Calvary Church Live | 10:30am | September 6, 2026

All of the earth is full of your glory.

Holy,

holy,

holy

is the Lord God Almighty.

Worthy

worthy

[music]

is full of your glory.

[music and singing]

All of the earth is full of your glory.

>> [music]

>> Heat. Heat.

Hey,

hey, hey.

Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Hey, Heat.

>> [music]

>> Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat. Heat. N.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Heat. [music]

>> [music]

[music]

>> Heat up here.

>> [music]

[music]

>> Good morning, Cal. Calvary. Let's take

some time together to give thanks and

sing praise to our amazing and almighty

God.

When [music] there's doubt in our way,

when the doubt in my way tries to seal

what you [music] say, saying I have no

reason to praise, I will give thanks.

I will [singing and music] give thanks.

If the roar that I hear [music] is the

voice of my fear in the day this hope in

my heart I will give thanks.

I will give [music] thanks.

A song of thanksgiving [music]

is my battle cry. Joy as my weapon. I

stand by the light of the dark in

[music] my hands. Look into the sky.

I [music] will rejoice.

I will rejoice. [music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

I will rejoice.

I [music] shout

forever again.

It's all stripped away and it seems it's

[music] too late. Then his boing dead in

the grave. I'll speak your name.

Oh, I'll [music and singing] speak your

name. Songs

of thanksgiving is my battle [music] cry

with joy as [singing] my weapon. I stand

to fight the lions of dark with

[music and singing] my hands lifted to

the sky.

I will rejoice.

I will [music] rejoice.

Oh, heat, heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

>> Well, good morning everyone. My name is

Chad. I'm one of your uh missionaries.

Glad to be with you this morning. Thank

you. It's good to be home. And uh I'm

going to talk to you a little bit about

freef fall in a couple minutes, but just

wanted to welcome you, greet you, and

let you know of a cool opportunity this

coming Thursday. It's uh actually has to

do with freef fall a little bit. Our

executive director is going to be on the

panel um here as well as someone from

our breaking barriers leadership team

and in partnership with uh St. Luke's

Pen Foundation. We're going to watch a

[music] video called Screenagers and it

looks at the impacts of screens on

teenagers. So, if you're ever trying to

understand how teenagers think, this

would be a great opportunity to come and

check out this documentary to see how

the screens impact [music] teenagers

development and psychology and

physiology and psychology and all those

ology words. Uh, but I wanted to have a

a little time that right now to do a

stand and greet [music] and I'm going to

give you one of my favorite uh

questions. So, if you tend to be a

little introverted like me and sometimes

struggle with what to ask somebody after

their name, you [music] run out of

things like weather and sports and then

you don't know what to talk about. But

we often would do this in Quakertown

campus and this is the most number one

uh favorite question that we posed of

all the years in Quakertown campus. So

hopefully you like it as [music] well.

Turn and ask somebody what is something

that they would typically

roll the dice on when it comes to food

safety. So, if you're smelling milk and

you're like, m, it's maybe okay. I'll

try it. Maybe you're somebody that takes

a risk on lunch meat. Maybe it's an egg

salad sandwich that you're like, um, I'm

going to give it a try. So, what's

something that you do the sniff test

with and you just roll the dice and you

go for it? So, grab somebody next to you

and share what is it that you do.

Let's continue singing with the joy of

the Lord this morning.

The joy of [music] the Lord. The joy of

the Lord. The joy of the Lord [singing]

is my strength.

I'll never [music] stop. I'll never

stop. Nothing can stop my praise.

The joy of the Lord. [music and singing]

The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord

is my strength.

No, I'll never stop. No, I'll never

stop. Nothing can stop my praise. I will

rejoice. [music]

I will rejoice.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

again

[music]

your goodness

again.

I shadow your goodness forever [music]

again.

[music]

>> [music]

[music]

>> Let [singing] out last darkness.

Oh that's in the blood. [music]

There's future grace that's [singing]

mine today that Jesus Christ [music]

has won.

So I can face tomorrow

for tomorrow is [singing] in your hands.

[music]

I need you in perfect just like

[singing and music] you always have.

[music] I'm fighting around.

[singing]

You've already won. [music]

No matter what comes my way,

I will [singing]

come. [music] Don't know what you're

doing,

but I [music and singing] know what

you've done.

[music]

You are.

[music]

There's mercy in the [music] waiting.

for today.

And when is I know [music and singing]

you're not. You are my

stay.

When the [music] sea is raging,

your spirit [singing and music]

is my help.

He'll fix [singing] my eyes on Jesus

Christ.

>> [music]

>> Say [singing] that is well.

Heat. Heat. [music]

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

>> [music]

>> I know [singing] how the story end.

[music]

We [singing] will be with you [music]

again.

You're my savior, mighty friend.

No, [music and singing] I fear you or

death.

I know [music]

the story.

[music]

Heat. Heat. [music]

[music]

Heat. Heat.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

>> [music]

[music]

>> I know how the story

[music]

you

>> [music]

[music]

>> Heat. Heat.

