I hope that your week is going well. Mine has been good as I turned 37 and had a great time celebrating with the family. I look forward to all the Lord has in store this year! Speaking of what the Lord has in store, I am confident that He has something very special for our congregation this Sunday. As we conclude W.O.W. Week, we’ll be hosting Teen Challenge (here’s their website link for more information) as they lead us in the service.

Teen Challenge has been about God’s transformation of those who have been through some real rough patches in life due to the painstaking realities of drug addiction. The program started in the 1960’s with outreach to teenagers in New York City, hence the name Teen Challenge. However, this is actually no longer a teen program. The bulk of those involved are in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, with both a men and women’s Teen Challenge. The group that I have connected with is the men’s Teen Challenge based in Dorchester. They have three different group homes in Dorchester where these men enter (at least) a year long program to heal (body, mind and primarily soul) from the ravages of addiction. All of those who stay involved in the program through the duration have come to faith in Jesus Christ and have committed to living their lives for Him.

One of the wonderful things that Teen Challenge does is help lead worship services in different churches throughout the area. For our service, they’ll share testimonies and we will be blessed by their choir. Then we’ll have lunch after the service in the FLC! Come enjoy the new lobby area and some great food and fellowship with Teen Challenge. And don’t forget Sunday School at 9:00 am. It’s going to be a lot of fun as we break up into pairs and learn more about each other’s life stories… a great followup to our compelling series on “building intentional, authentic relationships.”

Due to the dynamics of the service I’ll be giving an abbreviated message this Sunday (about 12-13 minutes). My passage will be taken from Acts 3. The specific verses are Acts 3:11-26. The setting of our text takes place after a miraculous healing of a crippled beggar by Peter and John (by the power of the Holy Spirit). In verse 11 we see that the people were astonished at the healing. After all, the Lord Jesus had already ascended into heaven and now His followers were performing similar miraculous acts, so what was going on here?! The Jews were trying to figure this all out. Peter and John gave them a very real explanation…

Like we talked about last week in the sermon, it is God who does the work! We are to step out in faith and believe that He can do the impossible, whatever that impossible may be. We are to trust His processes in our lives and the lives of others. Peter and John had a big faith and trusted God’s power in and through them. They were willing to be used by God and, boy, did He use them in a big way! Do we believe that the Lord can change hearts as we reach out? Sometimes I think we segment out who may or may not be open to following Christ. In this case, it was a physical healing and other cases it may be other types of healing like from addiction. It comes down to if we believe He can do it. Sometimes He chooses not to heal in a particular way for purposes we may not fully understand, but we learn to trust and step out in faith regardless.

In verses 13-15 Peter and John have some very strong words to the Jewish people regarding their unbelief and that they killed the Son of God. The weight of this reality must have been falling heavily on the leaders in processing the implications of their hard-heartedness and hate. Then in v. 16, Peter and John remind them that it was by faith in Jesus that the blind beggar was made well and strong and given ‘complete healing.’ When God’s powerful healing is made manifest in someone’s life and they bear witness to it, it is so real. We’ll see this Sunday as we hear from Teen Challenge. They’ll point to God and God alone for their complete healing from the bondage of sin in their lives. Praise the Lord!

God’s grace has the potential to extend to even the most vile of sinners. Peter and John state,

In other words, they had no idea of the implication of their sin and unbelief. Yet, in v. 19 Peter and John speak of the amazing God of second chances.

I love these verses! This is the Gospel in a nutshell. Jesus died for you. He is the only One who can truly forgive your sins. And not only does He forgive our sins, but He wipes them out. Amazing! In other words, when we come to faith in Christ, our sins are completely covered by the blood of Jesus and wiped away. If that doesn’t make us want to live to please, honor and worship Him and I don’t what would. Satan wants to try to accuse us of old sins and hold them over our heads, wanting us to believe our sins have not been forgiven by Christ. Don’t believe those lies. Christ has conquered sin and death for the believer. I will encourage our Teen Challenge brethren of this on Sunday also. Satan tries to remind those suffering from addiction of their old selves– whereas Christ has brought victory and refreshing- He has done it and is doing it! Verses 21-26 continues to speak to these important matters. Please read and think these verses over before Sunday, if you can.

See you this Sunday for a blessed time with Him and His people!