Sermons @ Hope

Actes 28 conclut le livre des Actes. En une phrase, le livre des Actes concerne le témoignage de Jésus par la puissance de l'Esprit pour l'expansion du Royaume jusqu'aux extrémités de la terre. Le livre des Actes enseigne l'évangile, les ministères de l'Eglise, la nouvelle alliance, la souffrance, la persécution, l'idolâtrie, la diversité et la puissance de l'Esprit Saint pour l'évangélisation et les missions. En Actes 28,17-31, Paul est détenu à Rome (Ac 27,16). Il a suffisamment de liberté pour rassembler les dirigeants juifs locaux. Paul dit en Ac 28:17 "Frères, bien que je n'aie rien fait contre notre peuple ni contre les coutumes de nos pères, j'ai été livré comme prisonnier de Jérusalem entre les mains des Romains." Dans Actes 28,17-31, Paul se défend en présentant le message chrétien afin que les Juifs de Rome puissent en juger par eux-mêmes. Ce texte s'inscrit dans la continuité du message des Actes. Avec ce dernier message ...

 Acts 28 concludes the book of Acts. In one sentence, the book of Acts is about the witness to Jesus by the power of the Spirit for the expansion of the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth. The book of Acts teaches about the gospel, church ministries, the new covenant, suffering, persecution, idolatry, diversity, and empowerment by the Holy Spirit for evangelism and missions. In Acts 28:17-31, Paul is in custody in Rome (Ac 27:16). He has enough freedom to gather the local Jewish leaders. Paul says in Acts 28:17, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.” In Acts 28:17-31, Paul defends himself by presenting the Christian message so the Jews in Rome can judge for themselves whether he is anti-Jewish or not. This text fits right in line with the rest of the message of Acts. With this last message in Acts, we look again at the heart of the message the chu...

“Through much hardship we must enter the kingdom of God.” According to Acts 14:22, this is how the apostle Paul does discipleship. To strengthen Christians, Paul teaches them about suffering. The Bible makes it plain that Christians will suffer. In Genesis alone, we read of parents who live knowing their one son murdered their other son. There is betrayal in marriage. Children struggle for their parent’s approval. There is infertility. There are famines. The Christian life is one of suffering. We need to talk about suffering. This is what Luke does in Acts 27. He writes about a storm. He is not just describing. This text is also theological. This text is spiritual food for Christians. It strengthens us as disciples of Jesus. We will look at the pain, the paradox, and God’s providence in the storms of life. We will see that pain is part of the Christian life. We will look at a paradox that comes with pain, understanding that we must remain obedient even though God is sovereign. Fi...

 "C'est par de nombreuses épreuves que nous devons entrer dans le royaume de Dieu". Selon Actes 14:22, c'est ainsi que l'apôtre Paul fait des disciples. Pour fortifier les chrétiens, Paul leur enseigne la souffrance. La Bible indique clairement que les gens souffriront. Rien que dans la Genèse, nous lisons que des parents vivent en sachant que leur fils a assassiné leur autre fils. Il y a des trahisons dans le mariage. Les enfants luttent pour obtenir l'approbation de leurs parents. Il y a la stérilité. Il y a la famine. La vie chrétienne est une vie de souffrance. Nous devons parler de la souffrance. C'est ce que fait Luc dans Actes 27. Il parle d'une tempête et il nous fortifie en tant que disciples de Jésus. Nous examinerons la douleur, le paradoxe et la providence de Dieu dans les tempêtes de la vie. Nous verrons que la douleur fait partie de la vie chrétienne. Nous examinerons le paradoxe qui accompagne la douleur : nous devons rester obéissants m...

Years ago, at a Bible study, we began by going around to see how everyone was doing. A young woman mentioned that her colleagues were becoming curious about her being a Christian and attending church. I was excited to hear where this story was going, but then she expressed that her colleagues’ interest bothered her. They kept asking her questions about her faith, and she wanted to keep her faith private. Maybe some of us can identify. Talking about our faith can be awkward. We may worry we will say the wrong thing or that people will think less of us. Acts 26 offers us a model to help us share our faith. In the context of Acts, Acts 21:17-28:31 is the final section. Paul is in custody. According to Acts 21:28, he was accused of speaking against the Jews, the law, and the temple. Paul's focus is Jesus. He can say Jewish leaders had Jesus killed. He teaches that Jesus fulfilled the law. He can also teach that followers of Jesus are the new temple. Paul defends himself three times...