Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Text: Acts 18:24-28

Thesis:
The church needs growing pastors,
working together with gracious people,
filled with gospel power,
to accomplish God’s mission.

Notes:

Q: What is the baptism of John?
A: see Malachi 4:5-6, Isaiah 40:3 (OT); see also Luke 1:17, Matthew 3:1-3 (NT)

mikvah–baptism for Gentile converts to Judaism

John’s baptism was similar–except it was a sign of repentance for Jews

1. A growing pastor works hard to know and communicate God’s word
   • Acts 18:24, “…Apollos…was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures”
     • Competent in understanding
       • 2 Tim 2:15, “…Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved….”
         • a godly pastor preaches for God’s approval
     • Capable in communication
       • “…rightly handling the word of truth.”
         • It’s not hard to find something to say about a passage of Scripture
         • What is more difficult is to understand and communicate what God is saying
     • Compelling in application
       • 1 Tim 2:14, “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God….”
         
2. A growing pastor strives to teach accurately
   • Acts 18:25, “..he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only lthe baptism of John.”
   • Three questions to answer when studying a passage to preach:
     • What does it say?
     • What does it mean?
     • Why does it matter?
3. A growing pastor boldly preaches the gospel
   • Acts 18:26, “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue….”
     • The Bible doesn’t address every single topic
     • But what it does speak of it does so authoritatively
     • Courageous in delivery
       • Titus 2:15-16, “Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority.
         Let no one disregard you.”
       • 1 Tim 1:1-7, “…charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine….”
       • Acts 18:27-28, “he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,
         28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus”
       • refute–to defeat false arguments with truth–not with ad hominem attacks
4. A growing pastor is passionate about discipling people
   • Discipleship is not informational, it is transformational
     • Rom 12, “fervent in spirit”
       
5. A growing pastor is humble and teachable
   • Acts 18:26, “…but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him nthe way of God more accurately.”
     
6. A growing pastor is Christ-centered, gospel-saturated, and Spirit-filled
   • Acts 18:27, “he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,”

Live It Out!

1. You may know the Scripture, make moral choices, and serve in the church–and yet not be a genuine believer in Jesus Christ–
2. Get this settled

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Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Text: Acts 18:24-28

Thesis: The Church needs growing pastors,
working together with gracious people,
filled with Gospel power,
to accomplish God’s mission.

Notes:

Interpreting Acts:

1. Acts is descriptive, not didactic
2. Acts is transitional, not normative
   • From old covenant to new covenant
   • From Israel to Church
   • From Law to Grace, John 1:17
   • From Jewish to Gentile
   • From exclusive Israel to inclusive ends of the earth
   • From central temple to local church
   • From prophets & apostles to pastors & deacons
   • From Peter (Acts 1-12) to Paul (Acts 13-28)
3. Acts was written by Luke
   • The book is organized more thematically than chronologically
4. It was always God’s plan to reach all peoples of the earth
   • This plan was revealed progressively throughout the history of Israel
   • The NT reveals fully what was pictured in the OT
5. However–the OT is still important
   • The NT is built on the NT
   • The NT quotes the OT over 850 times
   • Much of the NT is incomprehensible without the OT
   • The OT points to Christ
   • Christ fulfilled the Law
   • The OT was written for our benefit & instruction
   • All Scripture is make us wise to salvation–including the OT
   • But–we are not to revert to Jewish ceremonial customs
     • Colossians 2:16-23
     • Galatians 1-6

Apollos

• Hellenistic Jew from Alexandria, Egypt
• An eloquent academic
• Kept his connection with Paul
• Was an “OT Believer+”
  • Saved by faith in God’s promises of the promised Christ
  • He just didn’t know that Jesus was the Christ, or that He had died and was resurrected

Priscilla & Aquila

• Tentmakers like Paul
• Likely already Christians when they first met Paul
• Important ministry partners for years
• Amazing disciplers
• Used their home and vocation for ministry

Live It Out!

