Podcasts about book of acts acts

JOHNSON CITY - The story of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts (Acts 5:1-11) is certainly one of the oddest stories of the New Testament (and a difficult one to preach!). In it, we see a couple lie about their donation to the local church, and God strikes them dead. What is this about? Why would God do such a thing? Is this something we can expect from Him to do again? Join us as we look at this fascinating piece of scripture and how it teaches us the gospel of Jesus Christ!

JOHNSON CITY - Peter and John are seized by the rulers, elders and teachers of the law in Jerusalem, and forced to give an account for why the believe in Jesus. Peter, in the power of the Holy Spirit, preaches another sermon boldly and with conviction, giving glory to God for the miracle of the lame beggar (in the previous chapter). This is a powerful example of the evangelism, boldness, and evangelism. Join us on Sunday as we unpack Peter's sermon and are challenged by the Word to be preach Christ boldly!

JOHNSON CITY--“God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (Acts 3:26.) In this section on the book of Acts, we se Peter get up and preach the gospel again—this time in response to a miraculous healing! What can we pick out from Peter's preach that teaches us the gospel better? And how can we use what we see there to become better teachers of the gospel? Let's find out!

The Book of Acts: Acts 13: 2-8 October 6, 2024

Today's Message:  The Hidden Hand at Work in Our Lives!

