Florida Coast Church

In the third dispute, found in Malachi 2:10-16 , God accused his people of being faithless to his covenant with them by being faithless to the covenant of marriage. This timeless message calls each one of us to marry within the faith and stay faithful to our spouse.

As God continued talking to the priests in Malachi 2:1-9 , he rebuked them for failing in their two duties: offering sacrifices and teaching.  If they refused to change their ways, God threatened them with extinction.  Although they lasted another 500 years, they eventually disappeared and became obsolete, once the perfect high priest offered the perfect sacrifice.

In God’s second dispute with his people, recorded in Malachi 1:6-14 , he accused the priests and the people of despising him. After they objected, God demonstrated how they were cutting corners in their worship. Their failure points to the need for a perfect priest who would offer a perfect sacrifice for sins, which is just what we find in Jesus.

As God’s beloved people were in very difficult circumstances and doubting God, the LORD spoke to them in Malachi 1:1-5  a simple message: I love you. After they challenged his love, God proved it, but not nearly as extravagantly as he has proved his love to us.

In Acts 20:17-38 , Paul passed the torch of ministry to the elders of the church in Ephesus.  In his speech to them, Paul described the character of elders and their work of ministry.  With a few such elders as Paul described, the church has the team it needs to fulfill the mission that God has given it.

As the number of non-Jewish believers in Jesus began to overwhelm the original Jewish Christians, some wanted to make it harder for non-Jews to become Christians.  As recorded in Acts 15:1-31 , the church met in Jerusalem to discuss the matter and reaffirmed that both Jews and Gentiles receive salvation in the exact same way: by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.

In all times, and especially during a pandemic or persecution, it is better for churches to focus on making disciples, not on building and maintaining structures. However, some structure is necessary to send out missionaries to make disciples elsewhere. In Acts 13:1-5 we meet the first church that sent out its own missionaries.

Although there was one lone Ethiopian who became a Christian, in Acts 10:1-48  a whole house full of non-Jews heard the gospel, believed it, and was baptized.  Their conversion was a big surprise to the first Christians, all of whom were Jewish.  Yes, God loved those people too.

It is hard to imagine what the world would be like without Saul of Tarsus (the apostle Paul), but it would have been harder to imagine that such a violent persecutor of Christians would become a Christian and a missionary. His conversion and call, recorded in Acts 9:1-22 , teach us not to despair of anyone or of ourselves, because God’s grace is sufficient for them and for us.

In Acts 8:26-40 , God took Philip from a growing church to a deserted place to talk about Jesus with one African man who came from the ends of the earth.  Then God guided Philip to a Scripture text about Jesus.  These are the two elements we need in order to evangelize: people and a message about Jesus.  To whom is he guiding you today?

When were the glory days of the church: perhaps when it was being persecuted, or maybe when it held sway over the culture? In an excellent sermon on Acts 8:1-25 , Pastor Robbie Crouse shows Christians how we should act in both of these situations and in every other situation as well.

The explosive growth of the church in Jerusalem led to the first threat of division between two groups, as recorded in Acts 6:1-7 .  Wisely the apostles recommended that the church choose a few good men to handle the urgent need that had arisen.  These seven men freed up the apostles to preach and pray, and the church grew even more.  The threat to unity and the way the church handled it can teach...

Before he returned to his Father, Jesus told his followers to wait in Jerusalem until they received the promised Holy Spirit.  About a week later, as recorded in Acts 2:1-24 , Jesus poured on his Spirit on his people, and they began to proclaim the mighty deeds of God in different languages.  After some from the crowd made fun of them, Peter explained that the gift of the Spirit indicated that the...

In our summer series, we will be looking at critical events in the book of Acts, starting with Jesus’ commission of his “sent ones” in Acts 1:1-11 . The goal is for our church to become more like the original Christian church. We first need to reorient ourselves to the task that Jesus gave us for the time between his departure and his return: to be witnesses to the end of the earth.

If you have ever compared your life to someone else’s (who hasn’t?), you need to hear Jesus’ reply in John 21:20-25 to Peter’s curiosity about Jesus’ plan for another disciple. Also in this gospel’s final section, the author finally but partially identified himself. He was one of Jesus’ closest disciples and a reliable eyewitness to everything he reported, so we can know that it is all true.

In a painful conversation with Peter recorded in John 21:1-19 , Jesus asked him three times if he loved him.  Peter answered by declaring his love for Jesus three times.  In response, Jesus charged Peter to take care of his people and to follow him. The question and the charge are for us as well.

In John 20:19-31 , Jesus appeared to his disciples twice, once to commission and equip them and a second time to show himself to Thomas. In response to seeing Jesus, Thomas made an astounding declaration about Jesus, calling him “my Lord and my God!” After this declaration, the author spelled out his purpose in writing this book: for you to believe.

There is a stubborn fact of history that no one has been able to disprove, although many have tried. Jesus’ tomb was empty, and no one has ever produced his body. Hear in John 20:1-18 about the first ones to encounter the empty tomb. Come, see, and believe!

All through the Gospel of John we have been hearing about Jesus’ coming glorification. In John 19:16-42 , we finally reach it and discover that it took place on the cross. In this familiar account, the author of the gospel included fascinating details that point us to the meaning of the death of Christ and the response it requires from us.

Only in John 18:28-19:16 do we find details of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. We hear Jesus’ opponents making statements about him that are much truer than they understood. Putting these statements together, we have a clear although unintentional declaration of who Jesus is and why he came.

In his narration of Jesus’ arrest in John 18:1-27 , John alternated between scenes focused on Jesus who acted in complete control, and Peter who was losing control of himself. We will likely be able to find ourselves in the story in couple of different ways, once because of our similar need and another time because of Jesus’ provision for our need.

After his farewell discourse with his disciples, Jesus prayed his longest recorded prayer in John 17:1-26 . He prayed regarding himself, for his original disciples, and for his later disciples, but his overarching request was for God’s glory. Because God’s glory on earth is tied to how his disciples live, prayer for his disciples to do well is prayer for God’s glory.

Jesus concluded his final discourse with his disciples before his death in John 16:12-33 . He developed previous lessons and added that they would have temporary sorrow that would change into lasting joy. In spite of our suffering in this world, Christians can have joy, peace, and courage, because Jesus has overcome the world.

After telling his disciples that they should love one another, Jesus began preparing them in John 15:18-16:11 to be hated by the world. Even so, he sent them out to be witnesses for him, but not on their own. He also promised to send the Holy Spirit to be the witness who would convince the world about the truth of the gospel.

In a world full of bad news, we are all wanting to hear good news. What we usually receive is good advice, which is welcome but fails to animate our lives. In Acts 10:34-43 , we have an early sermon by Peter, in which he clearly and simple spelled out for us the good news about Jesus.