Embracing Repentance, Forgiveness, and God's Transformative Love

While our children are leaving, you can open your Bibles to Acts chapter three. That's where we'll be today. You might need a Bible, so raise your hand and I will put one in your hand. Don't be ashamed to raise your hand because you might have forgotten yours, left yours, or just need one. We'll put one in your hand right now. I love that you folks are bringing your Bibles.

I just want to say right off the top, happy Mother's Day. It is good to celebrate you moms today. But we are not doing a typical Mother's Day sermon today. We're not doing a Proverbs 31 sermon that just heaps more things on top of you. Mothers need good doctrine and good gospel preaching just as much as anyone else.

On this day, just like any other Sunday, we're going to preach faithfully to the text. So let's jump into Acts chapter 3. We'll start with verse 11, but I want to back up a bit and provide some context. The text begins with the lame man who clung to Peter and John after being healed in Jesus' name. The people were astounded by this miracle.

Peter addresses the people, asking them why they are amazed by this. He emphasizes that it was not their own power or piety that healed the lame man, but rather the power of Jesus. He reminds the Jewish people that Jesus, whom they denied and put to death, was the one who performed this miracle. He boldly declares that they killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.

Peter goes on to say that those who repent and turn back from their sins will have their sins forgiven and find times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. He speaks of Jesus, whom God has appointed, and reminds the people of the prophecies that foretold his coming. He tells them that Jesus is the fulfillment of these prophecies, and that through him, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

Peter concludes by urging the people to repent and turn away from their wickedness. He emphasizes that Jesus was sent to bless them by turning each person from their sinful ways.

The main points in this sermon are repentance, turning back from sin, and the forgiveness of sins through Jesus. Peter reminds the Jewish people of their need to repent, and he extends the invitation to the Gentiles as well. The ultimate message is that Jesus is the only hope for salvation and the forgiveness of sins.