Heat.

[music]

Heat. [singing]

>> [music]

>> And father, we know in this room there

are many of us that are carrying

battles.

Some are small, some are huge [music]

and overwhelming.

But we know that the battle has already

been won.

We thank you that you love us enough to

take us through those valleys, to teach

us [music] new things, and to ultimately

win the battle.

Lord, it's not in our strength, but it's

in yours. And you are strongest in our

weakness.

So, we lay these things down before you

because they are in your hands. We trust

you. We know that you love us and you

will provide the way.

Jesus, you took the biggest battle for

us.

You died and you rose again. You didn't

stay in the grave. Because of that, we

have hope. We have hope that someday we

will stand before [music] you, praise

and worship you for all that you have

done for us that we couldn't do for

ourselves.

So we thank you and we worship you.

We pray that we would lay these things

in front of you and trust [music] you

and surrender to you. We pray all these

things in your precious name. Amen.

Thank you for worshiping with [music]

us. We love hearing you sing. And you

can have your seat.

Well, as the ushers come forward, I'd

like to thank you for uh just your

generosity and giving and making an

impact because of uh the offerings that

uh you're able to provide. It allows us

to make a gospel impact not just at

Freefall up in Quakertown, but locally,

regionally, and globally. we were able

to share the good news of Jesus and make

a a gospel impact in Quakertown, in

Peru, uh in Germany, uh with Mohan and

Nepal, all the missionaries that we uh

are able to support. Uh so thank you so

much for making an impact in that way.

And just to share a little bit about uh

freef fall, it started a number of years

ago with a pastor up in Quakertown that

uh asked a question. So it pretty much

started like most things start with a

with a prayer and with a question. And

so he was praying, what's next for our

church? What's next for us to get

involved in? Where can we be a blessing?

And so one of the questions was that he

uh proposed to his church and

congregation was if our church closed

tomorrow, would the community feel it?

Would it make a difference in the

community? And certainly it would make a

difference to the the church family, the

congregation. But the idea was, would it

make a difference in our community if

the church closed um tomorrow? And he

felt like he couldn't really answer that

with a solid guess. And so he went to

the burrow uh council in Quickertown and

asked, "What is your biggest need in

Quickertown?" And they said, "Actually,

it's the skatepark." Uh skate park has a

couple wooden ramps in it and it's a big

got a big fence around it that we keep

locked all the time because there's just

a lot of vandalism and mischief that

kind of happens. It's kind of a little

bit of an epicenter of where kids go to

get into trouble. And he said, "Well,

then that's exactly where I'm going to

go." And so he started to develop

relationships at that park. And before

you know it, it becomes a nonprofit. And

then six years ago, we built this big um

uh campus center with a community center

and a state-of-the-art ramps and parks,

which is about seven or eight times the

size uh that it used to be. And now it

went from becoming an eyesore of the

town to something that they an asset and

something they value and cherish and

able to look to and point to as a

difference in the community. And so

we're able to walk along students to be

able to just to make an impact. And so

we try to develop relationships with the

students that come out there. Most of

the kids are non-church kids. Most of

them come from broken, difficult

families and really don't have a place

to belong. And so this is a place that

is open for them, the community

throughout the whole week uh for them to

really find a sense of belonging, a

sense of a place that they can really

call uh their own. And so we're able to

be able to walk alongside them and help

them volunteer. Some of them volunteer

and that's the first opportunity that

they're volunteering at a skate park.

And then we'll bring them on staff and

we'll be able to help them develop work

skills like social skills, developmental

skills, uh just working with customer

service. And I one of the biggest things

I was surprised to learn of my time

there now for a couple months is that it

seems like they don't teach counting

coins in school anymore. So that was

like the biggest struggle for our folks

that are that are volunteering and

working is that counting nickels and

dimes is is difficult. So it wasn't that

was a learning curve. Uh but it was

really cool to be able to just develop

these kids and to have a place where

they can belong and then ultimately

where they can come to believe and where

they can ask questions about their faith

and be pointed to uh be pointed to

Jesus. And so my first just a quick

story of my first day there uh I was

getting settled in and I'm trying to

like okay what's what's a you know this

is a new job new place new things what's

it going to be like and so there wasn't

much of a learning curve I was thrown in

pretty quickly when my first day Dave

came over to me and said we might need

to call children youth. can you come

meet with me and this kid? Okay. So, we

go meet with him. I hear a little bit

more about his story and his family life

and and just the the unhealthiness that

is there. But it was really real cool to

be invited into that conversation when

he had never met me before. He never met

this kid before. And he shared how about

at the park was a place where he would

go before and after school. And he said,

"This really feels like home to me. I

don't feel at home at home, but this is

this is my home." And so I have a couple

quotes that I wanted to just throw up

and kind of share with you there because

it's it's one thing to hear from me, but

it's another to hear from some of the

students at our parks of what this has

really made made uh what it's mean to

them and how it's made a difference. Uh

one from from CM says, "I feel like I

have a family here. I talk with people

here about problems and about school. I

come here all the time. Freefall feels

like home to me." Another one from Mia

says, 'I definitely think I learned a

lot how to be nice to myself because of

everyone here. They're all my favorite

uh and like family. And the last one

comes from uh Jake there and it says,

"Freefall provides a healthy atmosphere

for people to learn how to respect their

community and how to treat others." So

that gives you a flavor from the

students themselves of what they

appreciate, what they like uh about

Freefall. And so our biggest event is

coming up the end of September. It's

called Freefall Fest. and that's our

signature event that we do every year.

