The cross of Jesus has leveled the playing field. Without exception, all have sinned, and all need a Savior, and Jesus is calling all men everywhere without distinction to repent and be saved, and “everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name!” Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: Acts 10:1-48
TITLE: Cornelius the Centurion is Saved
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins

POINTS:
Day 1 - Caesarea – God prepares the sinner for the Gospel
Day 2 – God prepares the evangelist by the Gospel
Day 3 – ANYONE who believes in Jesus will be saved

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”In the Gospels, Jesus goes where no good Jew would go. Time and time again he would break through social barriers. He went to the outcasts, the prostitutes, and tax collectors. He goes to the demon-possessed, touches lepers, and into Samaria to an adulterer. He advanced the Kingdom to God in the hearts of men and women no matter who they were or where they were from.”

“Luke slows the narrative down for the next two chapters allowing for the details needed to understand this ever-important moment in the history of the Church.”

“Here we have a pagan Gentile hear what will be the beginning of his unstoppable salvation - God is on His gracious move in this sinners life - ‘Cornelius!’ Though he was far off, he is now being ‘brought near.’”

“Redemptive History is unfolding a major turning point!”

“The “dividing wall of hostility” between the Jew and Gentile has been broken down. The cross of Jesus has “killed the hostility.” There are Gentiles about to rock the Apostle’s world and knock on his door, and without the needed paradigm shift in his heart, Peter will leave the door closed on the Gospel advance to the Gentiles.”

“We are clean in Christ!… and this should shock us when we just begin to understand how repulsive we really are! When God – who is Holy – looks down on the whole compass -“four corners”- of the earth, our sinfulness is indescribable filth - justified abject divine repulsion. And yet He has set his affection and love on repulsive sinners like me and made me clean!” 

QUOTES:
Kent Hughes - “We write off whole churches simply by what we have heard about them. We shut out whole ethnic groups because of a bad experience with one person or family. We mentally excommunicate those who do not agree with us on one secondary issue or another. Our sheets easily fill with educational, racial, cultural, and spiritual rejects, and we cry, ‘By no means, Lord - they are not my type!’”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Ephesians 2:12
Ephesians 2:14
Revelation 7:9-12

APPLICATION:
- Who would fill your “sheet”?
- Who has become repulsive to you?
Sovereign Grace Church, you are sent: to speak the Good News to all men and women both near and far!

For 22 years this month, we have attempted to faithfully work out our mission of building a Church that proclaims and demonstrates the power of the gospel. We have helped a lot of people who transferred into this Church to benefit from a robust gospel-centered approach to preaching and ministries. We believe God is calling us to be more involved with the lost. We believe over the next few years God wants to SEND us into the lives of more and more lost people. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: Acts 9:32-35
TITLE: The Power in a Powerful Gospel
PREACHER: Tim Lambros
BIG IDEA: The advancing gospel displays the power of God.

POINTS:
1. The Healing of Aeneas
2. The Resurrection of Tabitha

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”It doesn’t matter if it’s Peter in Jerusalem, Stephen getting stoned or Phillip or Saul the point is all the same – the power of God is in the gospel and it’s advancing and powerfully transforming people and adding people to the Church.”

“Gospel advance allows us to participate in something amazing. Way bigger than anything individual we could do. God uses the unnamed saints in that town, Peter as an apostle, and Aeneas as the recipient of God’s healing power. The gospel advances through people.”

“Death has reared its ugly head on the earth since the garden and because Jesus was raised up from death on the Cross, NOW in an instant, the power of the gospel is on display overcoming death.“ 

“God is not just about some evangelistic outcome. No, He works in our hearts along the way.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Luke 5:17-26 & Mark 2:1-12
Romans 1:16
1 Corinthians 15:56–57
Ephesians 1:15-23

APPLICATION:
Church, God is positioning us for more evangelism. It’s time for a gut check.
- Do you really believe there’s power in the gospel to arrest people right where they are at and transform them into disciples of Jesus Christ? 
- Do you confess a powerful gospel but functionally live like its powerless to really transform and change people?

