The Church Age

INTRO: Cheerleading

Growing up I was a competitive cheerleader but I competed with my school so my fall was always full of football games and the end the of the semester was all preparation for Nationals in January. We were practicing all the time, going door to door to sell sonic cards to raise money, selling pajama pants at trade days- we ate slept and breathed nationals. My 6th grade year we were really good and we were winning at every competition we went to, never even got a second place so going into nationals we were so hyped because we knew this was going to be our year. After preparing for months, we did it, we won national grand champions and it was SO exciting, but then it was just over, something that had taken months of my life was just complete, and I was left there feeling like… so, what happens now?

That is probably about how Jesus’s followers are feeling at this point in our story. We are still in our series, the greatest story ever told. We have followed God’s promise to rescue the world from the beginning, to Jesus raising from the dead last week. It was this incredible climactic moment- Jesus was dead and now he is alive! It felt like the story tied up in a perfect little bow, but the story still is not over, so, now what?

The resurrection isn’t the ending —it’s the turning point. It launches the next massive chapter in God’s story: the Church Age — the chapter we are living in right now.

This is the part of the story where Jesus says, “I’m going to reach the world — and I’m going to do it through My people.”

Turn in your Bibles with me to Acts 1, we start reading in verse 6.

Acts 1:6–9 NET

So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He told them, “You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 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 farthest parts of the earth.” After he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Imagine being Christ’s followers in this moment. You’ve followed Jesus for years. You’ve watched him do miracles no one could explain. You’ve literally seen him die and come back to life. You have hear him say his kingdom is coming, and then he just disappears into the clouds.

Gone.

silent.

sky empty.

They had to be just sitting there stunned thinking, now what? But Jesus told them exactly what was next before he ascended.

The disciples ask Jesus:

“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

They basically ask,

“Jesus… are we at the end of the story now?”

But Jesus redirects them:

“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 farthest parts of the earth.”

This is not a suggestion. Not a side quest.Not a bonus level for super-believers.

This is the commission of the King of the universe for his people. The story is not over, we have just gotten our part in the cast.

1) Our God Given Mission is to Reach the World With the Gospel.

A) The mission is a sacred assignment from God Himself.

Think about it: The same God who split the sea, spoke galaxies into being, and raised Jesus from the dead… now looks at ordinary people — including students — and says:

“You are My plan to reach the world.”

You cannot treat that lightly. You cannot shrug it off. You cannot assume it belongs to someone older. This is a divine assignment with eternal stakes.

B) The mission is global because God’s heart is for ALL.

“Jerusalem → Judea → Samaria → the ends of the earth.”

Basically for you the equivalent would be, Van Alstyne to DFW to America to the the whole world.

From day one, God’s heart has burned for all nations, not just some people, all people. Now His Spirit-filled people are who he has called to share his gospel with all of those people.

Which means:

your salvation matters to God

Your family’s salvation matters to God.

That weird kid that sits near you in class, their salvation matters to God.

Your team’s salvation matters to God.

Your friends’ salvation matters to God.

The people we are going to serve in Lake Charles and in Ecuador, their salvation matters to God.

You have been entrusted with the best news there has ever been- Jesus made a way for us to have relationship with God. You know the cure for hell- are you sharing it? Have you accepted your God given mission? Because there are people in your life that only you can reach.

I know what you are think, “Kensey, I can’t do that it’s terrifying”

C) The mission is heavy — but not carried in human strength.

Jesus says:

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”

The Holy Spirit is God himself living in us. As soon as we make Jesus the boss of our life we are filled with the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to know Jesus, live like Jesus, and bring Jesus to the world.

If the mission were small, God wouldn’t have given His Spirit. He gave His Spirit because the mission carries eternal weight. But the strength to carry that weight is supernatural.

God is calling you to something that is absolutely too big for you. But, this calling is not too big for him. God is not calling you to lift something He doesn’t empower you to carry. And that power is the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1–4 NET

Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.