John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."   Jesus is saying that when His disciples went to others with the message of salvation, as He had done, some people would believe and others would not. Reaction to their ministry would be the same as reaction to His had been. He viewed their forgiving and retaining the sins of their hearers as the actions of God's agents.  If anyone believed the gospel, the disciples could tell the believers that God had forgiven their sins. If they disbelieved, they could tell them that God had not forgiven but retained their sins. Jesus had done this (cf. 9:39-41), and now His disciples would continue to do it. Thus their ministry would be a continuation of His ministry relative to the forgiveness of sins, as it would be in relation to the Spirit's enablement. This, too, applies to all succeeding generations of Jesus' disciples since Jesus was still talking about the disciples' mission.     22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. In His high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus does not ask the Father to send the Spirit, which He has promised in chapters 14-16. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is not even mentioned in this prayer! How can this be? I believe that while our Lord prepared His disciples for the coming of the Spirit in the Upper Room Discourse, He did not intend to send the Spirit until after His ascension. In other words, the Holy Spirit would not come until Pentecost. Some suggest that in our text Jesus is temporarily bestowing the Spirit upon His disciples, until Pentecost comes. I don't agree. In the first place, John does not report anything out of the ordinary happening as a result of our Lord's actions. The disciples are not transformed, as they will be at Pentecost. The gospel is not preached. In fact, the next thing to happen in John's Gospel is that some of the disciples go fishing. I do not believe that the Holy Spirit was immediately bestowed upon the disciples at this moment, as a result of what Jesus says and does. I believe Jesus is symbolically bestowing the Spirit upon His disciples, although it will not actually take place until Pentecost. Jesus will have ascended to the Father then, and so this gesture indicates to the disciples that when the Spirit comes at Pentecost, it will be as a result of what Jesus had promised earlier, and symbolically indicates here.    I wish to be very clear here, both as to what I am saying, and as to what I am not saying. I am saying that our Lord is here symbolically bestowing His Holy Spirit on the church. This symbolic act will literally be fulfilled at Pentecost. Jesus wants it to be clear that it is He who is sending His Spirit to indwell and to empower His church. I am not saying that the Spirit is given at the moment Jesus breathes upon His disciples. I am not saying that this is a temporary bestowal of the Spirit, until the permanent coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. Specifically, I believe that what Jesus is symbolically bestowing is the coming of the Holy Spirit upon His disciples as those who will act as His apostles. Earlier, Jesus outlined some of the ministries of the Holy Spirit. For example, the Spirit would call Jesus' teaching to their minds. He would convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. But here, none of these ministries seems to be in view. Here, the Holy Spirit is given to the apostles so that they can either proclaim the forgiveness of sins, or the retention of sins. I do not think this text justifies some priestly hierarchy, who hears confessions and grants absolution from one's sins. Instead, I believe Jesus is giving the apostles the authority to declare men and women to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe we see an example of this in the Book of Acts: Acts 11:1-18, Furthermore there is no evidence that when Thomas returned to the scene Jesus gave him the Spirit as one would expect if the Spirit's presence was essential for the disciples then (v. 26-29) It also explains why this event had no changing effect on the disciples. Evidently there was only one coming of the Spirit on these disciples, and that happened on Pentecost. The ‘breathing' of the Spirit is John's way of describing the commissioning of Jesus' disciples. This is John's version of the great Commission given to the Apostles The disciples are now apostles — those who are sent to pioneer and protect the church. [i] He breathes on them and this raises another theological host of questions that is a great area of study on your own.  We know that when the disciples were on the earth they were His representatives.  They had His power at times.  We know that from the Gospel accounts that He sent them out and they performed miracles empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We know in the Old Testament that Saul had the Holy Spirit removed from Him and David even prayed after His own tragic sin, “Take not your Spirit from me.” Right?  So we know the Holy Spirit could empower and indwell believers, but the Holy Spirit was not a permanent resident until Pentecost, or Acts chapter two when the birth of the church and that fulfills the New Covenant and the Holy Spirit comes and indwells the believer.  So what's happening here is a great field of study.  I think a number of things are going on.  I think when you go back to Genesis 2:7 and I believe Jesus Christ, as a theophany, has made a dirt Adam on His hands and knees.  That's my sanctified imagination.  He's from the dirt of the ground.  He's formed a man in His image.  He breathes life into that dirt and it becomes a living man.  And Adam is made in His image, a bearer of His image.  The animal kingdom was not, Adam was.  This first Adam.  The second Adam, according to Romans two, is Jesus Christ without sin.  And now the second Adam has been buried and resurrected and He breathes on, imparting the new life of the Spirit that is only possible from the Holy Spirit from Christ.  He has to go to the Father to be able send the Spirit permanently.  So what's happening here seems to be not unlike how He empowered them perhaps in their ministry.  But pre-resurrection He somehow is imparting His Spirit to them in a unique way and then it's tied to this issue of the forgiveness of sins. Ezekiel 37:5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.  This is possibly an Aramaic idiom meaning “he gave them courage.” That encouragement was in the form of a promise of the Holy Spirit. It takes a monumental work of God to convince the Jews that God has purposed from eternity past to save Gentiles (see Acts 22:21-23). Our Lord had promised to send the Spirit, which He did at Pentecost. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit directed Peter to go to the house of a Gentile and to proclaim the gospel to those gathered in his house. The Spirit then came upon all those who had come to faith, thus indicating that the gospel (the forgiveness of sins) was not just for Jews alone, but for all who believe, Jew or Gentile. It is difficult for Gentile believers today to grasp how hard it was for Jews to accept the salvation of the Gentiles. Even the apostles found this difficult. As the Spirit came upon the apostles, this truth was embraced, proclaimed, and defended by them. By means of the Spirit's guidance and illumination, the truth that the gospel was for Jews and Gentiles was declared by the apostles, and particularly by Paul: Ephesians 2:11-22 23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Mt 16:19; 18:18 This relates both to those who share the Gospel and to those who respond by faith. Someone with the gospel knowledge chooses to share it and someone hears it and chooses to receive it. Both aspects are required. [ii] This verse does not give arbitrary authority to clergy, but wonderful life-giving power to believing witnesses! “Their sins have been forgiven them” The grammatical construction implies God's forgiveness, is available completely through gospel proclamation. Believers have the keys of the kingdom (cf. Matt. 16:19) if they will only use them. This promise is to the Church, not individuals. This is theologically similar to “the bound and unbound” of Matt. 18:18.[iii] Matthew 16:19 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth 8will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  John 8:32 set free This was a metaphor for gaining entrance. The keys are the proclamation of the gospel with an invitation to respond.[iv] Matthew 18:18 18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Forgiveness of sins Jesus mentions in verse twenty-three I do not think empowers an individual to absolve people of sin.  I think what He's saying here is that the message of the resurrection is forgiveness and when you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ raised from the dead, you must preach forgiveness.  Essentially what Jesus is saying here is the Gospel message must, in this context, include the issue of forgiveness.  And that we as believers are the only ones who have the proclamation of the forgiveness of sin.  Apart from Christ there is no forgiveness for our sins, that's the message, and only in Christ, only understanding the resurrected Christ, will you have the forgiveness of sin, according to the New Covenant.  Well, the disciples are to proclaim this and that's part of the mission that they will have. The Great Commission not only requires supernatural power to carry it out (v. 22), but it also involves the forgiveness of sins (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Matt.26:28). In the similar passages in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, the context is church discipline. Here the context is evangelism. The second part of each conditional clause in this verse is in the passive voice and the perfect tense in the Greek text. The passive voice indicates that someone has already done the forgiving or retaining. That person must be God since He alone has the authority to do that (Matt. 9:2-3; Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21). The perfect tense indicates that the action has continuing effects; the sins stand forgiven or retained permanently. Jesus appears to have been saying that when His disciples went to others with the message of salvation, as He had done, some people would believe and others would not. Reaction to their ministry would be the same as reaction to His had been. He viewed their forgiving and retaining the sins of their hearers as the actions of God's agents.  If people ("any" or "anyone," plural Gr. tinon) believed the gospel, the disciples could tell the believers that God had forgiven their sins. If they disbelieved, they could tell them that God had not forgiven but retained their sins. Jesus had done this (cf. 9:39-41), and now His disciples would continue to do it. Thus their ministry would be a continuation of His ministry relative to the forgiveness of sins, as it would be in relation to the Spirit's enablement. This, too, applies to all succeeding generations of Jesus' disciples since Jesus was still talking about the disciples' mission. All who proclaim the gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearer accepts or rejects the Lord Jesus as the Sin-Bearer." Who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7) All that the Christian can do is announce the message of forgiveness; [v] This resurrection appearance has threefold importance in John's Gospel. It validated again Jesus' bodily resurrection It provided the setting for the commissioning of Jesus' disciples. It also provided the background for Jesus' appearance when Thomas was present and Thomas' climactic statement of faith that followed (vv. 24-29). Lessons Trust God in every situation 2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Ro 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? god has given us peace and joy vs 20 Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.  21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! Romans 5:1-11 We have peace with God and the Peace of God and His Joy god has left us here to fulfill a mission Vs 21 As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." We are called to go tell others about Jesus and what He has done for us and give them peace, joy and freedom too   Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?              John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.               “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32             Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.              hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F             The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions   [i] Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed.) (529). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg. [ii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (179). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. [iii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (179). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. [iv] Utley, R. J. (2000). Vol. Volume 9: The First Christian Primer: Matthew. Study Guide Commentary Series (140). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International. [v] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 20:19). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Today's Message:  Our Boundaries & the Radical Inclusivity of God's Grace

