Bring Your Best | Acts 2:36-47 - What Is Church Supposed To Look Like? (Andrew Allison)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
Release Date: 06/23/2024
The Story | How Do I Find Courage? | Chapter 11 (Lynnita Weber)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
The Israelites were afraid of the Philistine champion, Goliath. They needed a champion to rescue them, and at just the right time, God sent them a shepherd king who risked his life to defeat the enemy. The God who sent David to rescue the Israelites is the same God who came to us as the humble shepherd-king Jesus and gave his life to save us all.
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The Story | Has Your Leader Failed? Chapter 10 (Andrew Allison)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
The first human king of Israel was a flop. Saul had loads of promise, but he never learned to keep his eyes on God. God was a duty to Saul, not a friend, which meant Saul was always thinking of himself, what people thought of him, and what he needed to look good. Expert fire inspectors can tell what started a fire even after it has been put out. They do the forensic work to prevent future fires. As we sort through the ashes of Saul’s life, stay alert to God’s cautions about your life and leadership.
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The Story | What Is Real Friendship Like? | Chapter 9 (Andrew Allison)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
The tiny book of Ruth in your Bible is all about friendship. The name Ruth actually means friendship. Two women lash themselves to each other, wondering what God might do for them during a bleak time in their lives. It’s the story of hard work, courage, and God coordinating the needed pieces behind the scenes.
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The Story | Why Is The World A Mess? | Chapter 8 (Andrew Allison)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
It doesn’t take too long in the Promised Land for the people of God to begin to behave very badly. All the dreams of being a model nation with God as their king went out the window in a hurry. There’s no greater evidence for this than the last story in the book of Judges. Sometimes the Bible has PG-13 content. Judges 19-21 is rated R.
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The Story | Am I Good Enough For God? | Chapter 7 (Lynnita Weber)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
A Canaanite sex worker, Rahab seemed as far from God as a person could be. But Rahab trusted that God would save her, and he did. God rescued Rahab from shame and into a whole new life with a whole new family. That’s what he does for us, too.
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The Story | Does God Ask Too Much? | Chapter 6 (Andrew Allison)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
This was Israel’s big day! Everything had been pointing towards this. Everyone was excited and when the moment came, they blew it! Totally dropped the ball. Trusted leaders turtled and turned the people of God against God’s good (and challenging) plan. God still got done what needed to be done—it just took 40 extra years and made for one long camping trip for an entire generation.
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The Story | What Does God Want? | Chapter 5 (Andrew Allison)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
The people of God were rescued from slavery - now what? God doesn't just free us from darkness, He frees us for a new life. In today's passage, we see the kind of people and nation God wants Israel to be!
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The Story | Can I Say "No" To God? | Chapter 4 (Andrew Allison)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
As we continue journeying through the Story of God, you may find yourself encountering things you didn't expect. Bible ‘heroes’ who eat the forbidden fruit, get drunk, betray their brothers, and this week, one who does everything he can to avoid joining God in rescuing His people. There aren’t many Bible heroes, just a bunch of failing humans. God is not deterred. He has and will do everything He can to rescue people, even if it’s just by the skin of their teeth. It’s all quite marvellous and mysterious.
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The Story | Where Is God When Bad Things Happen | Chapter 3 (Lynnita Weber)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
Joseph was Jacob’s favourite son with God-given dreams for the future. And then life went horribly wrong for him: his brothers betrayed him, he became a slave in Egypt, and ended up in prison. Where was God when all of this was going on? God was working everything together to save lives, save a family, and save Joseph himself.
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The Story | Does God Have Any Use For Me? | Chapter 2 (Andrew Allison)
St. Paul's Leaskdale Weekly Sermons
The second chapter of The Story introduces us to Abram and Sarah, God's choice for the parents of His chosen people. Not only do we meet Abram and Sarah, but we also begin to see what God is truly like. He chooses a very old, childless couple to start a nation. What is God after? Is He a cruelbeing who delights in rubbing people's noses in their failures or taunting themwith the unattainable? Or is there something in this story that reveals God's heart for all of us?
info_outlineActs 2 reminds us that while we can and do worship alone, the best worship happens when we’re together! The Bible offers no picture of the day when heaven comes to earth when we’ll be off on our own as individuals! We’ll stand, kneel, and bow with the millions who have called Jesus LORD.
The church got off to such a start; 3,000 people were stirred to trust Jesus, worship together, and then opened their homes to each other! Watch what God does when people worship!