Paul’s conversion, as unique as it was, reminds us of a universal truth for every conversion— the moment you are saved, you are a new person with a new purpose. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: Acts 9:10-31
TITLE: The Glorious Consequences of Conversion
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: When the Savior of glory takes hold of you, there will necessarily be glorious changes in you.

POINTS:
1. A New Purpose
2. A New Family

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”It’s tempting for us to think of the Christian life as a makeover or remodel. It’s not—It’s a redo. Conversion isn’t an addition or improvement to your life. It’s a replacement of your old life that comes with an entirely new purpose.” 

“What gets us up in the morning is no longer fickle and fleeting pursuits, but the glory and praise of God as we bear the name of Christ in all we do and say.”

“The very ones [Saul] once hunted down like dogs fellowshipped with him. Protected him. Defended him. Labored in the gospel with him. Embraced him as a brother in Christ. Such is the power of the gospel that reconciles us to God AND one another. Such is the wisdom of God in His plan of salvation.”

“Thank God for Ananias and Barnabas who embraced Saul and welcomed him into the church, his new family. They are as someone once said—Forgotten heroes of the Christian Church.  Just imagine how different church history would be if they had not. And what will our church history be like if we don’t follow in their footsteps.”

“Paul’s conversion is a reminder that God can save anyone at any time. And If God can save anyone at any time, like Ananias and Barnabas, we must be ready to receive anyone he saves at any time.”

QUOTES:
William Cowper - “God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform”

John Stott - “There is an urgent need for Ananiases and Barnabases who overcome their scruples and hesitations, and take the initiative to befriend newcomers.”

Derek Thomas - “Praise God for the willingness of Ananias to go and see Saul of Tarsus! He truly is one of the forgotten heroes of the Christian Church. It took courage for Ananias to show kindness to Saul, and it is not difficult to imagine that some may have been critical to the gesture. Are you, like Ananias, ready to give your hand of welcome to those whom the Lord has converted, no matter what their past may include?”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 11:22-33
2 Corinthians 5:17
Galatians 1:17-18
Ephesians 2:1-10

APPLICATION:
- Is there someone in this church you are hesitating to embrace because of their past or their current lifestyle?

- What do you see most in your fellow believer?

A risen Jesus is a trustworthy Jesus. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: Luke 24:1-12
TITLE: Easter and the Art of Remembering
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: REMEMBERING is a key part of REDEMPTIVE LIVING!

POINTS:
1. God is in Control
2. Jesus can be Trusted

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”This morning is about REMEMBERING, not merely for the sake of remembering, but for joyful, faith-filled, to the praise of God’s glory living.”

“From the Garden to Golgotha, nothing Jesus experienced was an accident—It was the eternal plan of the sovereign God. Sovereign meaning God was in control. He acted in the place of authority. Nothing about the cross happened apart from God’s ordained purposes.”

“The empty tomb is God’s way of standing before the universe applauding His Son and declaring—What has been finished by my Son has been fully accepted by Me, all according to My plan, for the praise of My glory!”

“Jesus was crucified, buried, and RAISED to life on the third day—Just as he said. A risen Jesus is a trustworthy Jesus.”

“Most importantly, because the tomb is empty, we can believe that Christ’s work on the cross is sufficient and sufficiently binds us in an unbreakable union with Christ that we will share together for eternity in the loving and glorious presence of a gracious and merciful God.”

QUOTES:
Martyn Lloyd-Jones - “The death of Christ on the cross was not an accident, ultimately it was not even something achieved by men; it was part of the plan and purpose of God…It was God who contrived the cross. The cruel hands of men actually knocked in the nails, but it was by the predetermined counsel and foreknowledge of God”

Paul Beasley-Murray - “The powers of evil did their worst, but they did not, and never will, have the last word.”