Hannah opens our new series by exploring our Purpose through Acts 1:11 and how we should focus on doing more being than doing.

Today's Message:  A Surprising Conversion, the Predator Becomes a Preacher

Today's Message:  Gathered to Go, Going to Gather

Watch our services live at http://wcfav.org/ Free Downloads of Pastor Shane's E-books at https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/free-ebooks/ Donate to Westside Christian Fellowship here: https://westsidechristianfellowship.org/give/ Westside Christian Fellowship is a non-denominational Christian church that meets every every Sunday at 8:30 am & 11:00 am in Leona Valley, California (9306 Leona Avenue). For more info, or to read our statement of faith, visit westsidechristianfellowship.org/about-wcf/statement-of-faith/

The Book of Acts | Acts 5:12-16

The Book of Acts | Acts 4:13-22

The Book of Acts | Acts 4:1-12

The Book of Acts | Acts 3:19-26

Today's Message: The Word, Prayer, and the Needs of the Church

Today's Message:  Faith in the Fire

Today's Message:  Symptoms of Salvation

Today's Message:  It's All About Jesus

Watch all our sermons on our youtube channel "Flipside Christian Church"Join us in person 9:00am & 10:30am every Sunday morning.37193 Ave 12 #3h, Madera, CA 93636For more visit us at flipside.churchFor more podcasts visit flipsidepodcasts.transistor.fm

Watch all our sermons on our youtube channel "Flipside Christian Church"Join us in person 9:00am & 10:30am every Sunday morning.37193 Ave 12 #3h, Madera, CA 93636For more visit us at flipside.churchFor more podcasts visit flipsidepodcasts.transistor.fm

Pastor Mike Finizio has a topical message from the Book of Acts (Acts 8:26-40) The post God's Blueprint For Soul Winners first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

This week, Pastor John continues our series, Enthralled by Jesus, focusing on the book of Acts (Acts 2:17-21) titled Enthralled with the Power of Jesus. This message is from our service on Sunday, April 14 2024. ********************************************  This message is from Antioch Community Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Follow Antioch Ann Arbor on Instagram Follow Antioch Ann Arbor on Facebook Follow Antioch Ann Arbor on Youtube   ******************************************* Music Credits: The Ground After A Summer Rain By At The End Of Times, Nothing

Watch all our sermons on our youtube channel "Flipside Christian Church"Join us in person 9:00am & 10:30am every Sunday morning.37193 Ave 12 #3h, Madera, CA 93636For more visit us at flipside.churchFor more podcasts visit flipsidepodcasts.transistor.fm

