Sermon Tone Analysis

Today we are picking back up in our study of the book of Acts.

If you’re new to our church, it would be good for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.

What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible, and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what it means in our lives today.

With that said, we are currently doing that through the NT book of Acts.

A book written for two purposes.

First to give us a history of how the church started, and the circumstances that surrounded it.

And secondly, to give us a template for how Jesus intends for us to accomplish the mission of taking the Gospel from where we live to the world we live in.

So, if you haven’t been with us, I would encourage you to go online to mcf.life where you can listen to or watch all of the messages leading up to today.

You may recall we wrapped up Acts chapter 6 a couple of weeks ago with what you might call a “standoff”.

We’re probably all familiar with what a standoff is, right?

I don’t know about you, but when I think of a stand off my mind goes to an old west scened with a couple of gun fighters facing off against one another on some old dusty street scene.

And while the street is deserted, these two men are not alone as the town folk peer out from behind closed windows and doors.

Subtly there’s a whistling of wind in the background as tumble weeds blow across the street between them.

And then there’s that eerie gun fighter music playing in the background that sounds something like this: Play sound.

That’s what I think of when I here the word “standoff”.

And the way this stand off works, is whoever has the fastest draw and better aim is the one who is going to be left standing while the other is going to end up in a pine box.

Pretty exciting, right?

And in a way, that’s how chapter 6 ended, with the beginning of what you might call a stand off.

But in our case, it’s not an old west stand off.

Instead it’s a 1st century stand off.

And it’s not two gun fighters.

No, it’s a Christian named Stephen and a group of religious leaders known as the Sadducees standing face to face in what has now become a stand off to the death.

So, what’s caused this stand off?

Well, the Sadducees technically instigated it because they didn’t like what Stephen is doing.

So, what we he doing?

To put it simply, he was telling people about Jesus.

He was presenting the gospel.

And it’s got him in hot water.

So, why do the Sadducees have a problem with Stephen’s message?

Well, the reasons are many, but it comes down to one main reason.

And the reason is simply this: The Gospel threatens what people have ultimately put their hope in.

And in the case of the Sadduccees, the gospel is stepping on their religious toes.

It’s brining into question their religious beliefs.

And as we learned in chapter 6 is, when that happens, you can most definitely expect opposition.

In fact, you can expect some people to even hate you for your faith in Jesus, which is the case with the Sadducees.

Jesus himself put it like this:

“…and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake...” (ESV)

So, for example, when it comes to the secular person, they hate Christians because the gospel forces them to consider that there is a God to whom they are accountable.

Something they don’t want to hear.

The same is true for a secular person, because the gospel forces them to consider that there is a God to whom they are accountable.

Something they don’t want to hear.

It forces them to consider that what this world offers is temporal and fleeting and that it will never provide the hope, happiness, peace, and joy they are so desperately seeking.

Again, it’s something they don’t want to hear, but that is true.

The Apostle John puts it like this:

John says while the world pretends to have something to offer, it doesn’t.

And the truth is, when you poke that bear, the bear is going to respond.

For the religious person, the gospel forces them to consider that their rituals, traditions, and good works will never be enough.

That as hard as they try to please God and work their way into heaven, their religion will never save them.

The writer of Hebrews puts it like this:

For the religious person, the gospel forces them to consider that their rituals, traditions, and good works will never be enough.

The writer says listen, “Good works, offerings, sacrifices, rituals, and traditions do nothing to take away our sins.”

That’s what the Bible says.

So, you see, the gospel forces everybody whether secular or religious to face the truth that their way is faulted.

The gospel forces us to face the truth that there is only one way.

So, what is that way?

Jesus puts it like this:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.” (ESV)

Jesus says, the only way to be right with God is through Him.

The only way to find hope, peace, happiness, joy, fulfillment, and reconciliation with God is through Him.

That’s why the writer of Hebrews says:

You see, Jesus is the sacrifice.

Jesus is the offering.

Jesus is the one who is good enough.

And as a result, He’s the one who brings hope.

He’s the one who brings peace.

He’s the one who brings joy.

He’s the one who reconciles us to our creator.

Only through Jesus can the gap between God and man be repaired.

And the good news of the Gospel is that God has freely offered this gift.

The Apostle Paul puts it like this:

It’s not something you have to work for.

It’s not something you have to earn.

All you have to do is accept it.

All you have to do is put your faith in Jesus and make Him Lord.

And if you’re willing to do that, then you can experience the life God wants you to have, and not only in this life, but in the life to come.

It’s that simple.

But unfortunately, while it’s an amazing gift, it’s not a gift all are willing to accept or receive.

In fact, some will not only reject it but persecute those who offer it.

Jesus puts it like this:

Jesus says, “If they rejected and persecuted me, then they will reject and persecute you as well.”

And that’s exactly what Stephen was facing in as he presented the gospel to a group of people who didn’t want to hear it.

A group that was more committed to their religious beliefs than they were the truth.

And it’s now led to a stand off.

A stand off where at the end of the day somebody is going to end up in a pine box.

But before the bullets start flying, and in Stephen’s case, the stones, Stephen has something to say, as in a final effort to witness to this group, Stephen takes them on a Biblical journey.

A journey that recounts the history of God’s redemptive plan.

A journey that Stephen hopes will lead them to the conclusion that they need Jesus.

So, what does Stephen say?

Well, he actually has a lot to say.

In fact, for the next 5 weeks leading up to Easter weekend we’re going to look at what Stephen has to say.

And while we’re not officially starting our Easter focus until next Sunday, today’s message set’s the stage for our journey towards Easter.

A journey that will hopefully lead all of us to the conclusion that we need Jesus.

A journey that will show us that Hope is Alive, and not only is it alive, it’s available to anybody who would seek it.

The question then is, “How do we seek it?

How do we lead people to it?

How do we discover the Hope that God has offered us?” That’s where we’re going to start today.

So, in order to set the stage for Easter and for our passage today, I want to begin by asking you to consider a situation you may have encountered at some point in your life.

And the situation goes something like this.

Have you ever been in a situation where you were Promised something you wanted now, but you weren’t going to receive it until later?