C.S. Lewis - “He would have been deceived or a deceiver. But His most amazing promise has come true, so how can we not depend on and live by all the rest of His promises?”

Phillip Ryken - “We are to believe in the resurrection on the basis of what Jesus said (Bible). The empty tomb is not self-explanatory. There is a word that explains the deed, and this word is the gospel message that Jesus not only died, but also rose again with a glorious and everlasting body that would never die again”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Acts 2:23-24
1 Corinthians 15:14-21
Matthew 11:28-30

APPLICATION:
Go from here, REMEMBERING what Jesus has told you. Tell it to yourself and tell it others knowing the God who raises the dead to life is in control and the Jesus who said I will dies and yet live is trustworthy.

Whether this is the first time you’ve ever read this passage, or you have encountered Christ in the garden many times, our task is to consider what our Savior embraced the night before His death. To go into Friday and Sunday marveling at the wonders of the garden. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: Luke 22:39-46
TITLE: Christ’s Agony in the Garden
PREACHER: Brett Overstreet
BIG IDEA: In the garden, Christ embraces our cup so that we might drink of a new cup.

POINTS:
1. An Unfamiliar Scene
2. An Unimaginable Cup

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Jesus is not simply heading into the other room to pray. What we are about to see unfold is pulling Him away, even bringing Him to the precipice of death – according to His own words.”

“There is a rare medical condition where extreme anguish and physical stress can cause your capillary blood vessels to burst and mix with sweat. There are some accounts recorded in history of this happening to men on the battlefield. But whether you think it is literal or metaphorical, the point that Luke is making cannot be denied: Jesus’ inner struggle, His agony was so great that manifests itself in great physical trauma.”

“Jesus is using the image of a cup in His prayer because this was a familiar image used throughout the Old Testament. It essentially referred to someone’s portion, whether positive or negative but it most commonly referred to the judgement of God.”

“The undeniable reality is that this cup that Jesus stares into is our cup. This cup is reserved for sinners like you and I. Every single drop in this cup of horror and desolation is the just and righteous response of a Holy God to my sin, to your sin.” 

“And over course of the next 24 hours Jesus would be stripped naked, mocked, spit upon, laughed at – he would be denied by Peter, put on trial and falsely accused, beaten nearly to the point of death and then hung on a criminals cross in the most humiliating, painful death we could imagine. And yet, none of the physical suffering would compare to what experienced when He would drink our cup on the cross.” 

”Do you live in the goodness of this reality? Do you live aware, grateful, amazed that the cup you drink is full of God’s love and blessing. Ephesians 1 tells us God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Do you live each day, not just aware, but grateful and satisfied in the reality that the cup you deserve to drink is a cup of God’s unmitigated wrath, yet the cup you drink is full of His eternal favor. When we talk about preaching the Gospel to yourself or rehearsing the Gospel… this is what we mean.”

QUOTES:
CJ Mahaney- “When we look at Jesus in the pages of the unfolding Gospels - allowing ourselves to walk closely alongside Him through those three exciting years of ministry - words like authoritative, assured and fearless truly describe Him. He’s unfailingly steady and controlled. But there comes a moment, as we follow Him into “a place called Gethsemane,” when all is radically changed. Suddenly we encounter a Savior we’re unfamiliar with. What we observe is foreign and frightening.”

Charles Spurgeon - “Since it would not be possible for any believer, however experienced, to know for himself all that our Lord endured in… mental suffering and hellish malice, it is clearly far beyond the preacher’s capacity to set it forth to you. Jesus Himself must give you access to the wonders of Gethsemane: as for me, I can but invite you to enter the garden.”

Jonathan Edwards - “[Agony] implies no common degree of sorrow, but such extreme distress that His nature had a most violent conflict with it, as a man that wrestles with all his might with a strong man.”

