Existential Expression and Emotional Experiences of the Christian Life (Acts 13)

• What is your life like/experience as a Christian?
• What do you feel daily as a Christ follower?
• What is your mind's/life's utmost preoccupation?
• What consumes and occupies your thoughts and your plans?
• Does what I believe about Christ translate into my daily experience?
  

Outline. Existential Expression and Emotional Experiences of the Christian Life (Paul's 1st Missionary Journey):

1. Set apart and sent out by the Holy Spirit (Ac 13:2-4; Jn 20:21).
2. Synagogue preaching (Ac 13:5, 14; 14:1; etc).
3. Sincere and intelligent proconsul Sergius Paulus (Ac 13:7, 12).
4. Saul, also called Paul (Ac 13:9).
5. Sorcerer Bar-Jesus/Elymas cursed (Ac 13:10-11).
6. Sadness with John leaving the team (Ac 13:13).
7. Survey summary and synopsis of salvation history (Ac 13:16-22).
8. Savior Jesus (Ac 13:23-37). The sermon's focus: "...they asked Pilate to have him executed. But God raised him from the dead" (Ac 13:28, 30).
• If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.
  
• While God may not protect you from every bad thing that might, has, or could happen to you- ultimately, through the resurrection, you are safe.
• Christ's miracles were not the suspension of the natural order but the restoration of the natural order. They were a reminder of what once was prior to the fall and a preview of what will eventually be a universal reality once again--a world of peace and justice.
• Ultimately, the gospel is offensive because the cross stands against all schemes of self-salvation.
• The resurrection of Christ means everything sad is going to come untrue and it will somehow be greater for once being broken and lost.
9. Sins forgiven (Ac 13:38-39). Without a knowledge of our extreme sin, payment of the cross seems trivial and does not electrify or transform.
10. Severe warning (Ac 13:40-41). The sermon's conclusion.
11. Speak further about the gospel (Ac 13:42-44).
12. Speaking against Paul (Ac 13:44-46).
13. Salvation to the ends of the earth (Ac 13:47).
14. Surprised by joy (Ac 13:48-49).
15. Stirring up persecution (Ac 13:50).
16. Shaking the dust off their feet (Ac 13:51).
17. Spiritual joy (Ac 13:52; 5:41).
• "Only a heart filled with overflowing joy will want to share the source of that joy with everyone they meet. If you had the cure for cancer, would you keep it a secret? Worship propels us into the world to serve and love." Tim Keller.
• "Mission begins with an explosion of joy. The news that the rejected and crucified Jesus is alive is something that cannot be suppressed. It must be told. Who can be silent about such a fact." Leslie Newbigin.

"When Jesus crucified and risen is not proclaimed, a beige and unthreatening Catholicism emerges, a thought system that is, at best, an echo of the environing culture." Barron.