Bent Oak Church

While Paul was still in Ephesus, a major disturbance broke out. Led by a silversmith, the city was concerned that Paul's teaching was jeopardizing the worship of Artemis. But Luke recognizes a deeper concern. The town is worried it will affect their businesses and wallets. We take a closer look at our idolatry and false religion, which lead to greed and a self-interest that produces fear and chaos. 

Word was spreading around Ephesus of Paul's ministry and Jesus' power. But Jesus was not like the gods the Ephesians worshipped and manipulated. It was a lesson a group of exorcists learned through error. By their humiliation, the church was turned toward deeper repentance and holiness. 

Luke offers two stories of disciples who needed more: Apollos, who needed a better education in the word, and the Ephesian disciples, who needed the full baptism of the Spirit. We look at how these two stories offer images of the Word and Spirit and why it's the power of both at work in our lives that guides us into a better faith. 

Luke's short summary of Paul's transition from his second missionary journey to his third comes in just a few simple verses. It's an easy passage to skip, but Luke sets up important events and helps us learn to recognize how God works in the seemingly unimportant details of this moment to prepare us for things to come. 

As we come to the close of Paul's second missionary journey, we look at his ministry in Corinth. Paul stayed in the city for a year and a half. So much about his trip had been unexpected. The Spirit led him to go, and the Spirit led him to stay. We explore how God uses seasons in our own lives as well. 

As we celebrate Easter, we take a look at Paul's famous speech in Athens. At the center of his message was the proclamation that Jesus had died and been raised. But the resurrection was not a popular idea in the ancient world. Still, Paul made it the focus of his preaching. We take a closer look at why the resurrection matters in a world that continues to reject its claims. 

As Paul continued his missionary work in Macedonia, Luke records the response of two cities. The comparison gives us insights into why some respond to the gospel positively, and others respond negatively. It also offers a lesson in how we discern the truth and define success. 

Having stirred up the city, Paul and Silas were thrown in prison, but even in their suffering, the Spirit was at work. Their time in prison would lead to the miraculous conversion of a prison guard, along with his whole family. Pastor Barry Kinzer shares from the passage. 

As Paul and his companions set foot in Macedonia, they found themselves in a new position. They had no place to start. But the Spirit had called them and soon led them to their first convert. But where the gospel is preached, there is also opposition and disruption. 

Paul began his second missionary journey with modest goals. His desire was to visit churches he had already planted. But while traveling, the Holy Spirit began to close doors and change Paul's plans. The Spirit also gave Paul a vision of greater work than he had previously envisioned. We take a closer look at how the Spirit leads us through our own open and closed doors. 

Acts 15 contains one of the greatest depictions of church unity yet; Luke includes in the same chapter one of the most trivial disagreements of the New Testament. We look at what caused the separation between Paul and Barnabas and recognize how it helps us think about our own church experiences and the work God is doing.

Last week, we saw the churches gathering to settle disagreements. In this week's sermon, we're looking at the letter that emerged from their meeting and the requests the Jewish believers had for the Gentiles. Their advice turns out to matter far beyond just the First Century.

As the gospel continued to spread amongst the Gentiles, the church faced questions about how to welcome these new believers. Returning to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas helped guide the first church council and its celebration of what God was doing. 

While the citizens of Lystra had seen a miracle and been moved to worship, it didn't take much to shift their passions to violence. As the crowd turned, Paul was stoned and left for dead. He used it as a chance to demonstrate the strength and faithfulness required to follow Christ and enter the kingdom. 

As Paul and Barnabas continued on their first missionary journey, they came to the city of Lystra. After a lame man was healed, the town was convinced that Paul and Barnabas were gods. Paul pleaded with them to turn their attention instead to the living God and not to them or their idols.

As Paul's first missionary journey continues, they arrive in Antioch in Pisidia. Paul steps forward in the synagogue to speak. His sermon parallels earlier sermons in Acts. By this speech, Luke highlights the unchanging center of the church's message: Jesus. 

Acts' first missionary journey begins with opposition as Paul and Barnabas take the gospel to Cyprus and confront a Jewish false prophet who resists the truth. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul exposes this deception and demonstrates that the spread of the gospel involves a spiritual conflict, not merely a clash of ideas. The episode establishes a pattern for the Gentile mission: God’s power overcomes resistance and opens blind eyes.

Before Luke records the great missionary works of Paul, he pauses the story to give us another summary glimpse of the church, this time the church and its leaders in Antioch. It is a short passage but teaches a lot about how the church can embrace the misison of God. 

Before turning his attention to the church's missionary efforts, Luke returns to give us another story from Jerusalem. Under renewed persecution, Peter had been imprisoned by Herod. But once again, Peter would find a miraculous escape while Herod would meet his fall from pride and vanity. 

Jance Mosley shares how God has been faithful to his promises over time and through faithful obedience. 

Ella Braunberger shares how God has been faithful to her both in her sermon and special music. 

Shane Logan begins our Christmas Immanuel series by sharing a testimony of God's faithfulness through his life. 

Over the last few weeks, we've been discussing the need for an imagination, led by the Spirit for recognizing all that God is at work doing. In this passage, we get a closer look at Barnabas and how he models the kind of faith that allows him to recognize the genuine work of God. 

When word spread that Peter had entered the home of gentile, it lead to criticism. Peter was called in to answer questions in Jersualem. But as Peter gave an explanation, his critics were moved. By the end of the passage, there was a new unity and a move of worship. We explore how Peter's message can help us find a similar unity and worship.

