The Acts 13 Network

Have you ever listened to a hymn or a piece of music that ends on an unresolved note? Rather than finishing with a tidy, comfortable chord, it leaves you sitting in a moment of tension and reflection. In today’s episode, we explore John chapters 18 and 19, walking through the final night and hours of Jesus’ earthly life—from his arrest in the dark of the Garden of Gethsemane to his trial before Pi...

In John 17 — Jesus's High Priestly Prayer, prayed on the night of his betrayal — I found a glory that looks nothing like the world's. Not palaces, crowns, or self-promotion. A cross. A protected mission. A unified church. In this message I walk through the three movements of Jesus's prayer: The glory of the sacrificial life (John 17:1–5) — why the cross is not "cosmic child abuse&...

In this episode, we dive into John 15 and 16 to explore what it truly means to abide in the love of Christ. Walking through Jesus’ final upper-room instructions to His disciples, we break down two foundational principles—that God is sovereign and good and that reality is our friend . Discover how letting go of the myths of self-reliance, constant comfort, and instant gratification allows us to anc...

We don't live in an easy world. Jesus knew that — and he didn't pretend otherwise. In John 14, we find Jesus in the upper room with his eleven closest disciples on the darkest night of their lives. Judas has left. Death is coming. And into that weight, Jesus speaks words that are honest, tender, and durable: "Do not let your hearts be troubled." In this sermon, we sit with the qu...

Jesus ties a towel around his waist and kneels at the feet of the man who will betray him. In this next installment of the John series, we step into the upper room — the last night, the last teaching, the last hours before the cross — and discover that the way of Jesus is rooted in a love that discomforts before it comforts. In this episode: Why John 13–17 is written for the church, not just for h...

The world feels like it's spinning out of control — and fear is the natural response to feeling out of control. In this message, we close out Part 2 of our series through the Gospel of John ("Believing Is Seeing, and Believing Is Life") by looking at John 10–12, where Jesus reveals three ways His sovereign love drives out fear: Love gives us security in the face of the enemy (John 10...

Episode Description: Jesus stands in the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles and claims both of its central images for himself — he is the living water, and he is the light of the world. In this message, we walk through John 7–9: the water-drawing ceremony and temple illumination that shaped the feast, Jesus's declaration to "let anyone who is thirsty come and drink," the woman caught...

Three signs. Three questions. One that actually matters. In this message, we take a big swing through John 5 and 6 together—the healing at the pool of Bethesda, the feeding of the 5,000, and Jesus walking on water—and land on the question underneath all of them: are we chasing Jesus, or just chasing what he can give us? We look at a man who'd been sick for 38 years and answers Jesus' quest...

Description: Jesus heals a royal official's son from twenty miles away — with nothing but a spoken word. But the real story here isn't the healing. It's the choice the official makes before he knows the outcome: will he trust Jesus's word, or walk away disappointed like so many others in John's Gospel? This week we look at the difference between a transactional faith ("wha...

Two of the most famous stories in the Gospels, side by side: Nicodemus, a respected religious leader who comes to Jesus at night, and the Samaritan woman, an outcast Jesus meets at a well in the heat of noon. Night and day. Male and female. Insider and outsider. Same offer of grace. We walk through both conversations — Nicodemus and "born again," the woman and "living water" —...

John 2:13–25 | Acts 13 Network Everyone notices it eventually: this story shows up in the wrong place. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus clearing the temple courts comes near the end of his ministry — it's the moment that gets him killed. John puts it in chapter two. Same event, two different spots. In this message, we look at why John does that, what was actually happening in that temple cour...

We often view God in grand, cosmic, and epic terms. But what happens when the Creator of the universe steps out of the eternal scope and moves straight into a dusty riverside neighborhood? In this episode, we kick off a new study in the Gospel of John, diving into what commentators call the "Book of Signs" (John 1:19–2:12). Together, we trace the narrative from John the Baptist’s interro...

We often think of God in two ways: He is imminent (right here with us) and He is transcendent (completely beyond our comprehension). But how do these two realities mix when life gets messy? In this episode, we dive into the final verses of the John 1 prologue to explore one of the most radical claims of the Christian faith: The Word didn't just look down on us—He became flesh and moved into th...

