Sermon Tone Analysis

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

If you’re new to our church, it would be helpful 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 the Bible means in our lives today.

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

A NT book that was written for two primary reasons:

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

Second, to give us a template to accomplish the mission that Jesus has given us to take the gospel from where we live to the rest of the world.

All that to say, the book of Acts teaches us what church should look like and how God has designed it to help us reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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

As we come back to our study of Acts today, we find ourselves once again in .

You may recall, represents a transition in the life of the early church.

A transition that was brought on by the murder of a Christian named Stephen, the first Christian to be killed for his faith in Jesus.

A murder that resulted in a great persecution breaking out against the early church.

A persecution that was largely led by a man named Saul.

Luke puts it like this in verse 8:1:

Acts 8:

Luke says overnight the early church went from meeting and worshiping together to being scattered throughout the region as their world was literally turned upside down.

But as we’ve learned, there was purpose in this scattering.

Because as a result of the persecution, the early church was forced out of the comfort of Jerusalem and into the world that Jesus had called them to reach.

Jesus puts it like this:

Luke writes:

So, with the persecution upon them, the church is now forced to leave Jerusalem, and go into Judea and Samaria.

Luke writes in :

And preaching the word they did as

And so overnight, the first century Christians go from being church goers to witnesses.

Witnesses that are now carrying the message of the Gospel out into the world.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what Jesus has called the church to do.

To be His witnesses.

And what was true for the first Christians in Acts is true for Christians today.

The fact is, if you’re a Christian, Jesus has called you to be His Witness.

Last week we looked at what it takes to be a witness.

And what we learned is outside of just being a Christian, it requires you to adopt a specific strategy.

Number 1, you have to be willing to LOVE ALL PEOPLE.

We saw that through the witness of a man named Philip.

A Christian who after leaving Jerusalem went to a place called Samaria to a group of people known as the Samaritans.

A people group that was despised by the Jewish people.

But as we learned, Philip looked past the hate and saw the Samaritans the way God saw them.

As a group of people who God loved and Jesus died for.

And like Philip, we have to be willing to do the same.

When it comes to being a witness for Jesus, we have to be willing to love people where they are at.

To look past their reputation.

Look past their sexual orientation.

Look past their sinful lifestyle.

Look past the mess that sin has caused in their life and see the person that Jesus gave his life for.

A person who desperately needs Jesus.

Number 2, you have to LEAD THEM TO JESUS.

In other words, while you need to love them where they are at, you can’t leave them there.

You have to lead them to Jesus.

You have to lead them to the one who has the power to save them.

The one who has the power to transform their life from the inside out.

Number 3, after loving them where their at, after leading them to Jesus, you have to PROCLAIM THE WORD.

In other words, you have show them and teach them what the Bible says.

The Apostle Paul writes:

The writer of Hebrews adds this:

That’s why we place such a high value on proclaiming and teaching the Bible at MCF.

At MCF we believe the Bible is God’s Word and that through the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word trains us, equips us, and transforms us.

All that to say, if you want to be a witness for Jesus, you have to be committed to LOVING ALL PEOPLE, LEADING PEOPLE TO JESUS, and PROCLAIMING GOD’S WORD.

But it doesn’t stop there.

In addition to that, there are some important factors for witnessing that we need to be aware of as well.

Factors that if we’re not aware of could bring discouragement, stunt the spiritual growth of those we are leading to Jesus, and keep us from further expanding the mission of the gospel.

Factors we are going to consider today and next week as Luke continues to tell Philips journey to Samaria.

You may recall after arriving in Samaria, Philip began by proclaiming the Word and leading people to Jesus.

And the results were supernatural.

Luke writes:

Acts 8:

Luke says as Philip proclaimed the Gospel, miracles began to take place.

Demons were cast out.

People who were paralyzed walked.

And as a result, there was much joy in the city.

And what was true then, is still true today.

The fact is, when people come to faith in Jesus, the miraculous takes place.

Ezekiel

It first takes place as the Holy Spirit enters that person and spiritual transformation begins to take place.

The prophet Ezekiel puts it like this:

Through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit enters the new believer and begins the work of spiritual transformation, and in that moment a miracle takes place as they literally become a different person.

The Apostle Paul writes:

So, that’s the first miracle.

But the miracles continue.

Because as the Holy Spirit begins to transform you spiritually, the healing spreads to other parts of your life.

For some, it brings relational healing as broken marriages, friendships, and other relationships are healed.

For some, it brings emotional healing as people are delivered from depression, discouragement, unforgiveness, and despair.

For some, it brings financial healing as God becomes their provider and provides in miraculous ways.

For some, it brings physical healing as bodies are restored and people are healed.

And the list goes on of the ways God begins to supernaturally work in the new believers life.

That’s what was happening in Samaria, and its what happens in the life of anyone who puts their faith in Jesus.

In that moment a supernatural work takes place that impacts every part of your life.

And with it comes great joy.

But the Christian life can’t stop there.

In fact, that’s just the beginning of what God wants to do in and through us.

Because now that He’s saved us, now that He’s set us free from the bondage of sin, He wants us to be His witnesses.

And now it’s our turn to lead others to faith in Jesus.

But, like I said, there are some factors we need to take into account as we begin our witnessing journey.

So, over the next two weeks, I want to introduce you to 5 factors for witnessing that we need to be aware of.

Five factors that when understood, will help us become highly effective witnesses for Jesus.

We’re going to look at the first three this today.

Here’s the first one:

So, a good question would be, “Where did they go to preach the word?”

Well, based on what Luke has told us, they first went to the regions of Judea and Samaria.

The regions that Jesus had instructed them to go too.

And as we saw last week, Luke gave us a specific example of where one