Acts: The Church on Mission

Pastor Ray Peoples

Sunday August 30, 2026

An overview of where we've studied in Acts

Acts 1:8 you received the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to the end of the earth to share Jesus Christ

Acts 20:17-24

Serve the Lord faithfully wherever He has placed you. How am I serving the Lord with my WHOLE life? Every day you're on mission!

What is the church here for? The mission of God. 

Matthew 5 Let your light shine and give glory to your Father who's in heaven 

Tears and trials can and will happen. Didn't let that deter you from HIS path.

Carry the whole Gospel courageously to everyone around you 

Don't shrink back from the Truth!!

This does not say you will all become preachers, but all WILL be witnesses. Don't hesitate to talk about Jesus. 

  Who is Jesus?

  What has Jesus done (in your life)?

  What is the Gospel? 

  How has Jesus changed me? 

Find your answer to these questions and you have what to talk to people about 

Mission happens publicly, but also house to house 

Jews and Greeks means people like us AND people unlike us (whenever you see this)

We sinned against God, we cannot rescue ourselves and God sent Jesus, who was executed, buried and rose again to forgive my sin 

We must continually repent of our sin 

Who, in my normal rhythm of life, needs to let Jesus in their life? Don't shrink back when Jesus opens the door for you to share. 

Help shepherd and strengthen the people God has put around you

Acts 20:28

The whole church cares for the whole church

Galatians 6:2

Hebrews 10:24-25

1 Thes 5:11

Mission begins with abiding! 

Acts 20:29-31

Help protect one another from drifting away from Him 

Acts 20:32

Build up one another with Grace. Share Scripture, prayers and fellowship with others, inviting them into you life to Walk in God's Grace

Live generously for the mission 

Every part of your life should be generous!

What kind of person does the mission of Jesus require ME to become? 

You are sent and on mission every place you live.

Acts: The Church on Mission

Pastor Ray Peoples

Sunday August 23, 2026

Acts 16

The Spirit can guide by closing doors

Paul had a good plan but God said no

There comes a point where discernment becomes disobedience 

Try this prayer for 7 days: Holy Spirit, make me sensitive to the people you put in front of me today

"If I had ten more minutes, I would have spent more time in Acts 15, because what happens there helps us understand why Acts 16 matters so much.

Before Paul ever receives the Macedonian call, before Lydia’s heart is opened, before the Philippian jailer asks, “What must I do to be saved?” the early church has to settle a massive question:

Who is the gospel really for?

Acts 15 records what is called the Jerusalem Council.

The church is growing. Gentiles are coming to faith.

People who were not Jewish, who had not grown up with the law of Moses, who had not practiced the customs of Israel, were hearing the gospel and believing in Jesus. Good things were happening. 

And that created a major controversy.
Acts 15:1 says:
“Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.’”

In other words, they were saying:
“Jesus is good—but Jesus isn’t enough.”

Believe in Jesus, and become Jewish. Trust Christ, and keep these customs. Receive grace, and add the law.

That is the issue sitting in front of the church.

And Peter stands up and reminds them of what God has already done among the Gentiles.
Acts 15:8–9 says:
“And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.”

Then Peter makes one of the clearest gospel statements in the entire discussion:
“On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.”
— Acts 15:11

That is the gospel.

Saved by grace.

Not grace plus circumcision.
Not grace plus Jewish customs.
Not grace plus religious performance.
Not grace plus cleaning yourself up.

Grace through Jesus Christ.

Paul will later write in Ephesians 2:8–9:
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.”
That is what the Jerusalem Council protects.

The gospel is not:
Jesus plus something.
The gospel is:
Jesus.

This Council Opens the Door Wide

Here is the challenge.
Don’t put barriers in front of the cross that Jesus never put there.

The council affirms that Gentiles do not need to become Jews in order to become Christians.

And that matters tremendously when you turn the page into Acts 16.

Because immediately after this council settles that issue, Paul heads back out on mission.
And where does the Spirit send him?

Farther into Gentile territory.
Macedonia.
Philippi.
Europe.
Lydia.
The slave girl.
The jailer.

Acts 15 establishes the theology.
Acts 16 shows the theology moving down the road.

The church says:
“The gospel is for the Gentiles.”
Then the Holy Spirit says:
“Good. Now go get them.”
That is the connection.

The Jerusalem Council isn’t just an administrative meeting.
It becomes a launching pad for mission.

And here is why that matters for us.

Most of us reading Acts today are Gentiles.
We were not born into Israel.
We did not grow up under the Mosaic covenant.
We are part of the “nations” that the Old Testament prophets said God would one day draw to Himself.

So when you read Acts 15, you are not reading somebody else’s story.
You are reading about the gospel door being declared wide open for people like us.

Paul says in Romans 1:16:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”

Everyone who believes.
That includes Lydia.
That includes the jailer.
That includes the nations.
That includes us.

Ephesians 2 says that Gentiles were once:
“without Christ… excluded from the citizenship of Israel… without hope and without God in the world.”
But then Paul gives us two of the greatest words in Scripture:
“But now…”
Ephesians 2:13:
“But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

We were far away.
Jesus brought us near.
We were outsiders.
Jesus brought us in.
We were without hope.
Jesus became our hope.

Not because we deserved it.
Not because we inherited it.
Not because we followed enough religious rules.
Because of the blood of Christ.

And this is where the gospel gets even more beautiful.
Jesus doesn’t merely save Jews over here and Gentiles over there.

He creates one new people.

Ephesians 2:14 says:
“For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.”

The cross tears down the wall.
The gospel creates a family made up of people from every background.

Every nation. Every tribe. Every people. Every language.

That is where Acts is heading.

Be reminded, Acts 1:8 begins with:
Jerusalem.
Then Judea.
Then Samaria.
Then: the ends of the earth.