Some I've seen some of you folks from

Serton come up over the past couple

years. Quakertown campus really gets

involved in it as well. Uh but we'll

have a QR code up on the screen too if

you want to find out more. Uh you can

check it out. You can volunteer and just

hand out hot dogs all day, help park

cars, if you're a photographer and you

want to use your skills in that way. We

love uh having photographers out to be

able to capture um some of the action.

And throughout the whole day, it's a

free event that we give out tons and

tons of free food and free uh free

raffles and prizes and things. And

because the through the entire time, we

talk about this is a a small example of

the ultimate free gift in Jesus that you

can you can get. And so we are trying to

continually prevent uh present the

gospel in a way that we after we are

able to develop relationships with these

kids earn the right to be heard. But

also through this event, this is a big

way in which we can get out to

community. people from Michigan,

Virginia, the Northeast all come to

compete in this on the action sports end

of things. So, we have scooters, bikes,

and skateboards, uh, competitions with

three different intermediate, um, and

advanced levels. So, come check it out.

You want to volunteer? We'd love to have

you. We have a a matching campaign this

year. The Clemens Food Group has uh

generously uh given a $15,000 match. So,

if you're able to give in that way and

are called feel like God's calling you

to do that, appreciate that, too. If

not, just come out and have some fun.

Eat some burgers and some fries and some

uh uh I think we have weirders water

rice this year, too. So, that'll be

that'll be good. But yeah, appreciate

your prayers in in uh uh in for us for

this event to be able to impact the

lives of the students in the Quakertown

area. And uh we appreciate the time just

to kind of hear more and uh any

questions at all, let me know.

in continuing what Jesus started.

We're connected and impacted [music] by

him. We're then sent to connect and

impact with others.

That's how the story of the Bible goes.

But if you're looking for a church that

understands [music] that we're part of

something far greater than what happens

in these walls, if you're looking for a

church that understands that eternity is

at stake, if you're looking for a church

[music] that is passionate about the

gospel and making disciples, then

welcome to Calvin Church.

>> Well, good morning Morning.

>> Good morning. So, [clears throat] we if

you've been with us through the summer,

we went through the book of Psalms

during the summer. So, we finished up

Psalms last week. Uh, next week we're

going to start a new series looking at

the book of Luke and we're going to look

at Luke all the way through till

Christmas.

But today, we're kind of like the in

between. So, today we're actually going

to look at a passage in the book of

Acts. And the reason we're doing that is

we're going to actually unpack our

mission here at Calvary Church. Our

mission is continuing what Jesus started

and that's been our mission for years.

And so we're going to unpack a little

bit of what that actually means today.

Now before we do that, I was just

thinking about this and tomorrow is

Labor Day. Uh and so uh spending the day

with my family. We're going to actually

go to Canobyl. I don't know if you ever

been to Canobyl's amusement park. If you

have little kids, it's great because you

don't pay to get in. Uh so that's why I

like it. Um, but my kids are not little

anymore. My oldest is 25, my youngest is

17.

And so we're going to go to Canobyl

tomorrow. Should be a good trip.

When they were younger,

the drive was horrible

cuz it's about two and a half hours,

almost three depending on traffic away,

right? And it's the worst when you have

little kids. You know why it's the

worst? because you get a question that's

asked

all the time, right? You know the

question.

>> Yeah.

>> Are we there yet? Are we there yet? And

you know what happens when I hear that

question?

I want to say this is what I want to

say. I'm like, "Yes, actually, we just

got out of the driveway. You can still

see our house. We're right there." Yeah,

we're there yet already. Or I want to

point to the Wawa like, "Yes, you see

that Waw Wa? It's actually not a Wawa.

It's a roller coaster right there. And

there's the ferris wheel right behind

it. I don't say that though. I don't say

that. I say, "Dearly beloved child,

we have not arrived at our destination

yet."

But then they ask a second question and

they say, "Well, when are we going to

get there?"

The next answer doesn't start with

dearly beloved child, just so you know.

But that question, right, are we there

yet?

When are we going to get there? As a dad

in a car, that is annoying.

But we're going to read a passage today

when a similar question is asked by the

apostles, by the disciples of Jesus to

Jesus.

Let's take a look at it. If you have a

Bible, turn to Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

So, we're going to take a look at Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 today. If you don't have a

Bible, you can use one of the Bibles I

have here. It's on page 743. Uh, if you

don't own one, take it home. It's our

gift to you. We believe that the Bible

is filled with life-changing truth. We

want you to have access to that.

