Title: Law, Grace, & Mission (2)
Series: On a Mission-The Life of Paul
Author: Patrick Edwards
Text: Acts 14:21-15:35
Introduction
The wise sage and front man of the band Coldplay, Chris Martin, once sang "Nobody said it would be easy." I wish that weren't true. But life is full of challenges and hardships. I've experienced it in my own life; I've seen it in others. It happens to organizations, nations, and even churches. We've seen it quite a bit here in the book of Acts; challenges and opposition to the mission of Jesus, the gospel, the good news that God is breaking into this fallen and broken world to set things to rights. As the church has proclaimed that Jesus is Lord and Savior, that He is King, the powers of this world have fought back. Political powers, social powers, religious powers, economic powers, spiritual powers.
But the challenges that face the church on a mission don't always come from the outside. Sometimes they are internal. What happens when the mission is being accomplished and the church is crossing cultural barriers? What happens when all sorts of new people join the fellowship of the Gospel from different ethnicities, different backgrounds and cultures? How does a distinctively Jewish movement maintain its commitment to the God of Israel while recognizing that He is the God of every nation and, thus, this movement has to become more than just Jewish? What we see this morning in Acts 15 is that while the mission of the Gospel is clear, how it can be pursued across cultural barriers is a challenge for every church. Our passage today shows us how we can live fully in the freedom of Christ while loving one another inside and outside the church.
1. The Church is Encouraged and Equipped 14:21-15:5
We start then with Paul and Barnabas, where we left off last week. They've made their way Derbe [MAP] preaching the Gospel. And this is amazing to me! Despite the opposition and even violence they had endured, they decide to ret ...
Series: On a Mission-The Life of Paul
Author: Patrick Edwards
Text: Acts 14:21-15:35
Introduction
The wise sage and front man of the band Coldplay, Chris Martin, once sang "Nobody said it would be easy." I wish that weren't true. But life is full of challenges and hardships. I've experienced it in my own life; I've seen it in others. It happens to organizations, nations, and even churches. We've seen it quite a bit here in the book of Acts; challenges and opposition to the mission of Jesus, the gospel, the good news that God is breaking into this fallen and broken world to set things to rights. As the church has proclaimed that Jesus is Lord and Savior, that He is King, the powers of this world have fought back. Political powers, social powers, religious powers, economic powers, spiritual powers.
But the challenges that face the church on a mission don't always come from the outside. Sometimes they are internal. What happens when the mission is being accomplished and the church is crossing cultural barriers? What happens when all sorts of new people join the fellowship of the Gospel from different ethnicities, different backgrounds and cultures? How does a distinctively Jewish movement maintain its commitment to the God of Israel while recognizing that He is the God of every nation and, thus, this movement has to become more than just Jewish? What we see this morning in Acts 15 is that while the mission of the Gospel is clear, how it can be pursued across cultural barriers is a challenge for every church. Our passage today shows us how we can live fully in the freedom of Christ while loving one another inside and outside the church.
1. The Church is Encouraged and Equipped 14:21-15:5
We start then with Paul and Barnabas, where we left off last week. They've made their way Derbe [MAP] preaching the Gospel. And this is amazing to me! Despite the opposition and even violence they had endured, they decide to ret ...
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