In Acts 8 we see the first followers of Jesus boldly and generously proclaim the good news that they themselves had once received of being reconciled to God through Christ. By fulfilling their mission to spread the good news of the Gospel, more people began to believe the good news and began to follow Jesus - and there was much joy wherever the early church went. This week we learn that the response to God’s gift of salvation has to be much more than simply a “what-is-in-it-for-me?” approach, but rather we must give away what we have been given in order to bring others into the hope and joy of Jesus.

After receiving the promised gift of God’s Spirit the first Christians boldly proclaimed that eternal life and forgiveness were found in Jesus alone. That because Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross to satisfy the wrath of God against all the sin and evil committed by His people we can be free and forgiven and be friends of God again, and He can dwell intimately with us through His Holy Spirit. In Acts 4-5, the religious leaders of the day hear these men and women telling others about life in the name of Jesus, and these leaders arrested them and demanded that they stop talking about their faith. Instead they kept meeting together for worship, and kept telling everyone they knew about life in Jesus. Let’s observe what this passage has to say for us as we steel the courage to defend the faith in our time.

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. (ft. JP Watson, Church Planting Resident at Deer Creek Church).

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (ft. JP Watson, Church Planting Resident at Deer Creek Church).

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us. That Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him! (ft. JP Watson, Church Planting Resident at Deer Creek Church).

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul. I say to God, my rock: “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! For You are the God in whom I take refuge; why have You rejected me? Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise You with the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. (ft. JP Watson, Church Planting Resident at Deer Creek Church).

The biggest accusation against Christians by our world is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy simply means being or believing one thing but your life looking like the complete opposite. So we end up looking like a well polished home bearing the name of Christ but inside we are filled up with the decay and rot of some particular sin. Hypocrisy is interesting for followers of Jesus because what we believe, we believe by faith - and Faith in itself cannot be seen. So how are people supposed to know that we even have faith? The Bible says that we can turn faith which is unseen into something tangible that those around us can see so that they can experience the beauty of salvation in Jesus. So let’s continue in our series going through the book of Acts together as we look at a shocking example of how God dealt with an instance of hypocrisy that threatened to undo the young church in Acts 4-5.

"Today, we live in a world of rapid and radical change. Mankind’s hearts are filled with fear and dread, frustration and despair. Mankind has proven incapable of coping with the pressing problems of our time…the pollution of the environment, the rising tide of crime and violence, sexual rebellion, alcoholism, drug addiction, abortion, pornography…widespread political, social, and moral decay. Oh, what an hour for Christians to become involved in the greatest spiritual harvest since Pentecost…This is the hour for which we were born to set in motion a mighty sweeping spiritual revolution that will turn the tide and reveal to mankind that the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ offers the basic solutions to every problem facing mankind.” - Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International. What this letter tells us is that the mission and the need for ordinary, Spirit-filled Christians to boldly and lovingly take the message of Jesus to those around us has not changed since the days when the first church was born in the book of Acts and in fact is now more urgent than ever before. So, let’s continue this morning and see what God would have us continue to learn as a church about how to live out our mission as a church in South Metro Denver and as individual Christians living in our world.

What is the church supposed to be? What is it supposed to do? Does it exist for those already saved or does it exist for those who are still lost and drowning? Or does it somehow exist for both but in a very different way expected? We are in a series going through the book of Acts together as a church and last week we saw how the very first church was born. With God’s Holy Spirit in them the young church was bold in talking about the mighty works of God in their life. Bold in calling out and repenting of sin. Bold when they were gathered together. And bold when they were scattered during the week. And eventually the people around them took notice because these were ordinary people with extraordinary boldness in talking about Jesus and bold in how they prayed. So let’s pick up where we left off and see how that young church lived out it’s mission after the coming of the Holy Spirit. And hopefully from them learn what OUR mission should be as a church gathered and as the people of God scattered.

This world needs more common people like you and me who consistently talk about their faith, who courageously overcome sin, courageously ask for forgiveness and live transparent lives, and who boldly pray for others. We need more common, everyday people who follow Jesus with clarity and conviction in the home, at work and at school. More men and women, young and old who are bold enough to stare down unpopular beliefs in the culture and to believe what the Bible says instead. We need more common people like you and me who live with boldness and bravery. Do you believe that God can transform an ordinary, fearful person into someone who has uncommon and unflinching clarity in the face of fear and who chooses to boldly follow Jesus no matter what? What if boldness and bravery is actually what you were made for? What if there was something that you already have if you are a Christian that could make even the most trembling, ordinary person bold and brave in the face of fear no matter their personality? Join us as we go through the book of Acts learning what it means to Live Boldly.