All right. So, Acts is written

by a guy named Luke, the same guy who

wrote the book of Luke, which we're

going to study over the next few weeks.

And so, he writes this book. and he

wrote the first book to someone called

Theophilles. So this is how it starts.

Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

In my former book, Theophilles, I wrote

about all that Jesus began to do and to

teach until the day he was taken up to

heaven after giving instructions through

the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had

chosen.

After his suffering, he presented

himself to them and gave many convincing

proofs that he was alive.

He appeared to them over a period of 40

days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

On one occasion, while he was eating

with them, he gave them this command. Do

not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the

gift my father promised, which you have

heard me speak about. For John baptized

with water, but in a few days you will

be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

Then they gathered around him and asked

him, "Lord, are you at this time going

to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

There's the question.

There's a are we there yet?

It's not a childlike question like what

happened on trips to Canobles. It's an

authentic question. It's a real

question. What they're doing is they're

asking a question in regards to God's

promises. They're saying, "Is now the

time that God will fulfill all of his

promises?" You see, they're part of the

people of Israel. And Israel for years

and years has been hearing the promises

of God. and they've been waiting for

those promises to be fulfilled and

they're thinking in their mind a

political fulfillment of those promises.

They're thinking in their mind a

fulfillment that will elevate their

country. And so they're thinking at this

time, this must be it. Jesus, are we

there yet? Is this the time?

And Jesus answers the question just not

exactly how they expected to answer the

question. And we're going to take a look

at that answer. But before we take a

look at that answer, I think what we

need to do is just rewind a little bit,

go back to verse one, and look at the

setting for the answer to that question

because I think the setting is very

important. Let's take a look at verse

one again.

In my former book, Theophilos, I wrote

about all that Jesus began to do and to

teach.

That word began is so important.

That began is so important.

What Luke what is Luke not doing.

This is what Luke isn't doing. Luke is

not saying in my former book Theophilus

I talked about all that Jesus did and

all that he taught. Now in the second

book I'm going to talk about all that

the church will do and all the church

will will teach.

He doesn't do that.

What does he say?

He says what Jesus began to do and to

teach. What we need to understand is

that Acts is Luke 2.0.

That the main character doesn't change

in the book of Acts. That Jesus is still

working. By using that word began, what

we get is a a foreshadowing of the truth

that Jesus is still working. And what

he's doing is he's working through his

Holy Spirit and through his people. You

see the big idea for today is this that

Jesus is still working and we get to

join him. Jesus is still working and we

get to join him. We get to join him.

And the heart of that the heart of that

that statement that we need to

understand is this that we don't simply

work for Jesus. We work with Jesus. We

work with Jesus.

And that's the heart of our mission at

Calvary Church. That's the heart of what

it means to continue what Jesus started.

We aren't finishing something that Jesus

couldn't finish.

We're joining something that Jesus is

still doing.

We're joining in something that Jesus is

still doing.

And when we look at that mission, when

we look at what Jesus is doing, when we

look at what he invites us to join him

in, the beauty of that is that Jesus

gets to define that mission. And what we

see in Acts chapter 1 is that Jesus

Acts 1 · chapter mention

defines our mission. Let's go back into

Acts 1, looking at verse 7. He said to

them, "It is not for you to know the

times or dates the Father has set by his

own authority, but you will receive

power when the Holy Spirit comes on you,

and you will be my witnesses in

Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria

and to the ends of the earth."

So, what does Jesus do in his answer?

Well, I'll tell you what he doesn't do.

He doesn't give them a date, right?

They're like, "Is now the time? are we

there yet? He doesn't go, well, no, but

here's when it will happen. Like, like

for me, it it was always like, no, we're

not there. It'll be over an hour,

whether it was four hours away or 10

minutes away. That was my answer all the

time. Over an hour. He doesn't give them

a time. He doesn't give them a date. He

doesn't rebuke them. He goes, "How dare

you? Why do you keep asking this

question?" He doesn't do that. What does

he do? He redirects them. He redirects

them. He moves them from focusing on the

timing of the kingdom and actually moves

them to focus on their place in the

kingdom. And in their place in the

kingdom, he gives them a mission. What

is a mission? What does he say? You are

my witnesses.

You are my witnesses. What does a

witness do? A witness is simply someone

who testifies to something that they've

seen and know to be true.

So look at who he's talking to. He's

talking to the apostles. He's talking to

the disciples. He's talking to people

who have seen him. What have these

people witnessed? What have they seen?

And what can they testify to? They've

seen him live his life. They've seen him

feed the hungry. They've seen him do

miracles. They've seen him heal the

sick. They saw him carry a cross. They

saw him die.

And then they saw him live. He had died

and then they see him live.

They testified to who Jesus is. They

testify that he is the risen king. He's

the eternally victorious king. He is the

king of kings. They are the testimony of

who Jesus is.

