Passage: Galatians 1:11-24 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Overview In Galatians 1:11-24, Paul shares his personal testimony with the aim of showing that the gospel he now preaches is, in his own words, “not man’s gospel” (1:11). While he is most immediately concerned with refuting false claims about the origins of his…
Passage: Galatians 1:6-10 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Overview The Apostle Paul comes out swinging right at the beginning of his letter to the Galatians. What so provoked Paul, that he forwent even his customary greetings and launched into a blazing invective against the Galatians? What was he so passionate to protect?…
Passage: Galatians 5:1-5 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Overview Paul’s letter to the Galatians is all about the freedom and confidence we have in Christ, because of the gospel, as well as the kind of community that emerges from this freedom. At the beginning of Galatians, Paul greets the church with great…
Passage: Acts 1:1-11; Acts 2:1-13 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Overview Like the first disciples, we can often feel ourselves ill-equipped for the mission of Jesus. Because of Jesus’ ascension, however, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we are more than equipped to play a fruitful and fulfilling…
A body of many parts In thinking about Night to Shine, my mind often turns to Paul’s teaching in I Corinthians that the church is one body, made up of many parts, all doing what each does well. In chapter 12, verse 18 he says, “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the…
Passage: Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:1-11 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Overview After Jesus rose from the dead, he did something surprising—he left. Why did he do this, and what does this mean for us today? First, Jesus’ ascension was more than simply his leaving the earth—rather, it marked his taking up the…
Passage: John 20:19-23 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Overview One of the many breathtaking effects of Jesus’ resurrection is the fact that we can now have deep and durable peace. This is the peace that Jesus extended to his disciples, when he appeared to them on Easter morning, and it’s the same…
Passage: John 16:16-33 Guide for Group Discussion or Personal Reflection Sermon Overview On Jesus’ final night, when all seemed grim, he pointed his disciples towards a new and indestructible joy that would soon be theirs. Though they would soon “have sorrow”, he told them, “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and…
