Sent Part 7 | The Impact of a Dangerous Sermon | Acts 17:16–34

``I followed the doctor out with curiosity, flagged him down because I'm nosy and I said, doctor, can you explain to me why is it that you pronounce our loved one dead but his chest is rising and falling as if he is still breathing and hear what the doctor said, the doctor said, he's an organ donor. His vital organs will go to somebody else very quickly. He said that the reason that you're seeing what appears to be life is not really life. He's dead but his vital organs are very much useful and alive. [00:07:13] (43 seconds)  #DeadButOrganDonors

That's what a dangerous sermon does and I know that if you are a member of this church or if you have even attended this church, you have heard plenty of dangerous sermons. I might add, my brothers and sisters, to doctor Thomas's confession that a dangerous sermon lifts God's promises, plans, and purposes for every person. A dangerous sermon dismantles the old order and establishes a new order where God's spirit reigns and all God's people flourish. [00:01:21] (38 seconds)  #SermonsThatLiberate

And I believe that that's what Paul is doing on that hill in that court scene. He's waging war against the idols that rob people of their purpose and their promise. And can I tell you today that's what your pastor is doing? Every Sunday he stands in this place, he's waging war on your behalf and the reason that we have to cover him in prayer because like Paul, he's waging war. [00:11:01] (32 seconds)  #WagingWarOnIdols

So Concord, what I want you to know today, we need to be the rhythm that won't allow the idolatry of Christian nationalism to get in a rhythm. We need to be the dangerous sermon that won't allow bullying a classmate to get in a rhythm. We need to be the dangerous sermon that disrupts the idolatry of corporate greed. Be the dangerous sermon that disrupts the idol idolatry of materialism. Be a disruptor. [00:18:41] (37 seconds)  #DisruptTheRhythm

what I love about him, he's also generous. Verse 25 says that he gives life, he lives he gives breath, and you know what else he gives? He gives everything else that we have. I don't know about you, but I know it wasn't the alarm clock that woke me up this morning because he gives me life. I don't know about you, but the reason I'm standing here today because he gives me breath. [00:22:33] (34 seconds)  #GodGivesLife

When you give a defense in the marketplace, in your home, you let them know that our God is not wood, he's not Prada, he's not Louis V, he's not Gucci, but he is a God that don't need no propping up. The old church would used to say, he don't need no propping up because he gives me life. I don't give him life, he gives me life. He gives me breath and he gives me everything I have. Is anybody here thankful that you serve a generous God? [00:23:33] (40 seconds)  #GenerousGod

Once it gets in a rhythm, it can't be stopped, but we are called to disrupt the rhythm. We are called to be the rain that won't let the fishermen get in a rhythm. We are called to be that phone call or that TV show that won't let you get in a rhythm when you're cleaning that house. We are called to be the defender that won't let Steph Curry get his shot off. We are the Kansas City Chiefs defense that won't let CJ Stroud or Lamar Jackson get in a rhythm. We are called to disrupt the rhythm of those who worship idols. [00:18:01] (40 seconds)  #BeTheDisrupter

And in our in our country churches that were once vibrant and turning the world upside down in the fifties and sixties are no more than museums with 30 or 40 people on Sunday simply because we have made an idol of our one story past. We have our idols. But can I tell you, we were made to worship God alone? We love our idols. [00:15:52] (30 seconds)  #StopWorshipingThePast

But a dangerous sermon does not only disrupt the rhythm of those in our homes, in our schools, in our churches who worship idol. You cannot allow the people in your home, the people in your ministry to get in a rhythm of idol worshiping materialism or any other item. You be the disruptor. But a dangerous sermon also gives a defense of the real God who's worthy of our worship. When we look at this text, Paul is exercising his apologetic skills. [00:19:18] (49 seconds)  #DefendTheRealGod

But a dangerous sermon disrupts the rhythms of those who worship idols. Here it is in verse 16. Verse 16 is a mirror image of the twenty first century because we live in a world that's given over to idols. Verse 23 clearly states that these idols will be in worship. Paul says, as I pass through and consider objects of your worship, I even found an altar with an inscription. [00:13:20] (33 seconds)  #IdolsAreEverywhere

A dangerous sermon exposes the secrets, the lies, the strategies that keep some communities poor while other communities thrive. A dangerous sermon ignites hope, stimulates dreams, reminds all of God's people that you are somebody. A dangerous sermon acts as an iconoclast in a world filled with idols [00:03:35] (28 seconds)  #ExposeEconomicInjustice

The sermon that I'm talking about today is not homiletical work, but it's human witness. It's not inductive and deductive delivery, it is incarnational and demonstrated in our lives. It is not rhetorical expressions, it is the righteous example that comes from the faithful witness from our lips and from our lives, you are the sermon. [00:05:08] (28 seconds)  #LiveTheSermon

that this world is in such a wretched state. We are cut and we are bleeding and now is not the time for a band aid. A band aid is a temporary solution. We are bleeding so bad that, guess what, only the bomb of the word of God through the dangerous sermon can help our condition. [00:12:52] (27 seconds)  #GospelNotBandAid

And that's what we ought to be doing because we live in a world that's hurting, a world that's bleeding, a world that's been cut, a world that's that's crying out because of the pain and the blood that's stripping from those who want to cause us harm. [00:11:33] (22 seconds)  #HealTheHurtingWorld

How can we be comfortable with a world that's worshiping idols? They were not disrupting or interrupting or disturbing the rhythms of the intoxicating idol worshiping practices which dampens the soul's hunger for God and man's need to enjoy the rapturous love of the creator. [00:14:44] (27 seconds)  #ReigniteSoulHunger

We need a dangerous sermon because you would agree with me over the course of a month, especially two weeks ago, we've seen crystal clear that we live in a dangerous world. It appears that the violence, the vitriol, the venomous tactics of yesteryear have been passed down and are reemerging with a vengeance. [00:05:36] (30 seconds)  #PreachInDangerousTimes

We have them in America. Just last month alone, we Americans spent $732,000,000,000 in brick and mortar stores and online shopping. We have some idols. Just a few weeks ago, some of you watched as we saw a Christian nationalism worship service with more US flags than we could count. We have some idols. [00:15:19] (33 seconds)  #RejectConsumerismAndNationalism