And that's why Acts is ultimately not

about the apostles. That's why Acts is

not ultimately about the church. It's

ultimately about Jesus.

Jesus is still working and he's still

speaking and it's through the witnesses

and testimony of his people.

We've got to get that. We've got to get

that because Christian work begins with

testimony before it ever leads to

activity.

The main thrust of all we are called to

do is the testimony

of Jesus, not just the activity we

partake in.

And this is the heart of what we hear in

the Bible, what we call the great

commission.

And some people will look at uh the

verse we just read as Acts 18 and they

will call it the great commission. And

actually some people will look at

Matthew 28 and they'll call it the great

there's actually five expressions of the

great commission in the Bible. We're

going to go through it right real quick.

Starting in Matthew 28.

Matthew 28:18. It says, "Then Jesus came

Matthew 28:18

to them and said, "All authority in

heaven and on earth has been given to

me. Therefore, go and make disciples of

all nations, baptizing them in the name

of the Father and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey

everything I have commanded you. And

surely I am with you always to the very

end of the age." I I love that

commission. I love that command that

comes with that promise of presence as

well. Let's turn from Matthew and we'll

go over to Mark. Mark 16:15. He says,

Mark 16:15

"He said to them, go into all the world

and preach the gospel to all creation."

Luke 24:45. Then he opened their minds

Luke 24:45

so they could understand the scriptures.

He told them, "This is what is written.

The Messiah will suffer and rise from

the dead on the third day. and

repentance and repentance for the

forgiveness of sins will be preached in

his name to all nations beginning at

Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these

things. I'm going to send you what my

father has promised. But stay in the

city until you have been clothed with

power from on high. John

John 20:21

chapter 20 verse 21. And again Jesus

said, "Peace be with you. As the father

has sent me, I am sending you." And with

that he breathed on them and said,

"Receive the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:8,

Acts 1:8

"But you will receive power when the

Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will

be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all

Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the

earth." These are not five different

missions. These are not five different

great commissions. These are one mission

with and these are five different

windows looking in at that mission. What

Jesus is saying, he says, "I am sending

you. I am sending you."

Not just a few, but the entirety of his

church. He's not just sending the

pastors. He's not just sending the

missionaries. He's not just sending

people who have formal education. He's

sending his whole church. He is sending

you. He is sending me. He is sending us

out to be his witness.

That's what we mean by continuing what

Jesus started.

We are a church sent to be his witness.

And the great part about that is not

only does Jesus define our mission, he

supplies the power for that mission. You

see, what we learn in Acts chapter 1 is

Acts 1 · chapter mention

that Jesus supplies our power. Let's go

to verse eight again. We're going to

read it a few times today. But you will

receive power when the Holy Spirit comes

on you and you will be my witnesses in

Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and

to the ends of the earth. Here's what we

can do. We can see Acts 18 and we can

read that and we can say Jesus sends us

on a mission. Let's go.

Let's go do it. We got this. And we

could go

thinking that we can accomplish this on

our own.

But if we do that, we are missing we are

missing something that is in Acts 18

that we have to grasp.

Jesus isn't saying, "Hey, I'm sending

you on a tough mission, so here's a

power up."

He's not saying, "I'm sending you on a

tough mission, so here's a boost."

We have to look a little deeper.

This mission is God's work. It's God's

work. We don't recruit the Holy Spirit

for our work or for our mission.

The Holy Spirit draws us into God's

presence and draws us into God's

mission. That's why Jesus says, "Wait,

not here's a power up,

but you cannot do God's work on your

own." So, don't even begin until God

himself goes with you. That's the beauty

of Acts 18.

We don't continue what Jesus started by

trying harder.

We continue what Jesus started by

depending on him.

by depending on him.

We don't want to be a church that simply

works hard for Jesus.

We want to be a church that depends on

him and his holy spirit.

And that's so important. That's so

important because there's so many things

that could be distractions for us. And

they're good things. They're good

things. These are good things I'm

talking about. We can be distracted by a

church that is good preaching or a

church of good music or good facilities

or good technology or a good children's

uh ministry or or whatever. These are

all good things but they cannot replace

the power of the Holy Spirit.

They cannot replace the Holy Spirit and

the mission of Jesus. And that has to be

our focus. Our mission is not to see how

much we can accomplish for Jesus. Our

mission is to join in what Jesus is

already doing.

It's to join in with what Jesus is

already doing.

So Jesus defines our mission and Jesus

gives us the power for that mission and

his mission is to expand the reach of

the gospel, the reach of the good news

of Jesus. And what ends up happening is

that Jesus expands our reach. Let's go

back into Acts 18. What is it there? It

says, "But you will receive power when

the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you

will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and

all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of

the earth."

Slow down for a little bit and look at

those four areas.

And what we'll see is actually that is

the geographic

progression in the book of Acts. We see

the church expand in Jerusalem and Judea

go on go on and expand throughout the

ends of the earth. We see that in the

book of Acts.

