"Devoted" - Preaching at Harderwyk - Acts 16 - July 11, 2021

Resources For "Devoted" Series From Each Harderwyk Preacher

I. New For This Week

1) In Fusion this Sunday we will be addressing how the Kingdom of God comes up against the Kingdoms of this World.  It is easy to become focused on the Competing Kingdoms and the changes we want to see in this world that we can forget about the centrality and foundation of the Gospel.  Without this Gospel Good News found in Jesus Christ - that Kingdom work will either fail, will be distorted and manipulated or will be at best incomplete.  It starts with the Gospel of Jesus Christ - led by the HS - all for the glory of God and the furthering of His Kingdom.

NT Wrights helps remind us of this fact as he talks about Paul's reply to the jailer in verse 31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household."

“Having made that clear, the confident appeal of Paul and Silas, that the jailer should ‘believe in the Lord Jesus’ so that he and his household may be saved, does of course stand as a classic summary of what the Christian message, the evangel or ‘good news,’ is all about.  It isn’t about getting in touch with one’s inner spiritual self.  It isn’t about committing oneself to a life of worship, prayer and good works.  It isn’t even about believing in some particular theory of how precisely God deals with our sins in the death of Jesus.  It is about recognizing, acknowledging and hailing Jesus Christ as Lord – the very thing which Paul declares triumphantly at the climax of the great poem in his letter to this very city (Philippians 2: 10).  ‘If you confess with your lips Jesus as Lord,’ he wrote to the Romans (10:9), ‘and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’  Everything else is contained within that – all the volumes of systematic and pastoral theology, all the worship and prayers and devotion and dogma, all the ethics and choices and personal dilemmas.  The phrase ‘Jesus is Lord’ is what, from the earliest times, people said as they came for baptism, as the jailer and his household promptly did.” (Wright, Acts for Everyone Part 2. p. 68) 

2) A thought from NT Wright from Acts For Everyone Part 2 on Acts 16:1-10 worth pondering and reflecting upon: "Two hundred miles on foot takes two or three weeks at the very least; what did the little company think they were doing, and where did they suppose they were going? This must have been something of a testing time for all of them, with Paul and Silas establishing a partnership, and Timothy, as the younger colleague, getting to know them but wondering what on earth he had let himself in for. It’s one thing to trust God’s guidance when it’s actually quite obvious what to do next. It’s something else entirely when you seem to be going on and on up a blind alley."

3) The Fading of Forgiveness by Tim Keller - There is an important connection between our recognizing our own sin and the forgiveness of the Gospel on the one hand and our ability to grant forgiveness to others.  Tim Keller writes: Forgiveness requires two inner resources that the experience of the gospel gives us for a life of forgiveness: First, realistic humility about your sin. You can only stay bitter toward someone if you feel superior, if you feel that you would never do anything like they did. Those who won’t forgive show they have not accepted the fact of their own sinfulness. When Paul says he is the “chief of sinners” he is saying that he is as capable of sin as the worst criminals are. To remain unforgiving means you remain unaware of your own profound, perpetual need for forgiveness.  CLICK HERE for the full post.

4) How Churches Can Encourage Honesty About Sin - with Rosaria Butterfield - CLICK HERE for the ten-minute YouTube video from The Gospel Coalition.  This panel discussion speaks to some difficult situations and perceptions.  I'm always happy to listen and sort through questions if you have any.  Simply set up a contact through the Harderwyk Ministries office. - Pastor Bill

II. Ongoing Resources

1) Spiritual Formation Resources Page - CLICK HERE - This is still a work in progress, but be a part as we look to build.

2) Scotty Smith’s Heavenward Daily Prayers - CLICK HERE to see the daily prayer blog of Scotty Smith.  You will see an option to have them delivered to your email inbox each day as well.

3) Simple Lectio Divina Overview - CLICK HERE for a simple introduction of the spiritual practice of a more personal way of experience the Word through contemplation and reflection.