Calvary Prineville

The podcast of Calvary Prineville contains the latest sermons from Pastor Rory Rodgers, and occasionally live recordings of the latest worship service.

After his conversion, Saul changes from opposing the gospel to preaching it. So much so that he became a gossiper of the gospel, teaching in all the synagogues. Eventually he left Damascus for Jerusalem, prompted in great part by the Jews who were trying to kill him. In Jerusalem he intended to meet the apostles, but they were wary of him, given his history of persecuting the followers of Jesus. F...

The podcast of Calvary Prineville contains the latest sermons from Pastor Rory Rodgers, and occasionally live recordings of the latest worship service.

After Stephen is martyred, Saul is like a wild beast, set to destroy the Church. Already having created havoc in Jerusalem, he travels to Damascus to do the same. On the way, the Lord knocks him to the ground, speaks to him, and blinds him. He is directed to go to Damascus where he was lead by his friends. A man in Damascus, Ananias, was directed by the Lord to seek out Saul, pray with him, and ba...

Philip obeys the Lord and goes out to the desert. There he meets an Ethiopian eunuch - a treasurer for Queen Candace of Ethiopia - who is studying the book of Isaiah. He doesn't understand what he's reading and so asks Philip for help. Philip lays out the gospel for him, the Ethiopian believes and is baptized.

After Stephen's martyrdom the church is persecuted, scattered, and it grows! Philip, led by the Holy Spirit, travels to Samaria, an area detested by the Jews in Jerusalem, and performs many signs and wonders as people believed in Jesus. Peter and John came up to Samaria to see what was going on and after realizing the new converts hadn't receive the Holy Spirit, they laid hands on them so they cou...

Paul writes to the Roman church to make sure they have a firm foundation in their faith. It’s likely they had no pastor and had simply come into existence through those Romans who had believed in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection and then returned home. In this first chapter, Paul makes the case that people are without excuse, that God has revealed Himself to them in many ways. Even so, the worl...

Stephen, one of the first deacons and full of the Holy Spirit, preached Jesus and performed signs and wonders. This caused great opposition by the authorities, and they brought false charges against him. Beginning with Abraham, Stephen reminded the Jewish people of their heritage, how they were chosen by God but were always rebellious and how they had killed the prophets. He told them this is exac...

The apostles struggled to meet their responsibilities to teach, pray and pastor and also to administer the day-to-day affairs of the growing church. With godly wisdom they decided to appoint seven men of good reputation and full of the Holy Spirit, to minister to the practical needs of the believers.

The Lord purified the church through the taking of Ananias and Sapphira, which brought power and unity. Subsequently, there were many signs and wonders, and people came from all over to be healed. Once again, the authorities arrested the Apostles - all of them. While in prison, an angel of the Lord set them free and told them to continue preaching, which they did. Called before the authorities onc...

After Barnabas sold land and donated the proceeds (Chapter 4), husband and wife Ananias and Sapphira thought they'd do the same. The only problem was they kept part of the proceeds and gave the rest to Peter, making people believe that what they gave was all they received. Peter told Ananias that he lied to the Holy Spirit, at which time he collapsed dead on the floor. A few hours later his wife c...

God is after our worship out of joyful hearts. Psalm 100 has four main points. First, we are commanded to practice public praise and worship, which calls for a need to be together. We are also called to worship in song, no matter our ability. Second, we are called to serve the Lord gladly. Whatever you do, do it heartily for the Lord. We have purpose for Him and His glory, not just in the church b...

The story of the prodigal son teaches the entire message of the Bible and is especially applicable for Resurrection Sunday. The son wanted to live life his way, as do all of us. The result is a natural leaving of God and ending up in the “big emptiness” without Him. When he came to his senses, the son returned to a loving, accepting father, who covered him in a robe of “righteousness.” The older b...

Finishing with Acts 4, a picture is painted of the generous spirit in the early church. Although people had their own possessions, they didn't regard them as such, and shared willingly with those who were in need. This was a large number of people as a majority of the new believers in Jerusalem were "out-of-towners," having come from other areas to celebrate the Passover. People shared out of love...

Peter and John come before the Jewish authorities, who tell them not to speak the name of Jesus again. In reply, they say they will obey God rather than man. Once released, they return to their companions and together pray for boldness to share Jesus. Rory emphasizes that this boldness is borne from the Holy Spirit, coupled with a close relationship with Jesus through reading the Word and prayer.

Peter and John are arrested by the Jewish authorities and Peter gives them the gospel message, concluding with the statement that Jesus is the only name in heaven by which men can be saved. This is the beginning of the Church's persecution by the world.

Church elders are shepherds who need to follow the perfect model – Jesus. One of the heavy parts that goes with this is church discipline, which is more than just excommunication. It includes all the steps taken to get someone to repent and be reconciled to the Lord and to their brothers and sisters. It’s important that those disciplined not only say “sorry” but that they turn and go the other dir...

The healing of the paralytic definitely got the attention of the people going to the temple. This provided Peter with a ready audience and gave him a perfect opportunity to present the gospel.

As Peter and John went to the temple to pray, they came across a paralyzed man begging at the entrance. Peter said they had no money but instead, healed him so he could walk. The people were amazed but he deflected all the glory to God. Anyone could have given him money but Peter gave him Jesus. We are called to pray for healing as well with the knowledge that healing might not be God’s will for t...

The early church was composed of believers who were steadfast, diligent and faithful. As such they exhibited several characteristics of a healthy church that we should strive for today. They were a learning church, studying the apostles’ doctrine and the Word of God. They gave themselves to fellowship (some assembly required). They broke bread together. This included regular “love feasts” as well...

Peter, newly filled with the Holy Spirit and with power, stands before the confused multitude to explain what is going on, that they are not drunk with wine. He explains that they are in a time as prophesied by Joel, that Jesus died to fulfil this prophesy, that the Jews, in line with God's plan, were responsible for putting Jesus to death, that he was resurrected, and that they needed to repent.

Continuing with his teaching on the gift of tongues, Rory explains that while Calvary Chapel teaches that the gifts of the Spirit continue to this day, unfortunately we often act that they don't. This is especially true for tongues, although this is an "open-handed" issue in the church as a whole. Seventeen points about the gift are made, notably that it is used most often privately to edify the b...

As the 120 or so disciples gathered in prayer, a mighty rushing wind filled the room, they had tongues of fire above their heads, and they spoke in strange languages. This marked the gift of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the “last days.” The result was they began to preach the gospel in foreign languages, matching the tongues of the various nationalities represented at the Passover/Pentecos...

Some critics don’t believe the Ascension occurred, but five times it is referenced that the disciples were eyewitness of this. In fact, as they were “eyewitnessing” and staring blankly into the sky, they were chided by two angels who told them to get to Jerusalem. There, they got to work and prayed for the Holy Spirit. During this time of waiting, they also replaced Judas with Matthias, another di...

Acts was written by Luke, the physician, who was an eyewitness of what Jesus had done, and follows the Great Commission. In the beginning of Acts, Jesus promises the baptism with the Holy Spirit which would give the disciples the power to be His witnesses.