St. Paul's Church - Willington, CT

This week, guest speaker Bob McCoy showed us how the extraordinary events of Acts 27-28 (i.e., survival of a shipwreck and a poisonous snake bite) have to teach us about our own experiences of chaos, crisis, and confrontation.

In what might be the strangest story in Acts, a man falls asleep and tumbles out a window when Paul talks for hours on end. Guest speaker John Vampatella considered what this story can teach us about how to communicate well.

This week guest speaker Aaron Campbell from The Bridge Church continued our Scenes in Acts series by looking at what happened when Paul shared the Gospel with a group of intellectuals.

When Paul left his friends in Ephesus, everyone knew there was a good chance they would never see him again. With this in mind, Paul left them with parting words that are relevant for all churches: Pay careful attention, and cling to God and His grace.

When the Gospel offended peoples' economic interests, it led to a riot. This week we considered how the concern for money can keep us from believing what is true and doing what is right.

This week in Scenes in Acts: some Jewish exorcists tried to command a demon to leave "in the name of Jesus"...but it didn't work. Why?

Paul and Silas were victims of a terrible, unjust turn of events, but it ended up yielding beautiful results. We considered how this particular story should inspire us to trust God when things take a turn for the worse, and the unique opportunities that occur when they do.

Two apostles had a big fight that led them to split up. This week we considered what we can learn from their conflict. Why do (relatively) good people fight with each other, and how do we keep our arguments from spiraling out of control?

This week guest speaker Bob McCoy continued our Scenes in Acts series by identifying the key factors that led to the growth of the early church and that can also help lead to growth today.

This week we looked at a pivotal, game-changing moment in Scripture: the story of Cornelius and Peter. The Church was able to spread beyond its Jewish context because Peter was able to let go of "us and them thinking." We considered what it means to do the same in our context today.

This week in Scenes in Acts, Pastor Keith looked at the remarkable story of Paul's conversion. How does a man go from viciously suppressing a movement to becoming its most prominent voice?

This week our Scenes in Acts series continued with the story of Simon the Sorcerer. Simon made a big mistake and received a harsh correction from the Apostle Peter for it. We identified what Simon did wrong, and why we should be encouraged by Peter's harsh rebuke.

This week we started our Scenes in Acts series with a look at the frightening story of Ananias and Sapphira, a couple in the early church who fell dead after making an offering to the apostles. Why did they die? What was their sin? And what can we learn from them?

This week we paused between sermon series to consider how one disciple's story can remind us of God's abundant grace.

On this Easter morning, we concluded our Messages in the Miracles series by looking at the best miracle of all.

Tonight we considered the profound extent of Jesus' suffering and what that suffering reveals about God.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem the week before his death, people expected him to become a powerful political leader. Not long after the triumphal entry, Jesus upset their expectations by showing his power in a very different way. This Palm Sunday - with Jesus as our example - we reflected on how God's definition of power is different from the world's definition.

This week we looked at Jesus' last miracle before the Resurrection: the healing of Lazarus. This remarkable story has important things to teach us about the universal problem we all face: death.

This week we looked at what might be Jesus' strangest miracle: walking on water. On the surface this might seem like a frivolous miracle, but when we dig deeper we can see that Jesus is communicating his identity in a special way.

This week we looked at Jesus' fourth sign in John's Gospel: the feeding of the five-thousand. Jesus' miraculous multiplication of food says something both about who He is and how He can work through us.

This week we looked at Jesus' third miraculous sign in John's Gospel: the healing of a man who has been severely disabled for 38-years. This story ends with a pretty shocking surprise (one that's easy to miss), and the unexpected turn has some important lessons to teach us.

This week we looked at Jesus' second miraculous sign. We reflected on how the Royal Official's experience is similar to the experience of every Christian, and how his story can encourage us.

At our Ash Wednesday service we considered three ways to prepare for Easter during the Lenten season: (1) Eliminate distractions, (2) Practice self-denial, and (3) Practice confession.

This week we continued our Messages in the Miracles series by looking at Jesus first miraculous sign. Why did Jesus turn water into wine? What was he trying to communicate? Why did he seem reluctant to do it in the first place? And what does this miracle mean for our lives today?

This week guest speaker Phillip Beatty from Hartford City Church joined us and started off our "Messages in the Miracles" series with a look at the healing of a man born blind. Phil helped us to see what we can learn from the details of the story: Jesus' response to the disciples' question, the placing of the mud in the eyes, the incompleteness of the healing until washing, and more.