In this episode, we continue our journey through the Gospel of John, diving deep into the structural center of the famous Prologue: John 1:9–13 . While it's easy to get caught up in the grand, cosmic scale of Jesus as the pre-existent Word and Creator of the universe, John’s ultimate destination in this passage is deeply personal. He drives us toward a breathtaking climax: the reality that tho...

We are diving back into the beautiful prologue of John’s Gospel, specifically looking at John 1:6–9 and verse 15 . In this episode, we break down the unique role of John the Baptist, tackle some mind-bending theology regarding the pre-existence of Christ, and look at the two cultural errors the modern church frequently falls into when it comes to faith and evangelism. If you’ve ever felt uncomfort...

We are officially pivoting from the gritty, prophetic text of Amos to a massive, 20-week journey through the Gospel of John. If you were hoping for something light, easy, and straightforward... well, you might have missed the sarcasm! John is a magnificent, profound piece of literature that operates completely differently from the other gospels. In this episode, we break down what makes John uniqu...

The Old Testament prophetic book of Amos is famous for being intense. For chapters on end, the message is unyielding: a holy God is dropping a plumb line, judgment is coming, and the nation will be sifted for its spiritual rot and systemic oppression. But Amos does not end with the tragedy of exile. It concludes with a breathtaking vision of restoration—a promise that out of the sifting, a remnant...

What does a structural tool from ancient masonry have to say about the state of our hearts today? In this episode, we dive into Amos chapters 7 through 9, exploring an intense but profoundly hopeful section of the Minor Prophets. While the book of Amos is famous for its relentless exposure of systemic and personal brokenness, these chapters offer a macro-perspective look at the true character of G...

Episode Summary: Have you ever been on a journey where you only wanted to look out one side of the window? In this episode, we explore the jarring contrast between the luxury we often seek and the reality of the world we often ignore. Drawing from a personal story of a Jamaican honeymoon and the sobering warnings found in Amos chapter 6 , we discuss the spiritual danger of "arrogant complacen...

What if your worship is empty? What if God looks at your religious life — the songs, the prayers, the offerings — and says, I hate it ? That's exactly what Amos tells Israel in chapter 5. And it's just as much a word for us. In this episode, we work through the heart of Amos's prophecy — a funeral dirge for a nation that was religiously active, politically thriving, and spiritually los...

Chosen: On Empty Worship and the God Who Loves Too Much to Let Us Stay Beyond Sunday School | Amos 3–4 What does it mean to be "chosen" by God? In this episode, we dig into Amos 3–4 and discover that the Hebrew word for chosen isn't primarily a theological category — it's the language of intimate, covenantal love. The same God who says "I have something against you" ope...

When God Turns the Mirror Around | Amos 1–2 Amos wasn't a professional prophet — he was a shepherd and a fig tree pruner from Tekoa. But God sent him to deliver one of the most uncomfortable messages in all of Scripture. In this opening sermon of our series on the book of Amos, we walk through chapters 1 and 2, where Amos masterfully builds a case against the surrounding nations before turning the...

THE PASTOR NEXT DOOR "The Stories Are True" | Resurrection Sunday Based on John 20:1-18 ───────────────────────────── ABOUT THIS EPISODE What if the first Easter wasn't triumphant — it was confusing? In this Resurrection Sunday reflection, we sit with Mary Magdalene outside an empty tomb and discover that encountering the risen Christ doesn't always bring immediate clarity. Somet...

Episode Summary In this Palm Sunday reflection, we explore the radical subversion of power found in Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. While the world defines "glory" through conquest, influence, and self-protection, Jesus redefines it through the lens of a cross. Drawing from John 12 , we discuss the significance of the "hour" arriving, the metaphor of the kernel of wheat, and what...

In this episode, we dive into one of the most famous—and perhaps most misunderstood—stories Jesus ever told: The Parable of the Good Samaritan. While culture uses "Good Samaritan" as a catchphrase for basic kindness, Jesus used it as a scandalous challenge to religious insiders. We explore the tense historical back-and-forth between the expert in the law and Jesus, uncovering why the her...