3.2.22 4.23.2023 Message Acts 2.14-42

Start:

Entice: There are some notions of what it means to be a pastor-theologian-preacher which scare me. One of my gang sent me a twitter-embedded video this week in which the “pastor” of a mega church said that when he was hired in 2015, he did not know what an Easter sermon was, had never preached one, and did not intend to start. I wish it was a joke, I’d rather that I had made that up. Unfortunately, that is an accurate representation of what this individual said. Yet another symptom of what happens when we forget what we have been taught from the book of Acts.

Biblical preaching has a long history.

Christian, Biblical preaching has a specific origin point in Acts 2.

And Christian preaching had an original preacher, the Apostle Peter.

Engage: You can be a good preacher without being a great speaker. But you can’t be any kind of preacher until you are a faithful preacher, and the measure of faithfulness is Scripture.

Expand: Peter’s message and the other sermons in Acts are models for us. Approaches change but not ingredients. And the preaching in the earliest Church helps to inform our approach even today. The DNA of Peter’s sermon is recognizable in sound Biblical preaching today.

Excite: I love preaching for this church because you absorb the message, not because I say it, not because we are catering to the whims of contemporary culture but because it is rooted in the Scriptures and in it people encounter the good news.

Explore:

From the very beginning our message has been focused on Jesus and founded in the Bible

Expand: Peter’s example weaves together the tapestry of our Biblical and Christ-focused message.

Body of Sermon: Peter teaches us to

1 Explain and Apply Scripture.

Acts 2:14–31 ESV

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

Explaining and applying scripture is all about

1.1 Connections and Conversations.

We need to connect what the Bible connects in the way that it connects it and come to understand the conversations that go on across the canon of scripture.

These connections and conversations should yield an

1.2 Alignment of Expectations

Most people who are disappointed, duped, or discouraged are not in alignment with what the Bible teaches about Jesus nor with what it expects from us. Much of the problem is the constant pressure of cultural norms and expectations. Far too many Christians think they know the Bible when what the know is only the scattergun contextless ramblings of media-driven preachers who are more concerned with audience size than accurate understanding.

Understanding helps to grasp the

1.3 Significance.

of Scripture. Significance answers why questions. And it’s hard to know why if you are wrong about what.

Next, Biblical preaching should be Christological…which is a big word reminding us that preaching should

2 Exalt and Amplify Jesus.

Acts 2:32–35 ESV

32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’

2.1 Expectation of His coming.

The Old Testament story, the messianic hope was about Jesus coming to save us.

That means we as Christians need to know the

2.2 Facts of His Ministry.

And we must understand the

2.3 Crisis of the Cross.

Acts 2.23 “23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

Which is the context for the

2.4 Power of the Resurrection.

Next, Peter teaches us that Biblical preaching must

3 Extend and Announce Salvation.

Acts 2:36–41 ESV

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

If we preach Jesus faithfully, we must be ready to

3.1 Acknowledge Spiritual Crisis.

3.2 Answer the Question.

3.3 Apply the Solution.

Finally, our Biblical Message should

4 Exhort and Advance the Church.

Acts 2:42–46 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

The Bible speaks to our

4.1 Pattern of worship.

The Bible speaks to our

4.2 Practices of ministry.

And the Bible describes

4.3 Providential Growth.

Shut Down

Not every single sermon or lesson will cover the entire Bible, nor will it say everything that can be said about Jesus.

But every effective sermon will be Biblical,

every effective sermon will be Christ focused,

every effective sermon will be Evangelistic,

every effective sermon should build the Church.

I pray every week for guidance that I follow the Biblical pattern for preaching.

I ask for wisdom to accurately read the scripture,

and for

clarity regarding application.

I feel comfortable saying “Thus says the Lord.”

Not because I’m all that bright but because I follow the established pattern.

That means that you have heard God’s word this morning. You must apply it. You must develop your relationship with Jesus and manage your participation in the Church. That is our mutual decision this morning. The message has been declared. We each must decide.