And there's a reason why Chad said it

earlier when he was uh up here talking

about freef fall. There's a reason that

we talk about missions in regards to

locally, regionally, and

internationally. There that that's that

progression geographically. But there's

also something much more in there that

we have got to see.

You see, the mission of Jesus isn't a

linear thing. There's an important word

in there that we have to pay attention

to.

The mission of Jesus isn't Jerusalem tor

stop one, Judea tors stop 2, Samaria tor

stop three, ends of the earth tors stop

four. That's not what it is.

There's a word in there that we have to

pay attention to.

The word is this. And

it's Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and

the ends of the earth. It's not

Jerusalem then Judea then Samaria then

the ends over the earth. It's not

Jerusalem or Judea or Samaria or then.

It's and it is it's like ripples when

you throw a rock into the water and

there's there's ripples that come from

that central spot and it just starts to

expand and those ripples begin to form

circles that go out. the the the impact

of Jesus on our world sends ripples that

is expanding the reach and we are

supposed to be a part of all of those

circles.

So what does that look like?

Well, let's dive into it a little bit.

What does that look like for us?

What does it look like for Jerusalem?

Jerusalem is start where you are.

It's the closest circle to you. Start

where you are. It's home.

It's the people seated around your

kitchen table.

It's the person in the cubicle next to

you.

It's the person you ride on the school

bus home with.

It's home.

It's the people in your circle.

It's the closest circle to you. That's

Jerusalem. You start where you are.

It's kind of weird though, right?

That's usually the hardest circle,

right?

That's usually the hardest circle to be

a part of, to actually be a witness in

because I don't know about you,

but the people seated around my kitchen

table,

they know me.

They know whether my life actually

matches the words that I say

that circle starting in Jerusalem. We

have to make sure that our life actually

matches the witness that we're supposed

to be. So start where you are.

What's the second circle? Judea. Go

beyond your immediate circle. I it's

it's just that one right beyond it.

there still people who kind of look like

you or or around you. The same kind of

rhythm. You know what it's like? It's

like it's like that person who works out

at the gym every time you go to the gym

or or the person when you go get coffee

that they're in line all the time. You

see them, you might even say hello to

them or the person who serves you the

coffee, you might say hello to them

every day. They're in your normal

rhythms. Maybe you maybe you're a parent

who has a kid playing soccer.

Why? I don't know. But I mean that's the

first thing we have to work. No, maybe

you have a kid who's playing soccer.

It's one of the other parents

of one of the other kids on your kid

soccer team. They're in your circle. You

know what they are?

They're not presently in your life,

but they could be.

But they could be.

It's just that circle right outside,

right? You know, it's a great

opportunity to actually interact with

that circle. It's what we mentioned at

the beginning of the service is we have

this documentary that we're showing on

Thursday and that's for our community.

It's not something just for our church.

It's actually for the community. We're

partnering with Penn Foundation. They've

reached out to North Penn School

District, Penidge, Quakertown, Palace.

They reached out to different school

districts around us. Solderton.

Go invite a friend.

Go invite someone from from uh one of

the schools that you you attend or one

of the schools that your kid attends.

It's a great documentary. It's a great

opportunity to be with the community and

that's this week. It's on Thursday. So,

you can go ahead and register. You don't

have to register. You can just come

without registering, but registering

helps. So, go ahead. You can register

now. I won't be offended. You can go

ahead and do that. That's a great

opportunity for Judea.

Then we come to Samaria.

In Samaria, you cross boundaries.

Samaria, you cross boundaries.

Samaria

are people who may not be like you. In

fact, they aren't like you.

They're not the group that you would

naturally choose to be around.

They're they're near enough to be

familiar. They're different enough to be

uncomfortable.

You know, if we were to talk about

Samaria during that time and the Jewish

people with Samaria, there was deep

tensions. There was long-standing

tensions. There was there was actually

just just this animosity towards each

other. In fact, if you were to look uh

at Jesus's life, if you were to actually

look in the book of Luke, you would have

seen the story where Jesus goes to

Samaria and there's people who reject

Jesus there. And what is the response of

two of Jesus's disciples, James and

John? What is their response to say?

Lord, do you want us to call down fire

and destroy them?

That's their response to the people of

Samaria.

The people who Jesus went to, they

rejected. They rejected him. And the

response to the disciples is not to go

and pursue them. Their response is,

"Let's destroy them.

Let's destroy them."

And the people that they once wanted to

burn are now the people that Jesus sends

them to love. [snorts]

Who's your Samaria?

Who is the person or people group that

you've quietly written off? Who's maybe

their background or their politics or

their worldview? They make you uneasy or

or or they're just simply hard to love.

And here's the deal. As a church, we're

better off we're better at avoiding or

arguing about these people groups than

actually loving them.

But Jesus never told the church to go

around Samaria.

He told them to go into Samaria.

The gospel deliberately crosses the

line.

It crosses boundaries.

Jesus didn't only die for people that

are easy for us to love. He died for

your Samaria as well.

And he calls us to go into Samaria.

And then he calls us to go to the ends

of the earth.

