All Saints Anglican Church - Prescott, Az

Text: Acts 5:17-42 In this passage, we see two types of obedience: the first stems from the fear of man and self-made obedience, the second stems from knowing God. In this passage, we learn how Christ has fulfilled our obedience for us, and from that, we get to do because God has already redeemed us. This distinction makes all the difference; the self-made obedience leads to horrible destructions - jealousy, fear of man, and indignation. Obedience to God leads to joy - even in the face of incredible hardship.

Text: Acts 5:12-16 This passage allows us to ask the question, why were the signs and wonders given? And as we look at the passage, we see that they revealed God's power, his goodness, and mercy towards humanity. While we don't always see such incredible signs in our day and age, as we contemplate our salvation, we realize that it is a testimony to God's goodness and power in its own right. The passage invites us to live prayerfully and faithfully, that others might see our good works and glorify God for all of eternity.

Text: Acts 4:32-5:11 This lesson starts with this beautiful picture of unity, where nobody wanted because everyone cared for one another. People were sacrificing their own property so that others might have what they need. Then we meet Ananias and Sapphire, and something shifts within them. At first glance, it almost seems as though there's a sense of severity and cruelty in the church. But if we read the text carefully, we realize that the couple has rebelled against God and is hard-hearted. As we read this passage carefully, it shows how we live together and how sin can easily shatter that life. This passage invites us to be dependent upon the Holy Spirit, quick to repent, and wholeheartedly focused on glorifying God with our lives.

Text: Acts 4:5-22 There's a level of indignation as the Sanhedrin asks Peter and John by what power they healed the lame man. This stems from a desire to protect what they believed was the truth, yet they had missed all the signs that Christ was God, taught with God's authority, and had, by the power of the Holy Spirit, given to the apostles and his church. The whole passage is about the interplay between temporal authority and the authority of God. The apostles respond, but not by their own power or even own boldness, but because they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. They then point beyond themselves to Christ, who alone has the authority to save souls. It forces the question: whose authority will you listen to?

Text: Acts 3:17-4:4 We often expect a certain kind of blessing, or that our lives will turn out in a specific way, but God's plans are not always what we expected, but always infinitely better than we could imagine. Peter tells his audience that they are ignorant of the reality of who Christ is and what he has done. He goes on to note just three of the benefits of Christ's death and resurrection. When we put our faith in Christ, our sins are wiped away, we are given refreshment, and he will return to make all things right. These gifts are incredible and better than simply restoring a temporal kingdom. Christ, the true messiah, restores our relationship with God and will renew all of creation.

Text: Acts 3:11-16 In the second of Peter's sermons, we hear another incredible gospel proclamation as people are amazed by the healing of the lame man. Yet again, he reveals the people's sin and shows them that Jesus is the one who can take it away. But it is particularly poignant that Peter makes sure the people know that the healing doesn't happen because of his or John's power or piety. It is in Christ alone that we find healing from our sin, from the strife we have with the world, and in our deepest distress. The invitation from Peter is clear: if you're sick with sin, weary from the world, and feel alone and sorrowful, Christ is the way to find healing and abide richly in Him.

Text: Acts 3:1-10 We were blessed to be visited by The Rt. Rev. Ben Fischer, rector of Christ the Redeemer, Nampa, ID, and one of our diocese's suffragan bishops. He preached on Acts 3:1-10 and reminded us how God always gives good gifts. As Peter and John enter the temple to give thanks and worship God, they run across a man who was lame by birth. He asks them for alms, but they have no money to give them. Instead, Christ uses his apostles to heal the man and give him something infinitely better than anything he could have imagined. We are reminded how we often think we know what we need, and God says no but gives us something far better.

Text: Acts 2:42-47 Acts 2:42-47 is the conclusion of Pentecost Sunday. We don't see an ecstatic charismatic moment, but rather the church doing the basic beautiful things of life together. They worship, they enjoy fellowship, and they are radically generous with one another. We like to make Christian life far more complicated than it needs to be. Yet, the early church was grounded in the right things. This passage is a helpful reminder of our call to be devoted to scripture, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

Text: Acts 2:14-41 In this sermon, we look at Peter's Pentecost sermon. It is an incredible sermon, first because it is thoroughly rooted in scripture, but it is also a profoundly clear articulation of the Gospel of Christ. Peter starts with why the Holy Spirit was given, but quickly moves into reviewing Christ's life, death, resurrection, and exaltation, showing what it all means. As the people hear this, their conscience is seared, and three thousand repent and are baptized. As Peter articulates this, we see it shown forth in his life. Peter is transformed from someone who seems to have a propensity to get it wrong and who denied Christ to someone who boldly proclaims him before thousands. None of this happens because he pulled himself up by his bootstraps, but because the risen Christ revealed himself to him, walked with him, taught him, and then sent the Holy Spirit to empower him.

Text: Acts 2:1-13 The Holy Spirit being given to the church is one of the most significant moments in church history, and it defines who we are as a body. But one of the most amazing things about the giving of the Holy Spirit is that he is given to the whole church, he unites the church, and he makes it so the message may be understood by all who hear the gospel and are ready to receive it. In a very real way, the giving of the Holy Spirit undoes what was done at Babel. But instead of us trying to climb to heaven, heaven had descended to us and adopted us as citizens.

