Reflections on our Acts series

Connor, can you give us a brief overview of the Book of Acts??

The book of Acts is an incredible narrative of the birth of the church as we know it today. It begins with Jesus’ ascension, The Holy Spirits coming at Pentecost, and from there, it tracks the stories and courage from the Apostles and the early believers. Jesus in Acts 1:8 essentially spells out to the apostles what is going to happen, and in so doing, sums up the book of Acts for us. He says, ‘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 end of the earth.’

Can you tell us something new that you learnt about God from the sermon series?

That God’s plan is unstoppable! There is no thwarting God’s plan. Even in the face of the greatest of conflict and efforts to stop this mission, God’s plan prevails. In fact, it is through these efforts to stop the Christians spreading the gospel that the gospel is spread! Ironically, there is a Pharisee in Acts 5 who is not a follower of Jesus who stands up and proclaims this very truth, saying, ‘I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.’ The mere fact that today we stand and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ is evidence that this Pharisee was right. This plan is of God, and it is a plan that is unstoppable.

Can you tell us something new that you learnt about yourself from the sermon series?

That in my weakness and cowardice to tell people about Jesus, I have a power that I can lean on to give me the strength I need.

What did you find the most encouraging about the series?

I felt completely empowered to go and passionately tell people about Jesus and this encouragement was contagious. There were people at church that felt the same, and it’s given me a deep encouragement to press on, by the power of the Spirit, to push back darkness and bring forth light in Box Hill. I think just listening to the stories of the early Christians and their passion to press on despite the harsh persecution put it in perspective for me. If the same Spirit that kept them going dwells within us, we do not need to fear.

What did you find the most challenging about the series?

We are called to a life of rejection from those who don’t want to hear the gospel. We will be persecuted and ignored at times, and that very real and tangible reality is hard to hear.