John Calvin - “…because He had before His eyes the dreadful tribunal of God, and the Judge Himself armed with inconceivable vengeance; it was our sins, the burden of which He had assumed, that pressed Him down with their enormous mass… and tormented Him grievously with fear and anguish.”

Donald Macleod - “The wonder of the love of Christ for His people is not that for their sake He faced death without fear, but that for their sake He faced it, terrified. Terrified by what He knew, and terrified by what He did not know, he took damnation lovingly.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 2:17
Isaiah 51:17
Psalm 75:8
Psalm 11:6
Ezekiel 23:33-34
2 Corinthians 5:21
John 3:36

APPLICATION:
As we head into this weekend where we will celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday - Consider the Garden. Consider what Christ embraced for you. Consider the unimaginable He drank. Consider the undeserved cup you now drink.

A converted heart will be evidenced by a converted wallet. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

APRIL OFFERING 2022
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
TITLE: True New Testament Giving
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: A converted heart will be evidenced by a converted wallet.

POINTS:
1. Two Types of Givers
2. One Generous God

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Whether it’s regular tithe, Fifth Sunday or the April offering, we know generous giving is never about a budget goal—It’s about grateful hearts for the gospel and a passionate desire to see the gospel mission advanced through the local church.”

“If you want to know what God expects from His people as it relates to giving, look no further than 2 Corinthians 8 & 9. At the heart of Paul’s instruction isn’t a percentage or amount but an attitude, an attitude of GENEROSITY.”

“Generosity is the fruit of faith in God, that He is able to sufficiently supply for one’s needs and contentment in how He supplies for those needs. Generous, cheerful, faith-filled giving. That’s the NT focus and if that’s you today, thank God today by saying: I get the joy of giving…God gets all the glory in the giving!”

“If God never gave you another good thing in this life, salvation in Jesus would still be enough to be the basis and motivation for every penny you give in grateful worship for what He has done for you in Christ.”

“God generously gives to us, not so we can live our best lives now, but so we can generously give to His mission.”

QUOTES:
John Piper - “To give sparingly is to give from a heart that deep inside wants to hold back. There are enough external constraints and pressures to make us give something. But the real feeling of our heart is not to think how much can we give, but how much can we keep”

ESV Study Bible - “God will provide for the Corinthian's needs so that they can continue generously meeting others' needs and giving resources to advance the gospel”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Luke 21:1-4
Acts 8:1-15
Psalm 37:25
Philippians 4:19

APPLICATION:
The point is not to Give all your money to the April offering because it’s sinful to spend money on yourself. The point is God wants us to view His generosity toward us not primarily for our sole benefit and enjoyment, but for His redemptive purposes.

In light of 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, from the poorest to the wealthiest in the room, would you prayerfully consider how God is calling you to give on the last Sunday of April from a generous, cheerful, faith-filled heart for the sake of our gospel mission together and the pleasure and glory of God.

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve had a front-row seat to the salvation of UNLIKELY candidates. Such is the mercy of God and the power of the gospel! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 9:1-10
TITLE: An Unlikely Candidate
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
Now that Jesus has Saul’s attention, he does three things-
1. Questions Saul
2. Reveals Himself to Saul
3. Commissions Saul

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Remember what Jesus taught his disciples—If they receive you, they receive me. If they reject you, they reject me. Such is the union between Christ and his people—What you do to Jesus’ people you do to Jesus.”

“Jesus knew Saul before Saul knew Jesus. Same with you—Before you knew Jesus, He knew you. Before you had affections for Christ, He set his affections on you.”

“If you’re not a Christian, whatever you think you need—you need Jesus more right now. If you are a Christian, allow amazing grace to amaze you once again.”

”HUMANELY speaking, none of us are LIKELY candidates to live for and be used by God. But God is infinite in wisdom and sovereign in salvation. He has supreme power and authority in the work of saving people from their sin.”

QUOTES:
John Calvin - “Saul was an untamed beast who was a rabid, blood-thirsty enemy of the church.”

