Atlantic Gospel Chapel Messages

"It's a free country!" is a refrain many of us has heard here in the United States of America.  This response often comes when someone's speech or actions are challenged.  The implication, of course, being that as a free country, we are free to say and do whatever we please.  The problem, however, comes in the fact that independence cannot really be freedom from all law or my freedom will endanger the freedom of others within the community. As the nation prepares to celebrate its independence, how do we as Christians view our freedom and independence.  From what and to what have we been freed?  And how can we claim independence when Paul, and other writers of scripture, assert that we are now slaves to righteousness? Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Word as we consider the freedom we have in Christ.

Peter spent roughly three years with Jesus, during the Lord's earthly ministry.  He witnessed unimaginable signs and wonders.  He witnessed the Lord walking on water.  He was there when the Lord raised the dead and when He healed the blind and lame.  But as the Lord reached His darkest hour, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter couldn't keep his eyes open for even an hour.  And as the Lord was arrested, Peter fled; even denying to have known Jesus at all, despite his boasts, "even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be;" (Mark 14:29 KJV), and again, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" (Mark 14:31 KJV).  These were his confident assertions when the Lord warned all the disciples that they would desert Him, and Peter would deny Him. One question that comes to mind is, how can someone who spent so much time with the Lord Jesus find themselves in a place so far from Him?  In today's lesson, we consider five steps which resulted in Peter calling down curses upon himself and swearing he never knew the Lord.  And as we consider these steps we are reminded that we are also prone to follow the same path as Peter. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

Following Paul's preaching in Pisidian Antioch, the Jews plotted to stone Paul and Barnabas.  Learning of this plot, they fled for the cities of Lycaonia; Lystra and Derbe, where they continued to preach the Gospel. In Lystra, they encountered a man lame from birth.  Through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul was enabled to heal this man.  The response was misplaced credit for this miracle; attributing this healing to the work of their gods and assuming Paul and Barnabas to be Hermes and Zeus visiting their city, even going so far as to prepare sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. Aghast, Paul and Barnabas rush to stop this idolatry.  Beginning with the fact that they are just men, Paul makes great effort to preach the Gospel, beginning with the foundation of general revelation which points to the One True God, who is the creator and Lord of All. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

Wherever the Gospel is preached there is a response to it.  In some cases, the response is overwhelmingly positive.  Sometimes, the response is violent opposition.  And other times, the response is indifference.  But in each of these cases, God is still accomplishing His purposes through His Word; as we are reminded in Isaiah 55:10-11, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." As we continue our study of the book of Acts, we pick up with Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch, where Paul has preached the Gospel.  The response is what we would expect; some overwhelmingly accept the good news, others are violently opposed to the message of the Gospel, and still others are indifferent.  But regardless of the response, we are called to preach the Word. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be richly blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

As Jesus approached the time of His crucifixion, He spent time to prepare His disciples for what was to come.  In John 15, He introduces His disciples to a level of relational intimacy with God through Jesus Christ.  Using imagery with which they were likely familiar, Jesus relates the Christian life to the vine and the vine dresser. In today's lesson, we get a glimpse at the True Vine and see how the vine dresser cares for us in order to bring about increased fruit in the life of the believer. Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

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.