Basically the people gathered like Jesus told them too, and when the Holy Spirit came, they were immediately empowered to share the gospel with world. Suddenly they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they could speak languages they didn’t know before- languages of people in far off places who needed access to Jesus and the Spirit gave them the power to share the gospel with them.

2) We are Empowered for our Mission by the Holy Spirit

We are a lot like this lamp. The lamp exists whether it is empowered or not, but it can’t do what it’s made to do, shine its light, unless it is connected to a power source. The Holy Spirit is our power source to do what we were made to do. Pentecost is the moment God plugged His people into the power of the Spirit.

The Spirit:

fills believers

unites languages

empowers boldness

saves souls

The Spirit proves the mission is heavier than human strength

and more glorious than human ability. The resurrection proves Jesus is alive. Pentecost proves Jesus is still working and he is working through his people.

There were people all around when Pentecost was happening and these people speaking all of these different languages freaked them out. So, Peter got up and began to teach the crowd, he shared the gospel with the whole crowd.

Acts 2:38–41 NET

Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” With many other words he testified and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!” So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.

This moment is the birth of the church, followers of Jesus united as a new family with the purpose of sharing the gospel with the world. And this is how they did church.

Acts 2:42–47 NET

They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. All who believed were together and held everything in common, and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.

The church gathered daily to learn together, worship together, and serve one another. When the Spirit falls, something world-changing happens. God doesn’t just create a new community — He creates a unified family on mission. The way they treated each other made other people want to be a part of their team, and more and more people were becoming a part of the family of God every day.

3) Loving One Another as the Church is Our Greatest Gospel-Sharing Tool

Unity and mission are two sides of the same coin of obedience.

You cannot claim to obey Jesus and refuse to love the church, you cannot love Jesus and refuse to share the gospel.

The people who respond in Acts 2 are from:

different nations

different cultures

different languages

different backgrounds

Normally these differences divide people. But the gospel takes many and makes them one.

Unity is not extra credit. Unity is obedience. Unity is missional.

The early church doesn’t act like strangers meeting weekly.

They act like siblings:

devoted to Scripture

sharing meals

meeting needs

praying deeply

worshiping joyfully

showing generosity

loving sacrificially

But listen carefully:

Their unity isn’t the destination — it’s the launchpad for their mission. You can’t separate the church’s family life from the church’s calling to reach the world.

Unity fuels mission.

Mission requires unity.

Acts 2 ends:

“The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Why daily? Because the world saw something real:

forgiveness

belonging

joy

sacrifice

courage

hope

Unity without mission becomes comfort.

Mission without unity becomes chaos.

Unity with mission becomes obedience to the King.

GOSPEL INVITATION

Maybe you’re not part of God’s family yet.

Maybe you’ve believed the story — but never surrendered.

Jesus died for your sin, rose in victory, and now invites you into His family and His mission.

You don’t earn your way in. You surrender. Tonight could be the night you meet Jesus.

CLOSING CHALLENGE

But, many of you in this room are saved, and tonight is a wakeup call for you. When Jesus ascends, the angels say: “This same Jesus will come in the same way you saw Him go.”

Meaning: Jesus is coming back, and we have a job to do in the meantime.

This is not spiritual free time. This is the most mission-intensive chapter in God’s story. God chose this generation to reach this generation.

And He chose you — your story, your voice, your relationships — to carry His hope into places it has not yet gone.

This is your chapter.

This is your mission.

This is your moment in the story.

The question is:

Will you obey and carry out your mission assigned to you by the King of All?

Discussion Questions:

What stood out?

Last week felt like the “end” of the story. How is the church age which we are still living in a necessary continuation of the story God is telling? How should knowing you are a part of God’s story effect your life?

How does the Holy Spirit empower believers? Where do you need to rely on the Spirit more?

Read John 17:20-23. How does our unity as the church effect how the world sees Jesus? Where does unity tend to break down and how can we fight against that?

What needs to happen for you to be faithfully living out your God given mission to share the gospel?

How can your small group grow in being family and inviting others into the family?