When it comes to God we have mixed feelings about being watched. When we are doing something we shouldn’t we hope God doesn’t see us. When we are doing something righteous and good we want to shout, “Watch me, God!” But when we are suffering or going through a trial or some sort of difficult time our question is often, “God, why aren’t you watching me?” This is our last part in our sermon series entitled “Seen.” We have been looking at men and women in the Bible who were seen by God in a unique way and how that changed their life. We have been focusing on specific men and women but this morning we are going to look at one more person who is seen by God in the Bible. And that is each of us. And if you ever doubt that, God’s Word says, “The Lord looks down from heaven;
 He sees all the children of mankind.” What does it mean for us that God looks at us? Sees us. All of us?

What do we take for granted being able to see each day? Or are there things we are still blind to even though we are able to clearly see the world around us? Having eyesight but no insight. Famous author and educator Helen Keller who was both deaf and blind her whole life said: “The most pitiable person in the world is one who has sight but no vision. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” And I would add: “seen with eyes of faith.” We are in a sermon series called “Seen” looking at people in the Bible who were seen by God in unique ways and how that changed their life. This morning we will meet a man blind from birth and hopefully get to see what he was able to see with eyes of faith.

Everyone likes to be seen, to be found and noticed. And when we feel lost, we have the haunting feeling that perhaps no one is looking for us. That no one sees us. We are in a series called “Seen” looking at men and women throughout Scripture who were seen or found by God in a special way and how that changed their life. And the hope is that WE would also know that we are seen by God and that WE can begin to seek for others and see others around us as well just like God does.

Nobody likes to be unseen, nobody likes to be overlooked. Unchosen. We are in a series called “Seen” looking at men and women throughout Scripture who were seen or found by God in a special way and how that changed their life. Today we are looking at the life of a man who encountered Jesus named Zaccheus, a man of small stature overlooked because he was considered a sinner. And hopefully we can learn from Luke 19 about the God who sees and the God who saw Zaccheus’ life.

How Big Is Your God? You see, when we have a view of God that is way too small: we offer prayers without faith, we worship without awe, we serve without joy and we suffer without hope. And the result is a little life lived cautiously and fearfully; a life with little vision & purpose, a life without much perseverance, and a life without joy or honoring God. And it’s against this backdrop the writers of Scripture never tire of telling us God is a Big God: He’s in control, He’s unstoppable, He’s trustworthy, and He’s working for your good. (ft. Duane Cory, Lead Pastor at Deer Creek Church).

No one likes to be unseen. We are starting a new series as a church called “Seen.” We will be looking at men and women in the Bible who were seen by God, who had an encounter with Him in a special way that changed their life. And I hope by the end of the series we will all know that we are seen by God. And that we will begin to see others whom God sees who might be feeling unseen. So we start out with one of my favorite people in the Bible. And I hope she will become one of your favorite people too. She was a foreigner and a slave, used and mistreated, with no one to see her or defend her. No one to plead her case. But she was the first person recorded in Scripture to be visited by the Angel of the Lord. And she is the first person in Scripture to ascribe a personal name to God. Her name is Hagar. And she names God ‘El-Roi’ in Hebrew, which means, “The God Who Sees Me.”

It is great to gather on this Resurrection Sunday! On Easter, and every other day of the year, we must confront the fact that Scripture records that a man actually rose from the dead. And that He didn’t just crawl and kick His way out of of a botched funeral attempt, but arose out of the tomb claiming to have triumphed over death itself. And He offers that same triumph to anyone who would ask Him for it by faith as well. And not only that but the Christian faith stakes the entirety of its truthfulness on this one belief. So Easter Sunday is a day that we should either feel a great sense of pity for the poor souls that believe this man rose from the dead. Or it should be the most exciting day of the year where we celebrate exceedingly that because of Jesus we might finally be able to truly live.

We have been going through the book of Jonah as a church together. We’ve read about miraculous events. A storm sent by God. A fish sent by God to swallow Jonah and save him. But last week we discovered together from Chapters 2 and 3 that the real miracle of Jonah is the changed lives. Nineveh, one of the most violent cities on the planet, legendary among historians even today almost 3000 years later for its violence and evil repents and turns to God as a whole city in less than 40 days. What could have brought on such a change? Equally as baffling is what is it about God’s character that would let Him spare an entire city filled with some of the most heinous sinners on the face of the planet? Let’s look at the final chapter of Jonah together this morning.