A Memorable Sermon

Introduction

Luke's goal. Through the book of Acts, Luke wants to highlight to his readers what was the message that Jesus' disciples proclaimed.

Indeed, the Church of Jesus had many enemies, who slander the disciples of Jesus by blaming them for rebellion against the Roman emperor.

As we will see, the revolution of the Church of Jesus presented by the book of Acts was not social or a revolution against the Roman Empire, but spiritual and against hell: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12 - ESV).

The speeches in Acts. In this book we find 24 speeches reported by Luke that serve to explain the doctrine of the Church of Jesus.

Through these talks, we will discover valuable truths about our Christian faith.

Indeed, not only do the epistles contain doctrine, but also the Gospels and Acts: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,... (2 Timothy 3:16 - NIV).

The first sermon of Acts. In this chapter we find the first of the 7 sermons contained in the book of Acts.

This sermon was able to touch some 3,000 people (Acts 2:41).

What is the secret that made this sermon so effective? We have 3 elements that made this sermon a memorable sermon:

Simple;

Scriptural;

Christ Centered.

N. 1 - A Simple Sermon

Simplicity. The apostle Peter speaks to the crowd with extreme clarity and simplicity.

The words that Peter uses were fully understood by the people. 

The secret to being simple in our communication is knowing our audience. 

Unfortunately, there are many who prefer to have difficult and complicated communication, perhaps because they want to feel important.

Whatever is Christian is always essentially simple. Simplicity is not incompatible with depth.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

These people don't know that simplicity takes a lot of hard work: being simple is hard.

Let's take example from Jesus who was simple in his teachings (consider His parables). 

Being simple doesn't mean being superficial, but it means being understandable to everyone, even little children.

Sincerity carries the soul in all simplicity to open its heart to God.

John Bunyan

N. 2 - A Scriptural Sermon

Scriptural. In his sermon, Peter quotes 3 portions of the Old Testament.

All Peter's claims are well founded in the Holy Scriptures.

Therefore, the success of his sermon is not based on his logical intuitions, on his oratorical skills, but on the authoritative Word of God. 

If we want our testimony to be effective, let's tell what the Bible says, let's use the Scriptures. 

Today we have sermons that are like sandwiches, filled of everything: religious slogans, funny stories, etc, but they lack the Word of God. 

Like Peter we want to use the Scriptures and, like Peter, we want to explain them.

It is the Bible that creates the miracle of faith in hearts:  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:7 - ESV).

My aim is to reform the nation, particularly the church, and to spread scriptural holiness over the land.

John Wesley (Founder of the Methodist Movement)

N. 3 - A Christ Centered Sermon

Second, the sermon is Christ-centered. If the sermon is biblical and if the Bible is about Jesus Christ, then a biblical sermon is inevitably a Christ-centered sermon.

James Montgomery Boice

Jesus is the center. It has happened to me, while listening to speeches, that I am unable to understand who is the protagonist of the sermon.

Who is the hero of the story: Jesus or the preacher?

Peter repeatedly points to Jesus at every point of his preaching, since Jesus is the protagonist of the sermon. 

Thanks to the centrality that Peter gave to Jesus in his sermon that those 3000 people opened their hearts to the Gospel (Acts 2:37).

The sermon was great because it was Christ-centered.

R. Kent Hughes

Whether we are talking about salvation, healing, whether we are preaching about water baptism or the baptism in the Holy Spirit, at the center of our sermon there must be the Person of Christ Jesus: He is our Hero.

The key to living the risen life is to have a life centered on Christ.

John F. MacArthur

Conclusion

A Memorable Sermon. I believe that Peter's sermon can be called a memorable sermon not only for the number of converts, but for their question: 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?” (Acts 2:37 - NIV).

Memorable sermons are the ones that start God's people asking the right questions.

And this can only happen if our communication, our testimony, our preaching is simple, scriptural and centered on Jesus Christ.