Dove Creek Bible Church's Podcast

Do you think you have any prejudices? Most of us like to think we have moved beyond prejudice and pride...but have we really moved on? Sometimes the Lord reveals to us, like He reveals to Peter in Chapter 10 of the Book of Acts, that we are not quite as far down the road of tolerance as we like to imagine ourselves to be. Leslie Allen said "A Jonah lurks in the heart of every Christian". Is there a Jonah lurking in your hear and do you have the courage to ask God to reveal to you your prejudices?

Christianity's greatest adversary has now become its greatest ally in the conversion of Saul. Surprisingly, Saul is colossally ineffective when he first sets out to preach the gospel...why? Meanwhile, Peter mistakenly believes he has for the most part overcome his pride and prejudice. Shortly he will discover that is in fact not the case.

The conversion of Saul on the Road to Damascus is a pivotal moment in western history. Why did God choose the legalistic self-righteous Pharisees to become His great Apostle of Faith? What can we learn from God's choosing of the unexpected to do the inexplicable?

Acts 8:26-40 tells of of the encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. What do we learn about personal evangelism from this encounter and what does this encounter tell us about those with diminished opportunities of hearing the gospel?

When are people most likely to change? Sociologists say people are most receptive to change during a period of crisis. Crisis forces us out of our comfort zones like nothing else. God allowed persecution of the church because they had grown comfortable in Jerusalem. However, God had commanded them to scatter and spread the gospel. The thing that got them to moving to fulfill the Lord's command was persecution. The church adapted and changed outreach strategies, because it was essentially forced to do it. Why did God scatter the gospel through persecution? Acts 8:1-25 explores why this was necessary.

Acts 6:8-7:60 concerns the martyrdom of Stephen. Stephen's sermon, the longest sermon in the Bible by a person other than Jesus, is not a sermon which calls people to repentance. Instead, his sermon warns of judgment and explains why such judgment is coming. The most remarkable thing about the sermon is the prayer at the end. While in the act of being murdered Stephen prays that this sin against him will not be taken into account by the Lord. Did the Lord answer his prayer? And what flood of grace was released upon the world by this prayer?

Special Sermon from Damon Wamara from Dwelling Places.

Navigating through church conflict is a necessary but wearisome journey. What cause church conflict and how should the leaders of a church approach resolving it? This sermon explains why we have church conflict and why conflict is a natural part of the growing process. Ultimately whether the conflict will be constructive or destructive depends on the attitudes and actions of those involved.

How far are we willing to go to rescue the perishing? Are we willing to endure hardship and risk danger? Why do we often find ourselves with a lack of compassion toward the lost world? The early church built bridges; today's church builds walls. What are we afraid of? Acts 5:12-42 shows just how far the disciples were willing to go to penetrate and impact their culture.

Ananias and Sapphira were the church's first hypocrites. They wanted to appear to be as generous as Barnabas, but unfortunately they didn't want to actually be as generous as Barnabas. Why are we so driven sometimes to appear to be what we are not? To be a hypocrite is to hide behind a mask...what masks do Christians hide behind today and why do we wear them?

When Adam sinned he set into motion three types of death or separations. This caused the fall of all. When Jesus came to earth His mission was to undo all that Adam had done. Therefore, he gives three types of life to counteract the three types of death set in motion by Adam's sin. In the other words the rise of one overcame the fall of all.

What's a Christian to do when God says "do" but some human authority says "don't"? In his epistle Peter said we are to submit to every human authority, but in Acts 4 he does not submit to human authority. Obviously there is an exception to the general rule, but what is it? How do we determine when we should and when we should not submit to human authority?

The people react to Peter's sermon at Pentecost by asking, "What shall we do?" Peter tells them they need to repent and be baptized. What did he mean? The people who accepted his message then devote themselves to four things that became another form of witnessing to the unsaved. The people were in awe that such unity could exist in the midst of such diversity. How is it possible to have unity with such division in our culture? Click here to Reply or Forward

Peter's sermon in Acts 2:14-36 tells how God authenticated Jesus as both Lord and Christ. Peter stands up and proclaims that what the crowd was observing was a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy concerning the last days. Now that Peter and the others had been baptized and filled with the Spirit they discovered that being Spirit-empowered could overcome their natural limitations and frailties...they were no longer timid and afraid, but filled with the Spirit they were bold and confident.

The Book of Acts is a book of transitions. Change occurs in almost every chapter. The Old Covenant Way of living life is fading and the New Covenant Way of living is being established. Chapter 2 brings the biggest change of all...the promised gift of the Holy Spirit arrives and what a difference He would make upon arrival. Of course, not everyone is in agreement about the way the Holy Spirit would empower believers and this sermon discusses the various interpretations of several theologies prevalent today.

Jesus told His disciples to wait in the city until they were clothed with power. While they were waiting Peter decides they should pick a replacement for Judas. Did they do the right thing in picking Matthias to replace Judas as one of the Twelve? And how could Judas have spent three years or more with Jesus and be so completely unaffected by Him? Has anyone ever had greater opportunity than Judas? What happens to those who have had greater opportunity than others to know Jesus? How should we handle it when people like Judas deceive us? Should we be extra careful before trusting someone else again? In this sermon we explore all of these things.

Jesus knew His disciples needed more than the responsibility to witness, they needed the ability to witness. This was going to be provided in the gift of the Holy Spirit. The disciples are going to discover two things are needed to be an effective witness: the enlightened mind and the burning heart. Jesus had enlightened their minds; now the Holy Spirit would provide the passion of the burning heart.

In Ecclesiastes 12, the Teacher comes to the conclusion that your present choices are shaping your tomorrow just like your past choices shaped your today. God's Word helps shape your present choices by acting as a goad on some occasions to get you moving in the right direction and as a nail on other occasions to secure you from drifting away from the truth. In the final analysis the Teacher concludes it is best to "fear God and keep His commandments".