“This Isn’t a Game” is the fourth sermon in the series “The Ripple Effect.” In this message, Neil discusses how the early church faced obstacles almost immediately. Last week we spoke about persecution and how they responded well to the initial command to be silent about Jesus. As we look this week at Acts 5, we see them confronted with the obstacle of hypocrisy. God dealt with it severely in order to show the absolute necessity of believers living a life that fear’s God more than desiring man’s approval. We are grateful that God’s response is the exception and not the rule, but we don’t want to miss the vital lesson that is being presented here.
The purpose of this series, “The Ripple Effect,” is to learn more about the life of Jesus and the story of the early church through the writings of Luke. Having looked at some of the highlights of the Gospel of Luke earlier this year, we now will turn our attention to his 2nd writing, the book of Acts. This book follows the history of the Holy Spirit’s influence on the early church and the beginning of the spreading of the Gospel to the corners of the earth. The book of Acts ends abruptly because the mission of the church is ongoing and is to be continued in our day and time by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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