Mount of Olives Church

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. This year on Pentecost, Pastor John Steward spoke about the impact the Holy Spirit has upon all Christian believers, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We can absolutely believe the Holy Spirit is alive within each of us and can go a step further asking Him to speak to us, to guide us and help us to reach others for Christ. A challenge was put out to ask the Spirit to tell us what it is we can do. What is our gift to share? Personally, my struggle isn’t so much what to do but the stamina and motivation to get going. Perhaps this is due to the past year of Covid restrictions. In a time of i...

I wasn’t ready to go. My children were little, 5 and 8. How can I leave them for three weeks to go to Africa? Jesus, please, pick someone else! But there was no one else at the time. It was my call. The directors of the children’s home in Namibia were in need of a child psychologist. Some of the children showed psychological and behavioral problems that needed to be identified and treated. The children were safe, sheltered, and fed, but most had experienced an early childhood of neglect and abuse that had left deep wounds. I prayed. I talked with my husband. I went. My plan was to go and help, assess each child, give advice, be His servant. I didn’t expect to receive anything back. Oh, how wrong I was. The 35 children at the children’s home didn’t have any personal belongings. There was never any extra food. They had one soccer ball and played barefoot in the dirt. Yet they found joy in the smallest things. They praised God and thanked Jesus Christ before each meal and throughout the d...

Jack Nicklaus is considered by most as the greatest golfer who ever played the game. Once, when he was at the top of his game, he quit playing for 30 days to correct something with his game. He couldn’t correct it. He tried, but with no success. Then he went back to his coach who taught him golf, and his game straightened out. He went on to win more major tournaments than any golfer in history. This is sort of a picture of what Lent is all about. It is meant to be a season where we stop and reflect – go back to Coach Jesus and find out what is wrong. It is essential for us to have these moments because if we don’t, we will keep making the same mistakes that lead to constant problems and setbacks. Acts 3:19 ESV Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out. Pray with me: Heavenly Father, help us in this period of preparation for Easter to return to You for transformation and renewal. Give us the humility it takes to do this. For in this act alone, You do a new work...

My mentor, Dr. James Kallas, used to say the book of Acts did not really have the right title. It is called “The Acts of the Apostles”, but Dr. Kallas said it should be called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit Forcing the Apostles to Act”. This is true, and you see it time and time again in the book of Acts. Jesus told the early church to “go and make disciples of all nations”, and yet the early church just tried to reach fellow Jews in Jerusalem with the Gospel. But over time, the Holy Spirit showed them Gentiles (non- Jews) could become believers in Jesus as well. And over time, churches were planted in places like Ephesus and Corinth. In one of many similar examples, the Apostles must see for themselves that Gentiles were becoming believers, and in Acts 11 we see their reaction: Acts 11:18 ESV When they heard these things, they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” But for us today, in the beginning of Lent...

Acts 13:1-3 ESV Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. In this text, I want to focus on one of the men in the story by the name of Barnabas. He is a unique person in several ways and has a great deal to teach us. His name alone tells us a great deal about him. The name Barnabas means “son of encouragement”. What is fascinating is this is not the name he was given at birth, but rather a “nickname” given to him by the other followers of Jesus in the early church (Acts 4:36). His birth name was Joseph, but it appears because he was such an encourager to others, he developed this nickname. We see it on display when Saul of ...

In theology, there is a concept known as Law and Gospel. This concept teaches the Law of God has two functions. The first is to teach society how to live and the second is to lead us to Christ. In terms of the first purpose, the Commandments of God have served as the foundation to the secular laws of many countries. The Law of God tells society it is not a good idea to steal from one another, murder one another and so forth. If society follows the Laws of God, it will be healthier place. But the second use of the Law is meant to frankly “drive us to despair”. In the second use of the Law, we begin to see that we can never live up to all that God is commanding of us. Jesus takes the Commandments and teaches the Sermon on the Mount, which some have called the “impossible ideal” because He takes the commandments to an even higher level. But the point is, with the second use of the Law, we see we cannot save ourselves. We can never live at the level of perfection which the Law requires. T...

In the past couple of weeks, I have been speaking on “The Great Comeback” in my sermons. I have been sharing that this period can be a time of self-examination. And as we do, we can stop and consider how God wants us to grow in our walk with Christ. Too often, we get stuck in our comfort zone and never take new steps. So, what are some steps to grow spiritually? In the book of Acts, we read about what the first followers of Jesus did to grow in their discipleship. Acts 2:42 NRSV They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Notice it says they “devoted themselves” to doing certain things. They were not being casual about this. They were not taking a laidback approach in their walk with Christ. It was central to them and they took it very seriously. They “devoted themselves” to studying the Word of God. They “devoted themselves” to being engaged in worship and Christian community. They “devoted themselves” to going to God con...

This is Pentecost – the day when we recognize the Holy Spirit coming upon the followers of Jesus after His resurrection and Ascension. Jesus had promised He would not abandon them, but send the Holy Spirit upon them, which is exactly what happened.  Here is His promise: Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This is certainly what happened. Those early followers of Jesus were now filled with the very Spirit of God and able to fulfill the mission Jesus had given to them. The actual word used for “power” in Greek is “dunamin”. It is where we get the word dynamite. Imagine having “dynamite power” in your life. Well, as a believer in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you have the Holy Spirit living within you. This means you have a resource and power beyond your own ability. This is incredibly important to know in these challenging days. Pray with me: ...