This sermon explores how the Holy Spirit empowered the early church to flourish through a commitment to prayer, compassion, and the ministry of the word. By examining the legacy of Stephen, we discover how spirit-driven faithfulness enables believers to trust in God’s sovereign purpose even in the face of rejection or failure.

Exploring the origins of the church in Acts 2, this sermon explains how the Christian faith rests on the historical reality of Jesus’ resurrection and a personal, heart-level encounter with the gospel message. It describes how this foundation creates a spirit-filled community characterized by radical generosity, devoted learning, and a commitment to sharing God’s love with the world.

This sermon explores how pride can provide a distorted vision of our own importance that ultimately causes us to fall and experience destruction. However, Proverbs also teaches us to overcome this misplaced pride by focusing on what it means to fear the LORD through humble submission to God’s grace and covenant love.

{The recording of this sermon is defective and includes ambient noise. The recording was begun late and did not run through the microphone/sound-system.}

What is the Christian hope, how do we attain it and how can we know if we have this hope? The Psalmist has hope because he openly cries out–appealing to God’s mercy–and because he trusts in the Lord–knowing God’s character.