Coastal Church Podcast Pastor Dave Koop

After the stoning of Stephen, great persecution arises in Jerusalem as believers are imprisoned and forced to flee the city. As a result, the good news of Jesus begins to spread everywhere they are scattered. In Samaria, Philip preaches with healings and miracles following and leads many to Christ while Peter and John pray for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 8 shows us how the Holy Spirit helps the Church and what it takes for the Holy Spirit to move among us.

Acts chapter seven serves as a pivotal point for the spread of Christianity globally. Stephen, a member of the serve team in the early church is a great example of lay person who faithfully serves.
His influence leads to his defending his action by a powerful sermon, that highlights two crucial points: Israel’s historical resistance to God’s prophets and the inadequacy of the law to save due to its inability to transform hearts.

Every sermon preached by every Christian in the New Testament centers on the resurrection. The Gospel is essentially the good news of Christ’s resurrection. The news that flashed across the ancient world, that set hearts on fire, changed lives, and turned the world upside down was not “love your neighbor”. Everyone knew that was not news. The news was that a Man who claimed to be the Son of God, and the Saviour the world, had risen from the dead. Jesus’s resurrection has since impacted the lives of millions of people.

On Palm Sunday, the vision that Jesus had for the future was not what the people were looking for. We often have our own plan for God in our lives instead of submitting to Him and understanding what He sees for us.

In Acts chapter 6 we discover how the early growing church responded to division and the powerful solution of a serve team. When we all embrace our unique roles in God’s kingdom, whether teaching, giving, encouraging, or serving; this will foster unity and empower the healthy growth of the church.

The Gospel transformed the lives of the early church! This message reveals tragedy and failure in their midst and how this continues to speak to us today. His grace surpasses our shortcomings, and continues to fulfill His plan, sustaining us in the power of the Holy Spirit.