Justin Holcomb - “Just as Paul had shattered the lives of many of God’s people, God shattered Paul’s pride and self-sufficiency, forcing him to seek as a blind supplicant the mercy of the people he hated”

John Piper - “God’s mercy and power are not limited to people who have been set up for Christianity by a good family or a church association or a clean moral track record. The chief of sinners was converted. And that means hope in evangelism and in your own faltering walk with the Lord”

Derek Thomas - “Paul was arrested in midflight, breathing murderous thoughts! This should give us cause for great hope about those who appear to be utterly indifferent, hostile toward the gospel. There is no telling what God can do, in an instant”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 21:23
Galatians 3:13
Isaiah 6
Colossians 1:21
Titus 3:3
Ephesians 2:1-3
Romans 5:8,10
2 Corinthians 5:21

APPLICATION:
Who is the UNLIKELY candidate God has put in your life? Is there someone you aren’t sharing the gospel with, not because of fear, but for one reason - you don’t think they would ever believe on account of their:

• Lifestyle and sexual choices

• Politics

• Past conversations—values and philosophies of life

• Religious upbringing

Somewhere out there, sometime this week, God has people waiting for us. Because the gospel mission is God’s mission. Salvation is His plan. Building the church is His responsibility. Are we listening when he says, “GO!” Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 8:26-40
TITLE: God’s Plan, Our Participation
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: God has a plan—Are we listening?

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”As important as it is to live for Jesus, people must hear about Jesus. We must open our mouths and tell of the good news of Jesus. Faith comes by hearing, not watching. And how will others hear if we do not open our mouths and tell? Live for Jesus by all means. But don’t stop there—let’s open our mouths and tell others about Jesus.”

“When they ask, Can I, Do I move people’s questions about God and the Bible to the good news of the Gospel? Whether it’s Creation. End Times. Genealogies. Good morals. Can I, Do I connect it all to Jesus?”

“Key to our sanctification and witness, like Phillip, is allowing our lives and well-laid plans to be interrupted and directed by the Spirit for the sake of the salvation of others—yes, even spontaneously.”

“For some of us, our personalities may make it more difficult, but it never ABSOLVES us from obeying the voice of the Lord. And when we use personality, busyness, or effectiveness as an excuse, we end up quenching the Spirit in the moment and missing opportunities to experience His grace and witness His glory.”

QUOTES:
Eckhard Schnabel - “Christians must not miss the promptings of God’s Spirit to initiate spontaneous conversations in unforeseen circumstances”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 55:8
Isaiah 52:10
Isaiah 54:10
Isaiah 55:1-3
Isaiah 56:3-8
Luke 24:27
Proverbs 16:9

APPLICATION:
Three simple ways to prepare your heart to listen and speak:
1. Remind yourself—Whatever reason you are where you are, the GREATEST reason is to bear witness to Jesus.

2. Pray—Lord, fill me with your Spirit to be your instrument, use me as you will.

3. Engage redemptively—More than your sympathetic ear, enthusiastic interest, or stimulating conversation, they need Jesus. Listen and connect the dots.

Have you given up sharing the gospel with someone—child, spouse, co-worker? Have you become skeptical about the power of the gospel or lost heart in your call to evangelism because you don’t see fruit? Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 8:9-25
TITLE: Remaining Faithful
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Hope for our mission is not in what we see, it’s in what we know—The gospel breaks all barriers!

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”…while we might not shell out cash, we all have a little Simon in us. It’s easy and subtle to make our relationship with God about getting something we want—respect and success, sense of belonging and purpose, impressive family and model marriage. No one is immune from using God as Simon tried to.”

“The gospel is breaking barriers. But not through the power or influence of man. The power of God isn’t a commodity. The gospel is breaking barriers through bold preaching, the Spirit’s regenerating work, and repentance and faith.”

