Unfinished: The Book of Acts '19-'20 — Covenant Community Presbyterian Church

Unifinished

September 8, 2019-June 28, 2020 

Acts is the powerful story of an unfinished Spirit-led community, striving to do the next right thing. Today, we want to live into that same identity; we don’t know all the answers, or even the final picture of who we will become in the ongoing revelation of Jesus Christ. Like the first Christians, we are beautifully unfinished. But we are committed to doing the next right thing, and the next, and the next, as the Spirit leads us.

faith on trial

The conclusion of Acts is an extended trial for Paul (plus travel for more trials) and this is an intentional decision by Luke – as the Gospel ends with the Passion narrative, so Acts ends with Paul’s passion – less intense and powerful than Christ’s but a reflection of his Rabbi’s.  How do we see faith on trial in our lives today?  Consider apologetics, persecutions, etc.

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Jim Gates
Faith on Trial: Trial Unfinished, June 28, 2020
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Jim Gates
Faith on Trial: Trial by Ordeal - A Conversation with Nate Griffin, June 21, 2020
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Jim Gates
Faith on Trial: Hope and Logic, June 14, 2020
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Jim Gates
Faith on Trial: The Appeal of Faith, June 7, 2020
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Jim Gates
Faith on Trial: Faith Amidst Injustice, May 31, 2020
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unafraid and unabashed

Gandhi famously wrote, "The enemy is fear; we think it is hate, but it is fear." In our world today, fear continues to limit our faithfulness and constrain our courage. It is especially timely, therefore, that we find ourselves in a section of the Book of Acts for the next few weeks that highlights Paul's courage and trust in God.

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Jim Gates
Unafraid and Unabashed: Courage to do the Right, May 24, 2020
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Jim Gates
Unafraid and Unabashed: Courage for the Whole Truth, May 17, 2020
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Jim Gates
Unafraid and Unabashed: Courage for Blending In and Standing Out, May 10, 2020
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Jim Gates
Unafraid and Unabashed: Courage in the Small Things, May 3, 2020
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Jim Gates
Unafraid and Unabashed: Courage to be Led, April 26, 2020
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Jim Gates
Unafraid and Unabashed: Courage and Caution, April 19, 2020
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on the road again

This is the next part of our Unfinished story; the open-road adventure to which Jesus calls each of us. This Lent, we will explore our call to be “On the Road Again” with the King of Kings before us and the apostle Paul beside us. And around the next bend, perhaps we will find God’s next extraordinary chapter of our story.

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Jim Gates
Easter Sunday Service - On the Road Again: A New Road, April 12, 2020
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Jim Gates
Good Friday Service, April 10, 2020
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Jim Gates
Maundy Thursday Service, April 9, 2020
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Jim Gates
(Palm Sunday) On the Road Again: Knowing and Being Known, April 5, 2020
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Jim Gates
On the Road Again: Staying Put or Moving Forward, March 29, 2020
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Jim Gates
On the Road Again: Just Around the Bend, March 22, 2020
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Jim Gates
On the Road Again: Turning the World Upside Down, March 15, 2020
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Jim Gates
On the Road Again: Diamonds in the Rough, March 8, 2020
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Jim Gates
On the Road Again: Friends of the Road, March 1, 2020
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Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of Lent, a preparation for the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Each year we have a special worship service on Ash Wednesday, which includes both the Sacrament of Communion and the imposition of ashes, where we place a cross of ashes on each person’s forehead. This is a beautiful, special time.

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Jim Gates
Ash Wednesday: Corporate Confession is Good for the Soul, February 26, 2020
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Uncomfortable Change

As the new year begins, it's time for us to think about new beginnings, resolutions, and what changes we want to see in our lives. Sometimes those changes are simple and easy; sometimes, they are downright uncomfortable. But it is often the uncomfortable changes that produce the most dramatic results.

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Uncomfortable Change: Major Decisions, February 23, 2020
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Jim Gates
Uncomfortable Change: Arrows Pointing to God, February 16, 2020
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Jim Gates
Uncomfortable Change: Facing Opposition, February 9, 2020
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Jim Gates
Uncomfortable Change: Unchanging Truth, February 2, 2020
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Jim Gates
Uncomfortable Change: New Mission, New Name, January 26, 2020
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Jim Gates
Uncomfortable Change: Mixed Blessings, January 19, 2020
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Jim Gates
Uncomfortable Change: Christian Formation, January 12, 2020
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Jim Gates
Uncomfortable Change: Seismic Change, January 5, 2020
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Unexpected Christmas

The season of Advent is all about the unexpected coming of Jesus - first as a baby, born to a virgin, and ultimately as a thief in the night on the last day. But between those two universe-shaping events, Christ comes unexpectedly to people again and again and again.

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Jim Gates
Unexpected Christmas: Aeneas and Tabitha, December 29, 2019
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Jim Gates
Unexpected Christmas: Unexpected Emperor, December 24, 2019
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Jim Gates
Unexpected Christmas: Cornelius the Centurion, December 22, 2019
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Jim Gates
Unexpected Christmas: Saul the Persecutor of Christ, December 15, 2019
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Jim Gates
Unexpected Christmas: The Ethiopian Eunuch, December 8, 2019
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Jim Gates
Unexpected Christmas: Simon the Samaritan Sorcerer, December 1, 2019
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the next right thing

The church begins a new stage of its story after Pentecost. From Acts 3-7, we see the early church in a season of growth and rapid change. They take each day and respond to the opportunities and challenges that God gives them, committed simply to doing the next right thing, and the next, and the next.

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Jim Gates
The Next Right Thing: Stand Up and Look Up, November 24, 2019
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Jim Gates
The Next Right Thing: Provide for the Powerless, November 17, 2019
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Jim Gates
The Next Right Thing: Rejoice in Dishonor for the Name, November 10, 2019
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Jay St. Clair
The Next Right Thing: Hold Everything in Common, November 3, 2019
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Dan Frost
The Next Right Thing: Boldly GO!, October 27, 2019
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Jim Gates
The Next Right Thing: Be Bold In Christ, October 20, 2019
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Jim Gates
The Next Right Thing: Lean on the Name, October 13, 2019
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THIS IS US

We begin by looking at the start of the early church in the first part of our Unfinished theme, "This is Us."

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Jim Gates
This Is Us: Reprise, October 6, 2019
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Jim Gates
This Is Us: Our Message, September 29, 2019
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Jim Gates
This Is Us: Our Power, September 22, 2019
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Jim Gates
This Is Us: Our Core, September 15, 2019
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Jim Gates
This Is Us: Our Mission, September 8, 2019
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