Go wherever Jesus is sending you.

You know, most of us won't move to

another country and live as

missionaries. The reality is most of us

won't.

But all of us are connected.

All of us are connected to the entirety

of this world.

I mean, you can go. God could be calling

you to go and live a life as a

missionary in another country. So you

can go

or you can send.

You can send. You can even be one who is

praying for those who have gone, who is

giving to those who have gone.

You know what else you can do in the

reality of the country and community

that we live in?

You can welcome.

Have you noticed when we look around our

own communities? Have you noticed when

you look around Serton or Hatfield or

Lansdale or any of the places around us,

the ends of the earth are here.

They've moved in.

They're right here.

And you can welcome and be a witness and

go to them.

They're right next door.

You see, the reality is this.

We have a tension at times to let the

ends of the earth become the excuse to

skip out on our own Jerusalem.

It's easy to love the idea of reaching

people far away

because it allows us to ignore the

person right next to us.

But again, Jesus said all four. It was

an and Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria

and the ends of the earth. It's all

four.

God may send you across the world. He

might. He really He really might. That's

great. We We would love that.

He might do that.

But he is sending you across the street.

He has called you across the street.

That's something that we have to engage

in.

You see, your mission field may be your

family or your neighborhood or your

workplace or your classroom or your

friendships or your community or the

skate park in Quakertown or opening a

group for Young Life to be in your home

or going to a table talk with Nate Sims

or or going to a sporting event with

FCA.

Who has Jesus surrounded you with?

That's your Jerusalem.

Who have you skipped and avoided? That's

your Samaria.

You see, the mission of Jesus,

continuing Jesus started means to join

in the work that Jesus is doing wherever

he leads you. Even if it's the place

that you rather not be,

which leads us to the posture of our

mission. You see, Jesus shapes our

posture. Go back into verse 9. After he

said this, he was taken up before their

very eyes and a cloud hid him from their

sight. They were looking intently up

into the sky as he was going. When

suddenly two men dressed in white stood

beside them. Men of Galilee, they said,

why do you stand here looking into the

sky? This same Jesus who has been taken

from you into heaven will come back in

the same way you have seen him go into

heaven. Then the apostles returned to

Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount

of Olives, a Sabbath day walk from the

city. When they arrived, they went

upstairs to the room where they were

staying. Those present were Peter, John,

James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,

Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of

Alphus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas

son of James.

They all joined together constantly in

prayer along with the women and Mary,

the mother of Jesus, with his brothers.

What happens? Jesus is taken and he

ascends into heaven. And what do they

do? They just start staring. They're

like, "Oh, look at that. and they're

just staring. What happens? There's

angels show up and they're like, "What

are you doing?"

You know what they don't do? The angels

don't go and say, "What are you doing?

Get to work."

What do they do? They talk about Jesus.

They say, "This same Jesus who you saw

ascend into heaven. He's going to come

back."

And the reality is is that because he's

in heaven, he is reigning already. And

because he's coming back, he will one

day return and restore everything. And

now the disciples and these apostles

live in the already and not yet stage of

the story just like we do.

Jesus already is reigning but he has not

yet returned.

And as we live in this already and not

yet, we have a mission.

So what do they do? What do they do?

What does it say in verse 14?

They prayed.

They gathered. They waited. They prayed.

That's the posture.

That's the posture that Jesus creates

with his ascension and the promise of

his return. That's the posture. It's not

passive. It's not frantic. It's not

self-sufficient.

It's prayerful dependence.

We are participators while we are on our

knees. We're not spectators just staring

at the sky.

Because Jesus reigns, we work. Because

Jesus is coming again, we hope. Because

Jesus has given his spirit. We witness.

Because Jesus is sovereign. We pray.

We pray.

That's the beauty of the life that Jesus

calls us to. And that's the beauty of

Mondays.

Tomorrow's Monday.

Yay.

Actually, tomorrow's Labor Day, so it

doesn't count. Tuesday's coming.

What's Monday? It's your ordinary,

right?

It's your ordinary life.

Your ordinary task and work, whatever it

is that you do, whether it's home or at

a job place, it's your ordinary.

But guess what?

Jesus is working in the ordinary.

Jesus is doing an eternal work in the

ordinary. And the reality is is that we

can sit on the sidelines

and not participate in what Jesus is

doing. We can do that.

But then there will be people around you

who will remain unreached

because God has called you to go to them

and be a witness.

And there's eternity at stake.

So you can be on the sideline

and you can spectate,

but there's people around you who need

to be reached.

Or

or

you can join in the work that Jesus is

doing and have a front row seat to see

how he works. And let me tell you, that

is an amazing place to be.

Next week, we start the book of Luke.

And in it, we're going to meet Jesus.

And we're going to see what Jesus does.

We're going to see how he cares for the

poor. We're going to see all the things

he does. We're going to see his

crucifixion. We're going to see his

resurrection. We're going to see all

this. And as we get to know Jesus, we

learn from Jesus. And as we learn from

Jesus, we live like Jesus.