Pastor Rick Gaston has a topical message from the Book of Acts (Acts 13:38) The post The Greatest Word first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Acts Timeline https://www.2belikechrist.com/articles/timeline-of-the-book-of-acts  Acts 8:9-25 Good evening everyone, Just a quick update, the next couple episodes will be the next few promised installments in the big timeline project, episodes of which are now marked with a latin cross at the beginning of the episode name to make them easily identifiable, now including all such episodes released so far. For those episodes, remember they were originally put together for the daily format, so words like “yesterday” and “tomorrow” should be taken with a grain of salt, as the last such episode was in early October, and the next after these will be in 2025 at the earliest. Next month, which I guess is technically this month, I'm officially recording in March now, uh anyways later in March we've got some birthday interviews, and I'm going to let those carry the show until April, when the next worldbuilding Episode on the Gospel of Mark should be ready, followed by Luke in May and John in June. If I fall behind on that plan, don't be alarmed, that's life and there's a lot of life right now. No matter what, I'll have another update for you on June 29th, everyone's favorite feast day, and don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Cardinal Numbers. Anyways, for today, here's past me, going into a little more detail about the adventures of Saint Philip, the Evangelist! Welcome to Popeular History! My name is Gregg, and yeah, there are show notes these days. They have transcripts, and links! Lovely stuff. Anyways… Last episode we concluded our discussion of who can claim the status of the First Gentile Convert. If the Samaritans Philip had converted shortly after Stephen's stoning count- and to be clear as I previously argued I don't think they actually should, since Samaritans aren't normally considered gentiles, but if they do manage to count, then Simon Magus has a decent claim to be the first Gentile convert, as he was among those first recorded Samaritan baptisms.   Let's dive in, quote   "for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw." End quote   Now that's basically the part we covered last episode, but with the addition of Simon as a sorcerer. But wait, there's more! Quote:   When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."   End quote   This is one of the key texts for the practice of the Sacrament of Confirmation, as it shows a separate reception of the Holy Spirit after baptism. It's also interesting to observe how the baptism was carried out by Deacon Philip, but the confirmation part seems to have required the presence of the apostles, the predecessors of the bishops. This matches current practice, where deacons- or really anyone in a pinch- can baptize, but confirmation is generally reserved to the bishop. In modern practice it might also be delegated to the priests, so maybe some of those priests who joined the Jerusalem Jesus club after Peter's Pentecost homily could have done in a pinch.   I also want to note that I saw some commentary suggesting Philip the Deacon was the same as Philip the Apostle, sort of an embedded agent among the deacons, but I think the way that all played out just now is an effective counterargument to that theory. There's a million Johns, why not multiple Philips?   Anyways, the next section is what Simon is most famous for and is where the practice of Simony- the selling of Church offices, blessings, and or pardons gets its name.   Quote   "When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”   Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”   Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”   End quote   Alright, so Peter condemns, and Simon Magus repents, and therefore the practice of Simony is ended for all time. Just kidding. Simony is one of the most popular pieces of corruption in the Church, and while being pretty consistently condemned it just keeps popping up. We'll even get to the point where the Papacy is effectively sold, and yeah, that's considered a low point, not to mention the way the apparent selling of forgiveness in the form of indulgences helped spark the Protestant Reformation. There was some fancy mental and theological footwork being done to argue that the whole indulgences thing wasn't *really* Simony, but the whole situation reeked of corruption and Europe exploded. Now look, it wasn't the only cause and I'm being needlessly dramatic here, but let me have this one because that was fun to say.   Speaking of things we can have fun with but should probably feel academically guilty about, I want to turn to some less generally reliable sources tomorrow. You know, the 3s, 4s, and 5s on our credibility scale. They've got more info on Deacon Philip, more info on Simeon Bachos- remember that's the Ethiopian Eunuch, a lot more info on Simon Magus, and heck, more info on Peter too, while we're at it. Of course I think the word "info" might be a stretch. Words. These sources have more words on those folks.   I'm sure tomorrow will be a banger as we dive onto the New Testament Apocrypha- and as we make our way to Rome!

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 28:17-31) The post Preaching in Chains first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 28:11-16) The post Love Beyond Survival first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 28:1-10) The post Antivenom in Ministry first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 27:39-44) The post Even the Nonswimmers first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 27:13-38) The post A Spiritual Storm first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 27:1-12) The post Unsaved Shipmates first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 26:19-32 ) The post Give 'em Jesus first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 26:1-18) The post Undistracted Witnessing first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 25) The post Conveniently Clueless first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 24) The post Facing Prosecutors first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 23:12-35) The post Facing Hatred first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 23:1-11) The post Not As Planned first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 22:17-30) The post Testimony to Fanatics Pt 2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 22:1-16) The post Testimony to Fanatics Pt 1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 21:27-40) The post Guilty of Christianity first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 21:17-26) The post Paul vs. James first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 21:1-16) The post Upper Level Christianity first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

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Pastor Rick Gaston teaches from the Book of Acts (Acts 20:28-38) The post The Undaunted Shepherd first appeared on Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.