Acts 1:12–26 We live in a culture that struggles to wait. Yet in Acts 1, after Jesus ascends, the disciples are told to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. What follows is a powerful picture of faithful obedience in uncertain times. They do not panic. They do not scatter. They gather in unity, devote themselves to prayer, search the Scriptures, and act carefully in community. Their waiting is not passive—it is active trust in God. This passage reminds us that obedience is not a frantic effort but humble dependence. As individuals and as a church, we are called to persistent prayer, attentiveness to God’s Word, and trust in the Holy Spirit to guide what comes next. In seasons of waiting, we do not rush ahead—we depend on Him. Join us Sundays at 10 am, All Saints Anglican Church - 1806 Savage Ln. N, Prescott, AZ.

Text: Acts 1:1-11   We start our series working through the Acts of the Apostles, and we meet them in Christ's final 40 days on earth. Luke only briefly tells us that they spent those forty days learning from Christ. But what is interesting is the one recorded question they ask Jesus, "When will the kingdom of Israel be restored?" Except that he doesn't answer them. Instead, he tells them they will receive the Holy Spirit and makes it very clear that their calling will be much bigger than serving in Israel; it will be to tell the world about the kingdom.

Text: 1 Corinthians 13 In this sermon, we will look at what may be the most well-known and possibly most popular passage of scripture. As we prepare for Lent, we'll sit in St. Paul's call to love well, in 1 Corinthians 13. In this passage, we learn the importance of love, what love actually is, and that in the end, it is the most important thing. But Paul is also clear that love isn't an emotion but an attitude and posture towards others. As we examine Paul's understanding of love, we realize that the only way to love well is to be rooted in the reality that Christ loved us first. Love is ultimately what Christ is forming in us, as he renews our hearts and minds. It is not a work to be created, but a gift.

Text: Jonah 4 We finish our travel through Jonah. Nineveh has repented, God has shown them mercy, and then Jonah's true fear is revealed. He wasn't afraid that the Ninevites might hurt him, or that he'd fail; he was afraid that God would actually show them mercy. In the final chapter of the book, we get the true punch, the true point of the whole book: what if God chooses to show mercy to those whom we hate, despise, fear, or think are truly evil? How will we react? The final question is the deepest challenge and the greatest call for our day, when the voice of the stranger screams, "Hate your enemy, pray for their destruction," a much quieter voice, the voice of the shepherd says, "Love your enemy, pray for their redemption."

Text: Jonah 3 In this sermon, we look at Jonah 3, which is a chapter of hope. In it, Jonah is told, yet again, to go to Nineveh; he goes, preaches the message that God gives to him, and the Ninevites repent. What makes this chapter especially interesting is the people's hope without promise. The Ninevites in particular realize the despicable nature of their ways, show signs of repentance through inward and outward action, but they don't know that God will relent. They simply know that it is the right thing to do. While we, as Christians, have assurance of our salvation in Christ and a promise of eternity with God, there are very few things we can know for certain in this life. Jonah 3 reminds us that fidelity to Christ is good, that he is merciful and kind, and that even when life takes unexpected turns, he is a faithful and good God.

Text: Jonah 2 In this sermon, we look at Jonah 2. After three days in the belly of a fish, Jonah finally prays. But before he prays, he has to be crushed, brought low. Christ looks at this bringing low as Jonah's death. While it may not be have been a physical death, Jonah certainly reaches a point of being crushed. Sometimes we must be brought low in order to experience new life in Christ. While we would never hope for this, we can meet Christ anew in our lowest moments.

Text: Jonah 1 This sermon starts our mini-series working through the book of Jonah. This short book is filled with incredible imagery, beautiful wordplay, and a profound message: God's mercy is deeper than our sin. In Jonah 1, we meet the hapless prophet, who, as we will learn, would really rather not see pagans saved. Yet, even as Jonah runs, even in his rebellion, God uses Jonah to turn pagan hearts to him. The contrast between the sailors and the prophet is clear. Jonah is, as Christ will say some 700 years later, a whitewashed tomb, while the sailor seems to come to a living and real faith in the Lord. The passage invites us to ask ourselves some hard questions: Are there people we'd rather not see come to Christ? Are there ways that we are becoming dulled to God's movements in the world, and therefore hardened?

Text: Psalm 134 It is hard to believe that we are ending our time in the Ascension Psalms tomorrow! The final Psalm invites the priests of the Lord to continually bless the Lord. In our new-covenant reality, Christ completes this invitation for us and invites us into it. The Psalm is ultimately about what life looks like in the inbetween and it's instruction is simple: bless the Lord, praise the Lord. In the valleys, on the plains, in the in-between times, we are invited to bless the everyday.

Text: Psalm 133 One of the things we've been thinking about as we've read through the Ascension Psalms is how to read them canonically, that is, how they fit together as a whole. We have seen that we are on a trajectory from Galilee to Jerusalem to the Cross to life in the resurrected Christ. Tomorrow, we are nearing the end. Psalm 133 anticipates, in a deep and hope-filled way, eternity bound together in Christ, in unity one with another. Although short, Psalm 133 is a beautiful illumination of the saints' unified worship. There are beautiful similes that depict good and delightful worship as the saints are bound together for all eternity.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Text: Psalm 132 In this sermon, we will look at Psalm 132, which at first glance seems to wander around, but as we dig into the Psalm, we cant help but think of the beginning of the Westminster Shorter Catechism's first question. What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. In this Psalm, we see an arc of glorifying God, culminating in all of God's people enjoying that glory. Two promises are made in this Psalm that only make sense in light of Christ: that a son of David would sit on his throne forever, and that David would be glorified. As we work our way through this Psalm, we will see how Christ glorifies his Father, how our salvation allows us to do likewise, and how, in Him, we can enjoy God's glory every day.