“Three principles from this story that should encourage us in and produce hope for our gospel mission:

1. The Gospel has broken all barriers, but not every heart is broken by the gospel—Simon wasn’t saved but Samaritans were, just as God promised. 

2. We are called to be a faithful witness to others, not the Savior of others—Phillip preached to Simon but he couldn’t save Simon. He had to trust Simon to God to DO what God alone can do.

3. God’s kingdom is still being built, we are not in heaven YET—So as it says in vs. 25, we keep preaching the unstoppable gospel that gives joy and life to the world around us.“

QUOTES:
John Stott - “The most natural explanation of the delayed gift of the Spirit is that this was the first occasion on which the gospel had been proclaimed not only outside Jerusalem but inside Samaria….The delay was only temporary, however, until the apostles had come down to investigate, had endorsed Phillip’s bold policy of Samaritan evangelism, had prayed for the converts, had laid hands on them as a token of fellowship and solidarity, and had thus given a public sign to the whole church, as well as to the Samaritan converts themselves, that they were bona fide Christians, to be incorporated into the redeemed community on precisely the same terms as Jewish converts”

Bryan Vickers - “Even in the midst of a dramatic move in the trajectory of the gospel [salvation for Samaritans], an obstacle arises, a reminder that the church is moving toward the fulfillment of the kingdom but has not yet reached it fully”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Acts 1:8
John 4:9
Ephesians 1:13-14
Ephesians 5:18
Psalm 139:23

APPLICATION:
Have you given up sharing the gospel with someone—child, spouse, co-worker? Have you become skeptical about the power of the gospel or lost heart in your call to evangelism because you don’t see fruit? God is at work saving and sanctifying sinners, building His church, and spreading His glory. THEREFORE, Remain FAITHFUL remembering: Hope for your mission is not in what you see, it’s in what you know—The gospel breaks all barriers!

With our text on Sunday, begins a NEW CHAPTER in the history of the church—The Book of Acts: Part Two. It is transitional in two ways: it introduces Saul, the main character from here on out in Acts, and launches the gospel into the known world. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 8:1-8
TITLE: An Odd Couple
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: God ordains and uses the persecution and suffering of His people to bring the eternal blessing and joy of salvation to others.

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Saul wasn’t content to merely harass or upset the church. He set out to viscously and utterly destroy them“ 

“If you didn’t know any better, you would think the story is over. It’s not. There are 20 more chapters in Acts. This disturbing report of THAT DAY and the days that followed miraculously lead to the same AMAZING results of the prior four progress reports.”

“It’s An Odd Couple for sure, persecution and joy, but it’s God’s infinite wisdom to build His eternal kingdom”

“This is the work God wants to do in us—Make His Son more precious to us than any amenities or pleasures this world offers.”

“Persecution is not the church’s greatest enemy; prosperity and convenience are. God uses persecution to serve his gospel mission, including purging the church (us) of anything that hinders that mission. God is most concerned with His glory, not our convenience.” 

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Acts 22:4-5, 20 - I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished….And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him

Acts 26:9-11 - I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities

Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth

Luke 21:12-13 - But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness

APPLICATION:
Are we ready when the opportunity arrives?
Two principles for our readiness:
1. Remember God Alone is God
When you suffer on account of your faith, in the classroom, the workplace, the neighborhood, or the family, remember—God Alone is God! History is His divine script to establish His eternal kingdom and in that glorious mission, He is unstoppable.
2. Remember Jesus is our joy
Is he mine? Can I increasingly say (not just with my lips, with my life)—Once I was lost but now I see, and I owe it all to Jesus, who is my eternal treasure worth suffering and even dying for:

• Jesus is more precious than my job

• Jesus is more precious than my hobbies

• Jesus is more precious than my spouse

• Jesus is more precious than my kids

• Jesus is more precious than my house

• Jesus is more precious than my reputation

• Jesus is more precious than the praises of my neighbor

• Jesus is more precious than my comfort and convenience