Thursday, April 7, 2016

Mission: Possible - Last Week/Next Week

I sense that Peace Lutheran Church - where I serve as Pastor - is on the brink of doing some new exciting things to share the gospel. I don't know what they are yet, but my first step in making them a reality is cultivating a hunger in the church to grow and reach new people.  To that end, I'm doing a sermon series for Easter based on the book of Acts called Mission: Possible.  Here's the synopsis/preview for last week/this week.




Renewal in one’s own faith life is the first step to sharing the good news with other people.  The same Peter who had denied Jesus turned into a bold witness to the gospel.  What happened? He encountered the resurrected Jesus who loved him despite his betrayal.  Jesus forgave Peter, gave Peter a new start, and it made all the difference.

How has Jesus made a difference in your life?  This question is sometimes impossible for people who’ve been in church forever to answer.  It’s critical for our sense of mission to be reminded that we are people in need of God’s love and we’ve got it.  The more we live with the awareness of that amazing grace, the more courage we’ll have to share it with others.

Listen to the sermon here.

This week I will preach on the conversion of Saul.  Saul persecuted Christians and then, an experience of the resurrected Jesus on the road and just like that, he becomes Paul, the biggest champion of Jesus.

It leads to the question: why don’t you think God can change you too?  Adults come up with all sorts of excuses for why we can’t do new things (too old, too set-in-my-ways, too comfortable, too poor, too tired, too many people relying on me, too embarrassed, too afraid).  God can ALWAYS do new things.  If God could change Saul into Paul, God can transform your life too.

Questions:
1)      Is there an area of life you’d love to change but don’t know how?
2)      Do you believe that in the future, you could serve God in a new or different way?
3)      When is the last time you remember having the courage to make a big change?
Be at Peace,
Pastor Sarah

1 comment:

  1. Sermon series on Acts is the best. I did one last summer and will do another this summer, because it went so well in leading the congregation into new vision and ministries. Blessings on your work!

    ReplyDelete

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