Acts 15 says there are no second-class Christians among the nations.
Acts 16 begins pushing the gospel even farther out.
And eventually, generation after generation, somebody carried that gospel to us.

The gospel reached us because the church refused to keep it to itself.
Acts 15 did not end with:
“Great! Gentiles can be saved.”
It led directly to:
“Then let’s go tell them.”

That’s why Acts 16 happens.

The Spirit sends Paul farther.

And the same gospel that reached us is now entrusted to us.
Matthew 28:19 says:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…”

We are not the finish line of the gospel.
We are supposed to be part of the next leg of the race.
We received it.
Now we carry it.

We were once far off.
Christ brought us near.
And now, filled with the same Holy Spirit who directed Paul, we ask:
“Who still needs to hear?”

That is why the Jerusalem Council matters.
Because Acts 15 declares:
The gospel is for the nations.

And Acts 16 responds:
Then let’s go to the nations.

And thank God they did.
Because eventually—
the gospel came to us.

Therefore, let us continue the mission as well. Let us take his word to each and every person that we can."

Acts: The Church on Mission

Elder Jeff Kirk

Sunday August 16, 2026

Acts: The Church on Mission

Sunday August 8, 2026

Pastor Ray Peoples

Acts 8:1-8

There is not ANYONE that cannot be changed by Jesus! 

Acts 1:8

What the Enemy Meant for Destruction, God used for Distribution 

Ordinary spreads the Extraordinary when it's Jesus. He uses all! 

Sowing the Word Everywhere. They shared the Good News as they traveled, as they went about their everyday lives. Use every opportunity to make disciples!

John 4:25-26, 28-30, 39-41

As she went, she carried His Truth.

If you are waiting for the perfect moment to share the Gospel, it will never come. Share in the moment God puts in front of you!!

1 Peter 3:15

Phillip didn't arrive declaring himself, but rather Jesus and how He changes everything.

Christ is The Gospel! 

Samaria demonstrated the reach of the Gospel 

There is no place or people that are beyond His reach 

Acts 8:6

Acts 8:8 there was great joy, even after great persecution

Psalm 16:11

Carry the Gospel with you as you go in your everyday life, everywhere you go, because the Holy Spirit is there to help you go and make disciples. You are never alone.

Acts: The Church on Mission

CR Ministry Lead Blake Appleton

Sunday August 2, 2026

Acts 6:1-7

Serenity prayer

People Matter to God

Gospel growth always brings blessings, problems and opportunities 

L.E.A.D

L-Legitimate problems are acknowledged 

Philippians 2:4 More opportunities to love others

E-Equipped servants are selected

Acts 6:3 Character comes before position. God develops something in us before He entrusts something to us

1 Peter 4:10 use your good name to serve others

Character determines what we can faithfully carry. 

A-Apostles stay focused

There are times when you have to leave the crowd to follow where God is leading you 

D-Dynamic Growth is Released

Acts 6:7 needs were met and the Gospel kept advancing

A healthy check isn't one without problems, it's one that faithfully meet them with God 

Mark 10:45

Acts: The Church on Mission

Elder Jeff Kirk

Sunday July 26, 2026

Acts 5:1-11

Acts 4:32-36 

Are we all one in heart and mind? 

God requires us to be people of honesty and integrity.

It involves matching your words to your actions...

1 Samuel 16:7

Hebrews 4:13

Psalm 139:1-4

Ephesians 4:25

Matthew 7:12

A lie of omission is still a lie. God knows your heart, stop lying to him. 

Rationalizing and Minimalizing

1 John 1:8-10

Ephesians 4:22

2 Timothy 2:22

James 4:17

We diminish our own value-it's a lie that Satan tells us. We are ALL worthy of God's love. 

JOHN 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Romans 5:8

We are ALL worthy of God's love

Acts: The Church on Mission

Pastor Ray Peoples

Sunday July 19, 2026

Acts 4:13

When were your bold in a decision? What was true in that moment? 

The power is never in the person, the power is in GOD. Boldness is the evidence of time spent with Jesus. 

Boldness begins....

Acts 3:1-8

Boldness follows intimacy.

Acts 3:11-12

Bold people know they aren't the hero BUT they are deeply connected to the hero.

Acts 3:6-10

Boldness is rooted in conviction.

Acts 4:12 (Strong conviction)

Boldness fears God more than people

Acts 4:19-20

Matthew 10:28

Boldness is the mission of EVERY believer 

Acts 4:29-31

Boldness requires continual dependence on the Holy Spirit and we are are called to boldness! 

Where are you going with boldness? Spread that boldness wherever you go! 

Where is my ordinary place I can take Jesus? 

Every part of this city needs ordinary people to be bold in their faith.

The disciples were ordinary people that let the Holy Spirit fill and drive their lives.

Acts 4:13. Not achievement but boldness in the Spirit 

Acts: The Church on Mission

Teacher Micah Fry

Sunday July 12, 2026

Acts 2:42-47

The church is POWERED by the Holy Spirit.

Devoted to:

Apostle's Doctrine ("teaching" Acts 2:42)

Dining Table (communion and meals Acts 2:42)

Desperate Prayer (communal prayer Acts 2:42) "deeply personal and it usually requires one of us to be vulnerable"

Deep Fellowship (Acts 2:44) familial? community

John 13:34-35

Bringing Unity to the Body 

Elder Jeff Kirk

Sunday July 5, 2026

Acts 

Acts: The Church on Mission

Pastor Ray Peoples 

Sunday June 28, 2026

Acts 1:1-14

Apologies for all of the slips and pauses. Several technical difficulties struck on this day.

Elder Jeff Kirk

Sunday June 21, 2026

Luke 24:13-34