Denver Community Church

November 2, 2014: The End of the Journey is the Beginning – Dave Neuhausel

What do you do when everyone tells you that you’re crazy? This is exactly what happened to Paul. It was obviously a bad idea to go to Jerusalem, but he would not listen to anyone. Why? Because he had been called by God to something greater. 

But how do we sort this out? How do we listen to and hear the voices of our brothers and sisters, while at the same time allowing ourselves to disagree with them so that we can be obedient to what God has called us to?

October 26, 2014: Goodbye For Now and Later – Michael Hidalgo

Paul says goodbye to his family in Ephesus, and appeals to the way he lived while he was among them as an example. How many of us would feel comfortable doing that? How many of us have lived a life that is so defined by grace and love that we could point to the way we live – with tremendous humility – as an example of God’s goodness. 

So often we steer away from that kind of thing because it smacks of arrogance. But humility is the thing that enables Paul to do this, not arrogance. Humility is the ability to hold the weight of your own soul – the good, the bad – in the truth of who you are. Maybe what looks like bragging is true humility. And maybe we need to learn this kind of humility.

October 26, 2014: Goodbye For Now and Later – Jon Gettings

Paul says goodbye to his family in Ephesus, and appeals to the way he lived while he was among them as an example. How many of us would feel comfortable doing that? How many of us have lived a life that is so defined by grace and love that we could point to the way we live – with tremendous humility – as an example of God’s goodness. 

So often we steer away from that kind of thing because it smacks of arrogance. But humility is the thing that enables Paul to do this, not arrogance. Humility is the ability to hold the weight of your own soul – the good, the bad – in the truth of who you are. Maybe what looks like bragging is true humility. And maybe we need to learn this kind of humility.

October 12, 2014: Journeying Together – Landon Lynch

October 12, 2014: Demonstrating God's Love – Michael Hidalgo

October 5, 2014: I Know Where You Are Going – Landon Lynch

Paul is clear on where he must go. Rome. But if he goes there he risks his life for the great city was the home of Caesar. Paul’s compulsion to head to Rome reflects his heart, and the arch of the book of Acts. Rome – is the epicenter of the world at this time. And this is how far the gospel will go.

The beauty in these words of Paul is the recognition that he is being both sent and drawn toward Rome. This is because of the reality of the kingdom welling up inside of him. He will not be stopped. Paul knows where he is going because of who he is and who God is. Armed with this, he knows what he should then go and do. 

September 21, 2014: Defy Til You Die – Michael Hidalgo

The accusation that came against Paul was enough to get him crucified. What’s interesting is that while Paul is preaching Jesus, he is accused of a political crime. Because in that world politics was nothing more than a form of religion. Because of this, the Imperial Regime captured the minds and imaginations of the people with regard to what religion is and was.

We are not much different in our world. To preach Jesus is to fly in the face of accepted governmental policies, to go the opposite way of our culture and to say “no” to the things our world demands we say “yes” to. So what keeps us from doing that?

September 14, 2014: I Mean Everyone – Landon Lynch

When it comes to Lydia and the jailer there is something peculiar going on. In both instances, one person believes, and as a result the “whole household” is saved. How can this be? Isn’t conversion an individual decision? This raises significant questions about what salvation is, and how believing in Jesus is so central to that.

So often we think in terms of mental ascent when it comes to salvation and Jesus. Which therefore puts us into the place of determining how we think about salvation. But belief was a bigger reality, and a commitment. We need to understand what it meant to live in a household, to believer in Jesus and what it meant to be “saved.”

September 7, 2014: My Son – Michael Hidalgo

Paul is once again in the region of Lystra and Derbe. The last time he was there he stirred up the crowd into such a frenzy leading to his being stoned. After being stoned he got up and went back into the city – to the very place where people wanted him dead (14.19,20). Now he’s back and he’s met a young man named Timothy.

Paul wants Timothy to follow him, which raises the question, “What did Timothy think of Paul?” He would have, no doubt, known about the stoning and Paul’s getting back up and returning to the city. He knew of Paul’s fearless faith. Paul, had a life worth imitating. If someone watched our life, would they say the same?

August 31, 2014: Hard, Not Heavy – Landon Lynch

This is the hinge on which the book of Acts swings. Until now the good news of Jesus had spread among the Gentiles, and this led to many questions about how they should live, what laws they should observe and what rituals they should participate in. The council of Jerusalem weighs in, giving perspective. This reminds us that true religion is not about all the outward manifestations that we can do … but about the heart that God alone changes.