And the book of Luke teaches us that

Jesus, what Jesus began to do and teach.

But don't forget that the book of Acts

shows us that Jesus is still teaching.

He's still working. And he's commanded

us to participate in what he's doing.

You see, Jesus is still working. The

gospel is still going. The kingdom is

still advancing. And the Holy Spirit is

still empowering.

And Jesus invites us to participate.

So this week I'm going to leave you with

two questions.

Two questions. You ready?

First question is this.

Who is your Jerusalem?

Who is your Jerusalem? I don't want you

just think about it. I want you to

answer it as we pray in a little bit.

We're going to pray in a little bit.

Answer that question. Who is your

Jerusalem? Who is it that's in your

circle that you need to be a witness to?

Pray for them [snorts] and then step

into whatever opportunity it is in your

life to be a witness to them. Who is

your Jerusalem?

Got that?

Here's question number two.

Who's your Samaria?

Who's the person or the people group

you'd rather not cross the street for?

Who Who's the person or the people group

who makes you uncomfortable or who you

just rather not be around?

Pray for them, too.

and ask Jesus for courage to take one

step towards them

to be a witness.

You see, Jesus is still working and we

get to join him

not by simply working for him but by

working with him. And that's what it

means to continue what Jesus started.

But you will receive power when the Holy

Spirit comes on you and you will be my

witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea

and Samaria and to the ends of the

earth.

Lord, we thank you

for your love. We thank you for the

truth of the gospel, the goodness of the

gospel, the power of the gospel.

and we thank you that you allow us to be

a part of what you're doing.

Help us to do just that.

Give us the power that comes from your

Holy Spirit to be witnesses in Jerusalem

and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of

the earth to whatever circle that God

has placed us in.

And Lord, I ask you that you would allow

our eyes to see the work that you're

doing, the fruit of your work that we

get to be a part of.

And we ask you to grow your kingdom. We

pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek

you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh

faints for you as in a dry and weary

land where there's [music] no water.

Because your steadfast love is better

than life.

My lips [music] will praise you.

All my words fall short.

I've got [music and singing] nothing

new.

How could I express

all my [music]

gratitude?

I could [music] sing these songs

as I [singing] often do,

but every [singing] song [music] must

end

and you never do. [music]

So I throw up my hands, praise you again

and again. [music]

Cuz all that I [singing] have is a

hallelujah.

[music]

And I know it's not [music] much, but

I've nothing else fit for a king

except for [music and singing] a heart

singing hallelujah.

Hallelujah. [music]

I've got one response. [music]

I've got just one

[music]

with my stretch wide.

[singing]

I will walk in you.

So [music]

my hands

raise you again and again.

All [music] that I have is

[music]

always

[music]

except

>> [music]

>> Open our [music] lips and our mouth will

declare your praise. Open our lips.

Come on [music] my soul. Don't you get

shout me. [singing] Lift up your song

cuz you've got [music] a lion inside of

those lungs. Get up and praise [music]

the Lord.

[music] Don't you shout

your soul. You got

inside.

[music]

Heat. Heat.

>> [music]

[music]

>> Heat. Heat.

Sometime [music]

my hand

again.

[music]

Heat. Heat. [music]

[music]

Heat [music]

[music]

up here.

[music]

>> [music]

[music]

>> You know, one of the best ways to

express that gratitude, to say that

hallelujah, to say that praise

to God,

is to actually do what he asked us to do

to be his witness.

Whether it's here in Jerusalem in your

circle or in Judea in that outside,

definitely in Samaria.

Can't lift up your hands and sing

hallelujah and then push out your hands

and push people away.

They're exactly who Jesus wants.

and to the ends of the earth.

We are called to be his witness and we

don't go along alone.

There's a promise of his presence and

his holy spirit.

[music] So I invite you to do just that

this week in the ordinary

and open your eyes and see the

extraordinary

that Jesus is doing.

If you'd like to have prayer, come on

down. We'd love to pray with you. you'd

like to come out Thursday for the

documentary with Pen Foundation, come on

out. We'd love to see you there.

Otherwise, go and have a great week.

The cross of salvation

was only the start.

Now I'm chosen.

free and forgiving.

I have a future

and it's worth the living.

I wasn't made to be ted in a grave. I

was called by name. Born and raised back

to [music] life again.

I was made for more.

>> So why would I make bed in my shame when

a fountain of grace is running my way?

[music and singing] I know I am yours

and I was made for more.

>> I know who [music] I am.

I know who you are.

The cross of salvation

was only the start.

Now I am chosen,

free and forgiving.

I have a future

and it's worth the living.

I wasn't made to be the tender grave. I

was called by name. Born and raised back

to life again. [music]

I was

more

Why would I make

my shame when [music]

he's running my way? I know I am yours

and I was made for

you called out my name. I'll sing out

your [music] praise. Hallelu.

You buried my past. I'm not going back.

Hallelu.

You called out my name. So I'll sing out

your praise. Hallelujah.

You

made