Stephen McDonald

Prepared to Die (Acts 6:8-15)

What amazing people these Christians were! It was obvious that the Holy Spirit filled them, they were full of faith, and God’s grace and power were at work in and through them (v3, 5, 8). God’s Word is spreading. The Church is growing, not just in ones and twos, but multiplying! Even priests and religiousContinue reading “Prepared to Die (Acts 6:8-15)”

Service with Strategy (Acts 6:1-7)

Does it matter what sort of church you belong to? There are churches where the bishop calls the shots or what the minister says, goes. There are churches governed by elders. Does the way the church is organized matter? Really? Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Oh, great. A sermon on church government.’ But even though how theContinue reading “Service with Strategy (Acts 6:1-7)”

God’s Unstoppable Gospel (Acts 5:17-42)

Time and again, Bible-believing Christians are told that we are on the wrong side of history. The message is, ‘Society is changing. You need to keep up.’ And if we don’t, we deserve to be swept out of the way. But the bigger issue for Christians is not whether we are on the wrong sideContinue reading “God’s Unstoppable Gospel (Acts 5:17-42)”

The God of Great Fear (Acts 5:1-16)

“God is love,” 1 John 4:8b. “Judge not, that you be not judged,” Matthew 7:1. Those two verses capture the common understanding of Christianity. ‘If there is a God, He loves and He doesn’t care what you do. So nobody else should judge you either.’ But both of those verses are taken out of context.Continue reading “The God of Great Fear (Acts 5:1-16)”

God’s Generous Gospel (Acts 4:33-5:3)

We saw last week how the prayers we pray show the God we believe in. When we pray as if God isn’t big enough to change our lives, when we pray as if God is as scared as we are, when we pray believing that God is taken by surprise, then our God is notContinue reading “God’s Generous Gospel (Acts 4:33-5:3)”