Sermons on Acts
A Shared Baptism
A Shared Baptism Acts 2:36-41; 1 Peter 1:17-23 The Third Sunday of Easter, April 23, 2023, at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction Baptism is universal in the Christian church. Many years ago, I watched a documentary showing a baptismal service in an Orthodox church in Bulgaria, I think. I’m not sure of the location nor of the tradition of the church. There were eight or nine sets of parents with their infants, so perhaps the priest…
At the Right Hand of God
At the Right Hand of God Acts 2:33; John 20:19-31 Sunday, April 16, 2023 The Second Sunday of Easter at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction: St. Stephen sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God just before he is martyred. Acts 6-7 tells the story of one of the first deacons of the church, St. Stephen, who was a person filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit. God did miracles in answer to his prayers…
Hurry up and Wait
Hurry Up and Wait Acts 9:1-6; John 21:15-19 Sunday, May 1, 2022 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction I once spent nearly four hours waiting to see a doctor. He was an ears, nose and throat specialist and I was recovering from surgery. Sometime soon after I arrived for my checkup, the patient he was currently seeing suddenly started to bleed from his nose and they couldn’t stop it, so it became this big emergency,…
Mission to Ethiopia
Mission to Ethiopia Acts 8:26 Sunday, May 2, 2021 Fifth Sunday of Easter at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction: a critical moment in missions I recently read on the webpage of Wycliffe Bible Translators that they have a new process, whereby they use technology, trained scholars and linguists as well as people fluent in the target language to translate the Bible. It has greatly increased the speed of the process, so much so that the good…
What prophecy looks like
What Prophecy Looks LikeSunday, April 19, 2020 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, IowaActs 2:31 “…he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.”Isaiah 44:28 “Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem ‘You shall be built,’ and to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” • Introduction:Ralph Waldo Emerson, in one of his…