Audio Messages

Parents have an important role in working with God to make their God-honoring dreams a reality in their children’s lives. Dreams to pass on someone genuine, gifted, faithful, and respected, to the world. In today’s message, Pastor John shares some observations about parenting that will help make your parenting dreams come true.

The Christian faith is based on God’s unmerited grace shown to sinners. In this message, Pastor John explores the doctrines of saving grace, common grace, and preserving grace that are crucial for all believers to understand.

The Word of God is a thread woven through the story of Acts 13. It is revealed, proclaimed, heard, some try to block it or are jealous of it (for no good reason), it spreads, and it is honored and glorified. How will you respond to it?

Acts 12 is a strong warning against pride, and also a comfort to the church that God takes care of those who humble themselves and call out to him in prayer. In this message, Pastor John explores why pride is so distasteful, and what we can do to hedge against pride in our own lives.

In a pile of what looks like junk to us, God provides something valuable and redeemable and worth going after. In today’s message, Pastor John replays Peter’s sermon to Cornelius’ household that no one needs to be unacceptable to God.

Part of Luke’s purpose in writing Acts was to record the growth of the church as, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus continued the ministry He began. The growth of the church - any church - is for the glory of God. It isn’t pastors, programs, or practices that cause a church to grow – it is the Holy Spirit that causes growth as He draws people to Jesus. But, we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit for growth to happen. With that in mind, this passage provides us with three observations about the building of the church.

Some people are very skilled at “playing church,” putting on a certain face and speaking through a mask of hypocrisy. Corruption and corrupt ideas can easily worm their way into the church. Passages like this teach us that God is a holy God whose purpose in grace is to eliminate our corruption. The church is not to be a breeding ground for corruption, deceit, and hypocrisy.

Before Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven, He gave His disciples these instructions: “Do not leave the city, but wait for the gift that my Father has promised.” What do you do during times when God says, “Wait.” In this section of Acts, we see the church waiting and preparing for God to act in a powerful way. There are some important lessons that we as a church can learn about prayer, unity, and courage.

Christianity is a “conventional” faith in the sense that there are orthodox beliefs – such as salvation by faith through grace apart from works - that line up with Scripture. And conventional in the sense that, just like a convention is a gathering of people, Christianity involves people who gather and share life together. In this message, Pastor John discusses a practical approach to Christianity that honors Jesus and other Christians.

The premise on which the church operated in the 1st century– and today - is sharing the good news of forgiveness of sin through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, which results in people who are liberated from sin and filled with joy, who then turn around and do good. Good news breeds good deeds.