Atlantic Gospel Chapel Messages

Picking up in Acts 13:16, Paul gets into the meat of the Gospel.  As we saw last time, Paul preaches nothing new, but the same Gospel which the other apostles have preached all along.  And this Gospel is not rooted in any new information or in human invention; rather it is rooted in the Scriptures.  So as Paul preaches to the Jews and the God fearing Gentiles in the synagogue, he brings them to the Scriptures.  Rehearsing their own history, Paul recalls that Jesus is the fulfillment of the magnificent promises made to their forefathers centuries prior; the fulfillment of the promises made to David. He reminds them of John the Baptist, of whom this group must have heard the stories coming out of Israel.  John, the prophet who came after 400 years of silence, pointed to the one who would come, "the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie."  John pointed to Jesus, but when Jesus did come, the rulers recognized "neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him" without cause.  But God raised Him from the dead, after which He appeared to many. This is the Gospel Paul preached.  It is the Gospel to which the prophets pointed centuries before.  And it is the same Gospel which has been preached for nearly two millennia.  And so as we consider this same Gospel, may we be emboldened to preach the Gospel, turning to Scripture as the basis and foundation for our teaching. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.  

As we pick up with Paul in Pisidian Antioch during his first missionary journey, we find Paul doing exactly what he has been doing since the time of his conversion; he is preaching the gospel.  As became his practice, in each city he visited, he went to the Jews first in the synagogue.  In fact, it was the fact that he was already doing the work of an evangelist and missionary which allowed him to be set apart by the Holy Spirit for this journey to take the Gospel to the Gentiles in Asia. Now in Pisidian Antioch, he again preaches the Gospel.  And as he does so, his method becomes a model for us to follow, for we see that in his preaching, Paul: Preaches nothing new; his message is the same message he, and the other apostles have preached. Paul appeals to Scripture, the Old Testament, throughout his sermon, and not to human opinion or philosophies He ends his message with a call to faith, as well as a warning for those who will not believe. We also see, that just as Paul was called to preach the Gospel, we are called to the same mission.  Therefore, let us preach the Gospel. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May the Lord bless you through the teaching of His Holy Word.

The book of Acts follows God's set plan for His church.  As the Lord commissioned the Apostles, they were to take the Gospel from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria, and finally to the remotest parts of the earth.  In other word's, God's plan was that the church would be a global religion; not just the religion of Israel. Acts records how, at the Holy Spirit's leading, the church expanded from Jerusalem into the countryside of Judea, eventually reaching into Samaria.  And now the focus of Acts changes from Jerusalem as the center of the the church to Antioch as the base camp for the expansion of the Gospel into Asia Minor.  The Gospel had reached the continental divide as it prepares to leave the region of Palestine and reach into the remotest parts of the earth. In today's lesson, we see how the Holy Spirit set aside Saul, now referred to as Paul, along with Barnabas for the work of bringing the Gospel to the gentiles.  We learn principles associated with God calling workers for ministry.  We see how the enemy seeks to resist the work of the Gospel.  But we also see how God works in wonderful ways, greater than we can imagine, to bring people to salvation. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Word.

Today's culture has reduced motherhood to one who is a "birthing person."  In other words, the role of the mother is a purely physical one.  But this view of motherhood diminishes the Biblical view of motherhood, which endows the mother with both value and importance in the work of the Gospel. In today's lesson, we survey the many roles a mother plays and discover a mother is so much more than the modern view of motherhood.  From comforter and protector, to planner and referee, mothers work in ways which shape the family and therefore have tremendous opportunity to impact the world for the Gospel. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Word.

Throughout Paul's letter, he has overflowed with praise for this young church.  He has been impressed by their faith in the face of persecution.  Despite their young status, this church already distinguished itself as an example of faith and love to the churches in Macedonia and Achaia, that is, Greece. But now Paul moves on to so-called practical matters.  Answering questions as well as addressing issues within the church, Paul starts by noting their faithful walk with God, encouraging them to excel still more.  And Paul starts in an area which has the potential to deeply influence the church, both then and today; the area of sexual immorality.  This is a topic which affects us today, drawing away both young and old from a faithful walk with the Lord. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May the Lord bless you through the teaching His Holy Word.

