Being His witness is worth it.

In the movie 1917, a company of soldiers rests in a forest the night before a doomed assault, and one of them starts singing an old hymn about a world with no more sickness, toil, or danger. It's not a scene the filmmakers invented, men facing death have done this in real trenches. Centuries earlier, two men did the same thing in a Roman prison cell, with no idea if they'd survive the night.

This message walks through Acts 16:24-34, the story of Paul and Silas singing hymns at midnight in a Philippian jail, the earthquake that shakes the foundations and breaks their chains, and the jailer who goes from a sword at his own throat to jumping for joy in his own dining room by sunrise.

In this sermon:

The Gospel Gives Us Peace. Why the peace Paul and Silas have isn't the peace of good circumstances, but peace inside circumstances that don't improve, how the spiritual disciplines of prayer and song work like a two-minute drill you practice long before the moment you need them, and why the songs in your heart shape your doctrine more than you realize.

The Gospel Gives Us Power. Why the earthquake that breaks the prison's chains is a picture of something bigger, the chains of sin and self-righteousness we're all born into, how God shakes our world through the cross and breaks our chains through His Spirit, and why power alone couldn't save the jailer, he needed someone to speak hope into the moment.

The Gospel Gives Us Parties. Why the jailer's celebration isn't a stretch to call a party, but the exact pattern Jesus already taught in Luke 15, why God isn't reluctantly saving people but ecstatic over it, and what that means for how excited we should be to share this hope with others.

Also covered: what it looks like to see your hardest season not just as something to survive, but as an opportunity to witness to the people watching you, and why the simplest answer in Scripture, "believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved," is both the easiest and hardest thing anyone will ever do.

ABOUT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH HAW RIVER

At First Baptist Church, we want to encourage you to know Christ, grow in Christ, and go for Christ. The Church is not a building, but a family of born-again believers who commit to loving one another by gathering together regularly for worship and running alongside one another as we know, grow, and go in Christ. We, at FBC, have been a church who loves and lives out the gospel in downtown Haw River, North Carolina, near Burlington, Graham, and Mebane since 1892. We would love to meet you on a Sunday at 11:00 am at 508 E Main St, Haw River, NC 27258.

Website: https://www.fbchawriver.org/

Plan a visit: https://www.fbchawriver.org/plan-a-visit

How can I be saved: https://www.fbchawriver.org/good-news

Give: https://fbchawriver.churchtrac.com/give

Preached by Justin Stevers, Lead Teaching Pastor

Series: Looking Back to Look Forward, a study through the book of Acts

Scripture: Acts 16:24-34 (ESV)

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