March 18, 2026 Sermon — Follow Jesus

In this sermon from Acts 3, Pastor Brian Firle follows the story of Peter and John meeting a man who had been crippled from birth and laid daily at the temple gate called Beautiful. What unfolds is more than a miracle story. It is a picture of how the risen Jesus continues His work through ordinary people filled with the Holy Spirit.Brian connects this moment to Pentecost and the larger movement in Acts: God’s presence is no longer distant or confined to a temple. By the Spirit, God now dwells in His people, and He chooses to work in the world through them. That means Acts 3 is not just about Peter and John back then. It is about the Church now—people learning to carry the authority, compassion, and mission of Jesus into real human need.The sermon centers on two figures in the story. First, the beggar, who becomes a picture of human desperation, limitation, and the places in life where we feel stuck beyond our own power to change. Second, Peter and John, who represent what happens when believers begin to see the world differently—when they stop walking past pain, pay attention, and respond in the name of Jesus. Brian stresses that this is not the work of spiritual celebrities. Peter and John were ordinary men, and the same invitation stands for ordinary people today.At its heart, this message is about death-to-life transformation. Jesus does not only care about spiritual abstractions; He cares about the broken places in our bodies, relationships, fears, burdens, and hopelessness. The call is to believe that God sees us, God cares, and God still brings healing and restoration. And for those who follow Jesus, the challenge is clear: wake up each day asking to see people the way Jesus sees them and to live ready for God to work through you.