soit là et qu'il soit avec moi. J'aimerais qu'il joue avec mes enfants et qu'il fasse partie intégrante du reste de ma vie. Rien de tout cela n'est possible parce qu'il n'est plus là. En tant que chrétien, j'ai besoin de savoir ce que Dieu fait dans cette situation. Parce que la souffrance est si commune parmi nous, sous toutes ses formes, je voulais examiner le Psaume 13. Le Psaume 13 naît d'une crise inconnue qui conduit à un profond sentiment d'abandon et se termine par la confiance[ii]. La nature de la crise n'est pas claire. Dans de nombreux psaumes, cette imprécision est intentionnel...