For those with children, especially thinking of fathers, there is nothing sweeter to the ear than to hear your young child call to you, "Daddy!"  We remember the days when, after a long day of work, we walk into the door to excited exclamations, "Daddy's home!!" and often to the relief of a weary mother.  An ideal picture for us might be sitting at the breakfast table, coffee in hand, and have your child come in and say, "Good morning, Daddy!" But as we get older, most of us stop calling our father, daddy; opting instead for the simple Dad, or Father.  Why is that?  And why do we not approach our heavenly Father in the same way, opening our prayers with, "Good morning, Daddy."  Many of us cannot imagine this, as it sounds too irreverent.  And certainly, we must approach the Lord with awe and reverence, recognizing His holiness and power.  But is there a place for this kind of intimate language, approaching our Heavenly Father as Daddy. In the New Testament, various passages, for example, Romans 8:15, point to the fact that we have "received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father'".  Most of us recognize, "Abba" as being the Aramaic equivalent of "Daddy".  And what we find, in a survey of just a few New Testament passages, is that approaching God as Daddy: Reminds us of how we can relate to God the Father How God the Father relates to His Children The position we have as His Children through Christ Jesus' own position before His Father Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

For those with children, especially thinking of fathers, there is nothing sweeter to the ear than to hear your young child call to you, "Daddy!"  We remember the days when, after a long day of work, we walk into the door to excited exclamations, "Daddy's home!!" and often to the relief of a weary mother.  An ideal picture for us might be sitting at the breakfast table, coffee in hand, and have your child come in and say, "Good morning, Daddy!" But as we get older, most of us stop calling our father, daddy; opting instead for the simple Dad, or Father.  Why is that?  And why do we not approach our heavenly Father in the same way, opening our prayers with, "Good morning, Daddy."  Many of us cannot imagine this, as it sounds too irreverent.  And certainly, we must approach the Lord with awe and reverence, recognizing His holiness and power.  But is there a place for this kind of intimate language, approaching our Heavenly Father as Daddy. In the New Testament, various passages, for example, Romans 8:15, point to the fact that we have "received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father'".  Most of us recognize, "Abba" as being the Aramaic equivalent of "Daddy".  And what we find, in a survey of just a few New Testament passages, is that approaching God as Daddy: Reminds us of how we can relate to God the Father How God the Father relates to His Children The position we have as His Children through Christ Jesus' own position before His Father Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

Happy Easter and thank you for listening to today's lesson. In today's lesson, the leadership of Atlantic Gospel Chapel share the pulpit to consider Easter considering four factors: Who is Jesus? Why does the life of Jesus matter? Why did Jesus have to die? What does the resurrection accomplish? We pray you will be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

Most of us have experienced loss of one sort or another.  This includes the loss of money and possessions, the loss of position or job, or even the loss of friendships and the loss of loved ones.  For many, these times of loss, times of suffering, become a true struggle as we try to reconcile the concept of a loving God with the reality of suffering. During these times, many questions arise.  If God is all powerful, all knowing and all loving, why does he not intervene to prevent suffering?  How can a loving God allow suffering to exist in the world?  Does God even care? These are real questions which which we must wrestle.  Fortunately, Scripture has much to say regarding suffering.  As we consider the themes around the central verse of today's lesson, Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (NASB), we find that God is indeed working through suffering to accomplish His purposes.  We find there is comfort in a sovereign God.  Further, there is great comfort in Jesus' promise to His disciples in Matthew 28:16-20, that all authority is given to Him and that He is present with us always, even to the end of the age. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

Many of us grew up on stories told in books and movies in which we imagined what it might be like to live in that world.  The world of George Lucas in a galaxy far, far away, where we imagine what it might be like to be a Jedi knight, or perhaps a smuggler.  Or perhaps it was the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, where we imagine ourselves in Middle Earth, joining the fellowship to destroy the one ring of power in the fires of Mount Doom.  Who would we be in these stories?  What would be our purpose? While these are the things of fanciful imaginations, there is a story in which we have a part and a purpose.  This is God's story, set in the world He created, and we are its characters.  Today's lesson is the second part in our look at "Living in Light of the Risen Lord," in which we discover we are part of God's continuing story of the Gospel.  And we not only have a part to play, but also a purpose. What is our purpose?  As the Lord met with His eleven remaining disciples in Galilee, He instructed them to go.  Go and make disciples of all nations.  But what does it mean to be a disciple?  And does this apply to us today? Thank you for listening to today's message.  May you be blessed and encouraged through the teaching of God's Holy Word.