Archive for July 11, 2011


Jul 11

Sermon Follow-up: “God Speaks in The Book of Acts, Part 1”

2011 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Sermon Follow-Up

This Sunday, Carlos Griego preached the first of two sermons overviewing the book of Acts in our series God Speaks: We Listen. As Carlos said, this book is a good match for a resident church planter to preach. Of course, it is also a good book for a church planting church to hear. By God’s grace, DSC will plant Redemption Rio Rancho in early 2012 and see the gospel spread in that place.

In the course of his sermon, Carlos explored the nature of God’s new humanity. When men and women believed on Christ and received the Spirit, these individually transformed people were together a transformed people. By extension of this work of the Spirit in them, a transformation of culture followed. Carlos quoted from Rodney Stark’s book, The Rise of Christianity, which relates something of how this happened in and through the early church:

“. . . Christianity served as a revitalization movement that arose in response to the misery, chaos, fear, and brutality of life in the urban Greco-Roman world. . . . Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent problems. To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachment. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fire, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services. . . . For what they brought was not simply an urban movement, but a new culture capable of making life in Greco-Roman cities more tolerable. . . . But perhaps, above all else, Christianity brought a new conception of humanity to a world saturated with capricious cruelty and the vicarious love of death.” (161, 214)

Now, Carlos also explored the opposition Christians faced because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. So, there’s no one response which indicates faithful Christianity. But with that qualification, Carlos asked a good question, If the church was to close up shop in 10 years would the cities of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho miss us? Would we have loved those around us so deeply, met needs, cared for the city and served in such a way that if we were to disappear, a hole in this place would be felt?

Carlos blogs regularly at the site for DSC’s first church plant, Redemption Rio Rancho. Links for July’s listening in our plan to listen through the New Testament this summer are available here.