Spencerville Church

Change is inevitable when growing a family beyond the parents. Family life can become even more complicated when you move to a situation where the kids outnumber the parents. It's the same with churches. When the size of the family grows, the challenges grow as well. We must learn to change—we must adjust. To be clear, this is not a phenomenon unique to Spencerville; we see it in the early Christian church. How did the apostles address this need for change? What did church leadership do that their culture didn't expect? Hint: it builds on last week’s message regarding distraction... We invite you to listen in as Pastor Chad delivers the latest message from our series from the Book of Acts titled "Growth=Challenges=Change."

Life in the modern world is full of distractions—something that keeps us from accomplishing our mission—from accomplishing the primary task at hand. Noted Georgetown professor and author, Cal Newport, cites studies in his latest book that the average white-collar worker accomplishes only 1 hour and 15 minutes of undistracted work in a given day. Distraction is unfortunately no less prevalent in the church. However, distraction within the church is not new. Acts 5 depicts a bevy of forces, instigated by the devil, to stop the spread of the gospel by distracting Jesus' disciples. How did they respond? How were they able to stand against these distractions? The answer to these questions may surprise you. Listen in as we continue to explore and study the book of Acts through a message from Pastor Chad Stuart titled, "The Devil's Distractions."

The story of Ananias and Sephira in the book of Acts can seem out of place at first glance. After all, the story sees God using instantaneous divine judgment again Ananias and Sephira for their bold-faced deceptions toward God and the young Chrisitan church. Although this tragic incident involves money, there's more to it. It's also about authority and our willingness to give God all authority in our lives, holding nothing back. Are we prepared to give ourselves in full and complete surrender to God? If you've ever questioned the Biblical accounts of God's divine judgment and considered them to run counter to a God of love and grace, this is a message you won't want to miss. Listen and worship with us as Pastor Chad Stuart as he shares the next message in our series from the Book of Acts titled "Disrupting the Glorious Progress."

Most of us have heard the idiom about getting up on the right side of the bed. When we wake up positive and ready to face the day, we must have gotten up on the right side of the bed. It's based on an old Roman belief that is steeped in superstition. At this point, you might be asking, "What does this have to do with Easter?" Easter is one of the two pivotal milestones for Christianity (the other being Christmas). One celebrates the birth of Christ, and the other, the resurrection that follows His death. As Christians, we talk a lot about Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross—how His death saves us. However, what is it saving us from, and just as importantly, what does it save us to? Could there be a blessing in the meaning found within Jesus' death? We invite you to worship with us as Pastor Chad Stuart shares a special Easter message titled “The Right Side of the Resurrection.”

We never expected that Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church would not be able to gather in person for over a year. Yet here we are—385 days since we last met in person. To be clear, worship has not stopped. In fact, it has continued to grow in exciting, new, and different ways. But the building has remained closed. We've been unable to gather corporately. In some ways, there is a similarity between our year-long exile and what we read about the Jewish experience scripture. No, ours wasn't as long, nor likely as troubled, but it still feels a bit like a return from exile nonetheless. In scripture, God used exile to remind His people of their need for reform—of their need to turn back to Him. Similarly, we've had time over the past year to reflect on this same need. We are in the early phases of regathering after an exile of sorts. Even though we rejoice as we return to the sanctuary, we recognize that our community is different from a year ago. There will be some who do not return by choice. Some cannot

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need each other. However, this concept is not new. Before His return to heaven, Jesus gave humanity two gifts—the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of His church. In doing so, Jesus himself told us that our faith will die if we become detached from a community of faith. Over and over the Bible contrasts life in spiritual community with those who are not. How can we discipline ourselves to depend on God more fully? Why is doing so literally the most important calling for the Christian? We invite you to listen as Pastor Matthew Piersanti delivers the message from our series from the Book of Acts titled, "The Discipline of Dependence."

Are you boldly speaking the name of Jesus in your everyday life? Do you speak of him at work? At home? On the phone with friends? Do you consider Jesus to be the source of everything in your life? In a world that's increasingly less comfortable with speaking about matters of faith, the Bible calls us to do exactly that. However, there's a key to speaking boldly that makes all the difference. What is it? Join the Spencerville Church in worship as Pastor Chad Stuart shares a message from our multi-part series from the Book of Acts—a message titled, "No Other Name."

Our needs are not invisible to Jesus. On the contrary, He sees ALL of our needs and responds in the way that is best for us. Unfortunately, our human hearts are less in tune with the needs of others. Because of sin, prejudice, and indifference, we often fail to respond to those for whom we could have an impact. How can we remove these blinders and align our hearts with God? How can we get past our indifference, learning to serve others with the same faithfulness that Jesus shows us? Listen in as Pastor Matthew Piersanti as he shares this week's message titled, "God Will Feed Your Need."

Why do we do good deeds for others? Is it possible to believe in social justice and still speak about salvation in the name of Jesus? Modern culture seems to paint a picture of social justice that asks us to do good for others while abstaining from any attempt to proselytize or "convert" them. However, when Jesus performed acts of service, it was about setting Himself aside for the sake of others, so that their lives would be improved, but also that he might also show them that he was their Savior. Are we called to do the same? If yes, how do we navigate acts of service that address an immediate human need while also addressing a person's eternal reality? Listen as Pastor Chad Stuart leads our study from the book of Acts titled "True Disinterested Benevolence."