1. Embrace identity as a Gentile, New Testament, Church member
   • Do not return to Old Testaments shadows that point to Christ
2. Thank God for the diversity and unity of the church
   • Major on the majors, minor on the minors, and grace in all things
3. Embrace the role God has called and equipped you to fulfill in the local church
   • God has a plan and a function for each member of the body

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Preacher: Joshua Paxton, Ed. D.,
Director of the Burnham Center for Global Engagement,
Calvary University

Text:

Thesis: Relational Partnerships for Mobilizing Generation Z

Notes:

Missions is the responsibility of the local church.

Relational Partnerships for Mobilizing Generation Z

• • 3.1 Billion unreached peoples
  • Why do the maps of where missionaries are going and where missionaries are needed most not the same?
    • A number of factors, but a large factor is they don’t want us there
  • Generation Z
    • Born between 1995 – 2010
    • First to grow up in a world where internet, computers, cell phones have always existed
    • Virtual world shapes them as much as the real world
    • Prefer andragogical to pedagogical teaching style
      • More adult style, self-directed, hands-on teaching style
      • Teachers are viewed more as facilitators rather than SMEs
    • How do experiences shape them?
      • Greater awareness of global issues
      • Greater exposure to different cultures
      • Greater preference for relational/face-to-face communication
    • Recession minded
      • Distrustful of future, don’t believe in security/safety
      • Exposed to adult concepts early
      • View financial success very important
    • “Always On”
  • Most diverse generation in history
    • Ethnic / cultural diversity is a normal part of life–uniquely suited for missions
  • Sexually fluid
    • Individual freedom
    • Personal achievement
    • Where do they find their identity?
      • Individualism–needs of the individual outweigh needs of the many
        • We (the West) do not teach people their identity–we expect them to find it
      • Collectivism–the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the individual
        • More prevalent in Eastern & Mid-Eastern cultures
  • Post-Christian
    • 4% self report as Biblical worldview
    • 34% self report as no faith
  • What does Gen Z need from us?
    • Real safety & security
      • We need to point them to a relationship with Christ
    • Real mentoring relationships
  • Intercultural Appreciation
    • Separate Biblical Christianity from its Western cultural form
    • Install a Biblical worldview at home and at church
      
  • Real Identity
    • Ground them in an identity of union with Christ
    • Grounding doctrine within a context of a real relationship
  • A Sense of Mission
    • Gen Z struggles less with faith than with experience at church
  • We are not all missionaries, but we are all tasked with sharing God’s plan of reconciliation

Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Text: Act 18:22-23

Theme: Biblical Fellowship

Notes:

Harmony: working together in God’s mission.

Philippians 2: Christ, our model of humility and unity

The more you draw close to Christ, the more you will draw close to fellow believers.

Not:

• What is the church going to do for me?
• What am I going to do for the church?

But Instead:

• What are we going to do together for Christ?

It is easier to live for God on our own–but what’s easier isn’t necessarily biblical.

Ministry: Serving one another in love

• fellowship produces love and service
• fellowship shares goods and gifts
  • Goods–sharing God’s material gifts
  • Gifts–sharing God’s spiritual gifts

Maturity: helping one another to become more like Christ

• All God’s people–for all time–have been designed to experience spiritual health within the context of a faith family
• Spiritual health requires encouragement and accountability
  • Hebrews 3:12-13
  • Hebrews 10:24-25

Live It Out!

1. Harmony: work with your church family to do God’s work
2. Ministry: cultivate and use your spiritual gifts in church ministry
3. Maturity: invest your life in others and let them invest in yours

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Preacher: Caleb Ogle

Text:

Theme: Sing Unto the Lord: A biblical theology of singing (part 1)

Notes:

“I can’t sing”

What people mean by this statement, is “I can’t sing well,” or, “I can’t sing to the standard I would like.”

We are Created to Sing

• God doesn’t make mistakes
• No matter what voice God has given you, He has created you to sing
  • Psalm 139:13-14, God has formed your body–including your voice
  • Psalm 98:4-9, “Shout joyfully to the LORD.”
  • Colossians 1:16, “…all things were created by Him, and for Him.”
• God desires to hear you sing
  • When you denigrate your voice, you are denigrating the gift–and the Giver of the gift
  • Admittedly–that doesn’t mean that you are naturally good at it
  • “…we seek to improve in what we truly value…we sing to encourage and praise….” –Keith Getty in Sing!

