Acts: Be Bold

We live in an increasingly hostile environment to the Gospel, and yet, it is a time in which people need desperately to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. How do we not be intimidated but rather be bold in sharing our faith? Well, we have a thrilling account of the early church and how they handled, by God's grace and power, a similar situation. In Acts we will look at how they found grace and power!

Acts 4

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

The Gospel in the Old Testament: Learning to Lean

God sometimes takes dramatic action to get us to have face time with Him and to learn to lean on Him and not on our own strength. But it doesn't have to be this way as his lesson from the Old Testament reveals.

Genesis 25:21-23,25:27-28,27:27-29,29:20,31:49,32,33:14
Hebrews 12:16
Matthew 6:6

First, 'Pray to thy Father which is in secret.' God is a God who hides Himself to the carnal eye. As long as in our worship of God we are chiefly occupied with our own thoughts and exercises, we shall not meet Him who is a Spirit, the unseen One. But to the man who withdraws himself from all that is of the world and man, and prepares to wait upon God alone, the Father will reveal Himself. As he forsakes and gives up and shuts out the world, and the life of the world, and surrenders himself to be led of Christ into the secret of God's presence, the light of the Father’s love will rise upon him. The secrecy of the inner chamber and the closed door, the entire separation from all around us, is an image of, and so a help to that inner spiritual sanctuary, the secret of God's tabernacle, within the veil, where our spirit truly comes into contact with the Invisible One. And so we are taught, at the very outset of our search after the secret of effectual prayer, to remember that it is in the inner chamber, where we are alone with the Father, that we shall learn to pray aright. Andrew Murray With Christ in the School of Prayer

Child of God! listen to your Teacher. He tells you that when you go to private prayer your first thought must be: The Father is in secret, the Father waits me there. Just because your heart is cold and prayerless, get you into the presence of the loving Father. As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth you. Do not be thinking of how little you have to bring God, but of how much He wants to give you. Just place yourself before, and look up into, His face; think of His love, His wonderful, tender, pitying love. Just tell Him how sinful and cold and dark all is: it is the Father's loving heart will give light and warmth to yours. O do what Jesus says: Just shut the door, and pray to thy Father which is in secret. Is it not wonderful? to be able to go alone with God, the infinite God. And then to look up and say: My Father! Andrew Murray With Christ in the School of Prayer

Sermon discussion topics for parents to use with their children:

• How would you describe Jacob as a person?
• How did his approach to life work for him?
• Why did God not answer his prayer initially?
• Why did He make him wrestle?
• Why did He dislocate his hip?
• How was Jacob changed?
• Why is it important to get alone with God often?

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

Acts: Reactions

This passage in Acts is a wonderful account of a lame man who, when healed, goes leaping and shouting through the temple. When a crowd gathers, Peter gives us a clear understanding of how the Gospel is to be presented to others. We also see the opposite reactions among those who heard. We will learn a lot about what we believe and what we should share with others about the faith.

Acts 3

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

The Gospel in the Old Testament: Not Sparing a Beloved Son

Sometimes God's ways are confusing or even appear cruel, especially if we only look at the Old Testament. But then the cross gloriously clears up the confusion and reveals who He really is with such clarity and power.

Genesis 22:1-19
Hebrews 11:17-19
Romans 8:31-32,8:35
John 1:1,12:27-28,8:56

Later writers, reflecting on the incident, make much of the turmoil in Abraham’s heart, although the biblical narrative has little enough to say on this score. Indeed, the impression we get from the biblical narrative is that Abraham treated it as God’s problem: it was for God, and not for Abraham, to reconcile His promise and His command. So, when the command was given, Abraham promptly set about obeying it; his own duty was clear, and God could safely be trusted to discharge His responsibility in this matter. F.F. Bruce Epistle to the Hebrews

Earlier, Abraham had been tested as to whether he would believe that God could do the seemingly impossible task of giving Abraham and Sarah a son. That was a test, but it was not as hard as this one. This test involved a conflict apparently within the words of God Himself. God has promised posterity through Isaac. But God had now also commanded Abraham to kill him.
How could this problem be resolved? There were only two ways. Abraham could have concluded that God was erratic, wavering from one plan to another because He did not know His own mind. This had not been Abraham’s experience of God. The long wait for the son had taught him better than that. Or Abraham could have concluded that, although he – being finite and sinful - was unable to see the resolution of the difficulty, God could nevertheless be trusted to have a resolution, which He Himself would certainly disclose in due time. This was the harder of the two options to accept, but Abraham’s experience of God led in this direction.
Abraham acted in a manner consistent with his knowledge of God. That is, he trusted Him, concluding that whatever God’s purposes may or may not have been in this situation, God had at least shown that He could not be his enemy. God was his friend. When the command to sacrifice Isaac was first given, Abraham did not understand how, if the command were carried out the promise could be fulfilled. But that was alright. Abraham left the difficulty with God, which is the essence of true faith. What is faith? Faith is believing God and acting upon it. That is what Abraham did. God had shown He could be trusted, so Abraham believed God and acted, even though he could not understand the solution to the difficulty. James Boice Genesis 12-36

Sermon discussion topics for parents to use with their children:

• Why did God's command to Abraham both trouble and confuse him?
• Why was Isaac so central in God's plan of redemption?
• What did Abraham conclude was going to happen?
• Why is Abraham's faith and obedience commended?
• Why is God not considered cruel in this request and all suffering?
• Why is the cross central in understanding God and His heart?

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

Acts: Real Zeal

The early church had a zeal and love for each other that is so inspiring! As we read the early chapters of Acts, they provide a great role model of how to respond to the gospel. But, there is also a question of how do we interpret their actions? What of these early histories are for us to hear what God did then, and was unique? And what is to be practiced for God's people in each generation?

Acts 2

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

The Gospel in the Old Testament: Lots of Isaacs... But Who Are They?

In the Old Testament Isaac certainly was a miracle baby... and so are all true children of Abraham (also known as Christians!!). Are you one? What distinguishes a true child of Abraham from a slave child as Paul refers to them?

Galatians 3:26-5:2
Genesis 16:15-17:6,17:15-22,18:9-15,21:1-7
Acts 11:23

Sermon discussion topics for parents to use with their children:

• Why did Abraham and Sarah laugh?
• Why did Abraham want God to use Ishmael?
• Why did God wait so long to give them a baby?
• What does it mean that Isaac is a child of promise?
• Who are Abraham's children of promise today?
• Why are they still called children of promise?

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA

The Gospel in the Old Testament: A Justified Patriarch

Christians are justified through faith in Jesus... in the Old Testament so was Abraham... in fact he is our role model for exercising audacious faith.

Genesis 11:27-12:20,13:14-16,14:22-15:6
Galatians 3:5-9,3:15-18,3:26-29
John 8:51-59
Romans 3:21-24,4:1-5,4:13,4:16-25

Sermon discussion topics for parents to use with their children:

• Why is Abraham so important?
• Why will only true children of Abraham be saved?
• What was so audacious about Abraham's faith?
• Why do we need to exercise such faith?
• Why is it hard to follow his example?

Pastor Todd Jaussen
Crossroads Christian Fellowship Church
Greenville, PA