There’s something special about the first time you fall in love. No less special is being in love. One author termed the act of love “a passionate understanding of another person.” It takes the head and the heart together to really experience love the way God meant it to be experienced. There is an intimate connection between the human heart and the divine heart. We see this in scripture when the church is referred to as “the bride of Christ.” Husband and wife imagery is used many times in the Bible, consistently paralleling God’s love for his church—for us—with the marriage relationship. Listen as Pastor Kandace Zollman shares a message from our series in the book of Acts titled, “What Does Love Look Like?”

God wants each of us to understand His grace and experience conviction both emotionally and intellectually. If we only possess an understanding but lack a first-person encounter with the grace of God available through Jesus, we are incomplete. How do we move beyond simply understanding His grace to encountering His grace? How do we receive the faith tune-up that Jesus promises in Scripture? We invite you to worship with the Spenceville Church family as Pastor Chad Stuart shares the fifth message in his series from the New Testament book of Acts titled, "Your Mind, Your Heart, Your Love—His Grace."

The second chapter in the New Testament book of Acts holds a story of the disciples experiencing the Holy Spirit in a way that was bewildering to those looking on. They were speaking in different languages—languages that they likely wouldn't have known. Onlookers wanted to know how this was possible? But the disciples knew that with God, all things were possible. They asked a different question, "What does this mean?" What are the characteristics of those filled with the Holy Spirit? Are there ways that the Bible says we can know if someone has received an infilling of the Spirit? Listen in as Pastor Chad shares the fourth message in our series from the book of Acts titled, "What Does This Mean?"

The Book of Acts serves as the New Testament record of the early-Christian church being formed and sent out to the world. In the very first chapter, we find a few short sentences which, at a cursory glance, add little to the biblical narrative. Beyond containing the first mention of a nominating committee, these sentences contain two important models for those of us living in the twenty-first-century church. What are they? Join Pastor Chad as we look at Acts 1:14-26 in a message titled, "The Power of a Throwaway Story."

"Wanna race?” Most of us remember the thrill of a race as kids racing during recess, or perhaps it was that shot of adrenaline as we lined up on the track during P.E. class. Of course, once a race is decided upon, there are the obvious questions that follow: “Where are we racing to?”, “Where are we starting from?”, and finally, “How do we know when to go?” Ironically, these questions hold a lot of weight for the twenty-first-century church as well. But there's also something that happens after these questions and before the race—the waiting. Join Pastor Chad Stuart for the second message in his series from the Book of Acts as he shares a message titled "On Your Mark, Get Set..."

The book of Acts marks a pivotal time in the early church. Renowned theologian John Stott proclaimed, "Thank God for the book of Acts, for the New Testament would be greatly impoverished without it." As the Gospel message received "legs" and was sent out to the ends of the earth as commanded by Jesus in the Great Commission, new people groups were being reached. Faithful leaders proclaimed the good news of salvation through Jesus in areas yet unreached by the Way. When viewed through a twenty-first-century lens, it's tempting to view the book of Acts as a how-to manual for what a successful church looks like. However, in doing so, we might miss the aspect of calling—we might miss the actions of the Holy Spirit. What can this pivotal book teach us almost 2,000 years after it was penned? How does it fit into the overarching narrative of Scripture as the message of Christ moved from the few to the many? Join Pastor Chad Stuart as he shares the opening message in a new series from the Book of Acts titled "Impove

Spencerville Church is a body of people that invests in the livelihood and wellbeing of our young people. Our two largest financial line items in our annual budget reflect this. However, as we continue to invest in our young people monetarily, it is possible that we're unintentionally pushing them at the same time? Are we pushing them away with our culture, our words, our stance (or lack thereof) on important theological and social issues? Lest you think this sermon is about young people, it isn't. However, the issues we're seeing with church engagement among our young people is an example of how a cultural shift is needed across the board. The numbers that Pastor Chad will share may be shocking to you, but the reality is that nothing less than a paradigm shift will change what is, and has been happening for the past several decades. Listen as Pastor Chad shares a stand-alone sermon message titled, "Taking an Alternate Route."

Why did God send Jesus? The answer to this question says nothing about us and everything about God and His character of Love. In this first message of 2021, Pastor Matthew Piersanti shares a few words from one of the most well-known passages of scripture, John 3:16-17. If you feel like you messed up in 2020, this is a message for you. If you feel like things from your past still weigh heavy on your shoulders, this is a message for you. As we start a new year, we have a brand new set of challenges, but also many new opportunities. New opportunities for growth and new opportunities to recognize where God is working—if we will only ask Him to align our will and our lives with His plan. We invite you to worship with us today as Pastor Matthew Piersanti delivers a message titled, "Why Did God Send Jesus?"

Human beings are an interesting lot. If you watch our public gatherings, you'd assume (correctly) that we place a lot of importance on gathering in tribes to cheer on the things that we value. Some dress in elaborate costumes to tell others about their rabid devotion to a sports team, a favorite band, or a singer. The especially devoted may even get permanent tattoos to complement their apparel. When things are important to us, we want everyone to know. We want to show that we're true fans—perhaps even fanatics! We want the world to know that WE are a member of this tribe. Yet, for many, including some inside the church, we're not this way about Jesus. We pledge our allegiance to a sports team and stop short of doing so to the One who came and gave all for us! How can we be more fanatical about our love for Jesus? We invite you to worship with us as we share one last service in 2020, as Pastor Chad Stuart brings a message titled, "Fanatics."

The Glimmer of Light - Pr. Chad Stuart - December 19, 2020 by Spencerville Church

Michael Patterson, Conductor Music Production and Mastering by Greg Simpson