Having arrived at the home of Cornelius, Peter began to speak. But before he could reach the end of his sermon, the Spirit fell on the household of Gentiles. They were filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues just as the Jewish believers had at Pentecost. We take a closer look at the importance of this event and how the Spirit and worship as responses to the word. 

Peter had not planned to share the gospel in Caesarea. He had not planned to enter a Gentile home. But God was at work in ways Peter and the early church had not anticipated. God was making a way for all people into his presence, and Peter would play a critical role in that new opportunity. 

Recorded between the dramatic scenes of Saul's conversion and Peter's calling to Cornelius are two unexpected miracles and a small detail about Peter's accommodations in Joppa. These stories play no major role in the plot of Acts, so why has Luke decided to place them between such major turning points?

As we continue to examine the conversion of Saul, we see his early ministry and the unique challenges he faced. In spite of new threats, the church continued to grow, and Saul found himself embraced by this new community. Luke records that a new peace came upon the church, a peace formed by their fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 

Many are familiar with the famous scene of the Apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, but as we look closer at the story, we'll see how this conversion was really a calling and why all of our conversions to Christianity include a call to follow Jesus and participate in his kingdom work.

While Philip was leading the rapid growth of the church in Samaria, a messenger from God sent him far South on a desert road to meet an Ethiopian eunuch who was returning home. Read to explain the scriptures, the Eunuch not only received Christ but was baptised along the side of the road. We explore the power of the gospel and why it is good news for this man searching for God. 

The martyrdom of Stephen set off a larger persecution in the city of Jerusalem. We take a closer look at how the church responded, and God used even the persecution to spread the gospel far beyond the city of Jerusalem. 

The opposition had been growing in Jerusalem, even as the church continued to add new believers to its numbers. A conflict arose between Stephen and one of the synagogues. Through false witnesses, they dragged Stephen before the Jewish leaders, where he offered an insightful recount of Jewish history with a focused conclusion on Christ and his rule. 

As the church continued to grow, it faced new challenges. Questions about money and fairness began to form lines of division. The apostles called all the disciples together to address the issue. As we look at Acts 6, we get not only a warning about the divisions churches face, but also a model for how the church can navigate those challenges. 

The apostles and Christians continue to face threats. They had been commanded to stop speaking about Jesus, but they would not obey. Instead, they continued to meet in the temple and tell people about Jesus. And again, they found themselves arrested and threatened. But an unlikely voice provides a question that will frame the whole of Acts. "If these men are of God, you will not be able to stop them."

While the early church was marked by unity and the power of the Spirit, they not only continued to face external persecution but internal temptations. The story of Ananias and Sapphira reminds us that the same spirit that brings power also demands our humble honesty. 

Having been threatened by the religious leaders, Peter and John returned to their friends. They gathered together to pray. But they didn't pray for protection or vengeance. They reminded themselves of God, his promises, and the work of Jesus, and they prayed for boldness to be faithful. Their prayer moved God as his Spirit filled them all again, and they went out speaking with courage. 

As Peter and John's preaching began to draw a crowd in the temple, the Jewish rulers had them arrested and questioned. But Peter was not intimidated. He spoke the truth with a boldness and clarity that astonished the leaders. As we study the passage, we discover how it encourages us to live and speak today by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

In Acts 2, Luke offered a summary of the first Christians worshipping together and seeing the Spirit work in miracles. In Chapter 3, Luke offers an example of one of those events, as Peter and John met a crippled man outside the temple. What follows is not just a healing but another sermon and the conversion of many. 

While the opening chapters of Acts are full of spectacular moments, Luke is careful to conclude with a summary of the humble commitments of God's people. Having received the Spirit, they committed themselves to a particular set of acts that shaped them as the church.

Last week, we examined the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. We will continue this study this week by examining Peter's speech before the crowds. We'll see how the gift of tongues fulfilled Joel's prophecy that all God's people might become prophets. 

As the disciples waited in the upper room, God's Spirit came down. We take a close look at what is one of the most important passages in the Bible and see how the events of Acts 2 shaped the disciples, the church, and us today. 

Jesus asked his disciples to wait. But their wait wasn't wasted time. Waiting changed their perspective as they began, by the Spirit and scripture, to better understand what God was doing around them. Waiting also allows us to make room for what God is doing in our lives. 

Acts begins at one of the most important moments in history. Jesus sent his disciples out to witness to the world. But before they could turn the world upside down, Jesus commanded them to wait. The work begins with waiting. We take a closer look at how this waiting shapes this story and our own lives. 

In our final sermon of the Values series, we discuss the role of a local church in the broader work of the church's mission. Having a perspective on what God is doing around the world is crucial for the support and work to which we commit ourselves.

As we continue our series, guest speaker Donna Barrett, explores the importance of community and how our fellowship reflects the life and health of the church.

What is it that a church does when it meets together? In Acts 2, the church commits itself to teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer. These have often been called the four marks of the church. We look at the importance of these marks and how they shape who we are as a church.

As we continue our series looking at the values of Bent Oak Church, we come to an unexpected value: the church as an institution. There are two temptations when it comes to the organization of the church. We are tempted either to make it an idol or to refuse participation. We take a closer look at why the institution of the church matters. 

As we continue our series on the values of Bent Oak, Pastor Barry unpacks the importance of worship and why worship should be the response to everything the church does and receives together.

In the second part of our series on the values of Bent Oak Church, we take a look at how scripture and the gospel anchor in life. It was because the early church was dedicated to the teaching of the apostles that they could share all things in common.

In the first sermon of our values series, we're looking at what it means for a church to live life together and how the church should fit with our common life.