We Are Commanded to Sing

• At least 50 times in Scripture God commands us to sing
• Around 450 times in Scripture singing is referenced
  • Psalm 100:1-2, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands….serve the LORD with gladness”
  • Colossians 3:16, teaching and admonishing one another (horizontal), singing to the LORD (vertical)
  • Psalm 147:1, “it is good to sing praises to our God….”
  • Ephesians 5:19-20, to one another, to God
  • Isaiah 12:5

Singing is not just a duty, but it is no less than a duty.

Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Text: Acts 18 22-23

Thesis: Biblical fellowship lead to greater fruitfulness and joy in ministry.

Notes:

• Unity
• Community
• Harmony
• Ministry
• Maturity

Unity:

John 17:9–11 “I pray…for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours…all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them…keep them through Your name… that they may be one as We are.” NKJV

Community:

Harmony:

Ministry:

Maturity:

Live it out!

• Ask yourself some hard questions.
  • Am I disconnected?
  • Is the reason I’m drifting from my church family, because I’m drifting from Jesus?
  • Is your love for fellow believers waning or fanning?
• Make time.
  • Add fellowship into your calendar.
• Make phone calls or texts.
  • Keep in touch with other believers.

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Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Text:  Acts 18:18-23

Theme: Reflect, Refresh, & Renew

Notes:

Refreshing the Body and Soul

1. The Sabbath rest is for everyone
   • The pattern of resting one day out of seven precedes the giving of the Law
   • Genesis 2:1
   • Mark 2:27-28, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
   • The Sabbath was given:
     • As a rest
     • As a remembrance
2. Rest restores our identity
   • The Sabbath was given as a distinctive mark for God’s people
   • It shows that our bodies, our time, and our finances belong to God
     • That He will provide because He is good
     • That while He commands us to labor, He is not dependent on our labor
3. Rest reminds us that it is about relationship
   • A God-initiated relationship
   • The rest we enjoy is Christ’s rest, because it was Christ who labored for our salvation–not us
4. Rest restores the soul
   • We need physical rest–but we also need spiritual and emotional rest
   • Our weekly church attendance is part of that spiritual and emotional rest
   • Psalm 23:1-3
   • “He makes me to lie down”
     • There are many times when God not only leads us to rest–but makes us do it
     • How many times have we overlabored until God providentially allowed sickness to force us to rest
     • Schaeffer, even good activity can be idolatry
     • Chambers, waiting & rest indicate a healthy faith
5. Rest should be purposeful
   • If relentless labor produced changed lives, then we don’t really need faith
   • There are lazy people that need to work harder
   • There are working people that need to rest
   • God is glorified by faith-fueled labor AND faith-fueled rest

Live It Out!

1. Take intentional time to refresh your body and soul
2. You need physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual rest
3. Depending on what your normal job is, rest might be different for you than others
4. Take rests from media and screens:
   • to rest and reset your attention span
   • to rest & redevelop your thinking skills
   • to quiet your soul
5. There are consequences to NOT resting:
   • physical: health
   • spiritual: relationships
   • You can’t steal sleep–you can only borrow it
6. Owning stuff can be labor as well
   • Every thing you own also owns you

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Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Text: Acts 18:18-23

Thesis: Taking time to reflect, renew, and refresh will lead to greater fruitfulness and joy in ministry.

Notes:

• Purpose: what is my purpose in life?
• Parts: are all of the parts of my life falling in line with my purpose?

Three potential ways of living:

1. Proactive — living purposefully
2. Reactive — living by reaction to circumstances
3. Inactive — living by following any other calling except Christ

If you get the calling to follow Christ right, the other parts (vocation, relationships, etc.) will fall into place

It is easy to fool yourself to into thinking you are yielded to Christ in every area because you are yielded in some areas.

What God desires is whatever you are least willing to yield to Him.

Supporting missions to “all peoples” includes, and does not obviate, reaching our own neighbors.

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Preacher: Bruce Miller

Text: Matthew 6:19-34

Theme: A Better You in ’22

Notes:

We will come up short if we seek:

• Earthly Treasure
• Earthly Wisdom
• Earthly Comforts

The Remedy:

• Seek God
• Seek His Kingdom
• Seek His Righteousness

Are you seeking a relationship with God
with the same desire that He is seeking a relationship with you?

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