St. Paul's Church - Willington, Ct

In this week's "Conversation with Jesus," a rich, young ruler asks Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. On first glance Jesus' answer may appear to be a denial of his own divinity, a declaration of salvation by works, and a requirement of absolute poverty for his followers. When we look closer, though, we see that Jesus is doing none of these things. Rather, he is challenging this man to recognize the impossibility of saving himself, and to stop looking to his wealth for salvation.

When some Pharisee men asked about divorce, Jesus said it was only lawful to divorce a wife if she had been unfaithful. When we understand the intent and context of Jesus' words, we find that God has both an incredibly high ideal for marriage, and grace for when we fall short of that ideal.

This week we looked at the longest one-on-one conversation Jesus has in the Bible: a conversation with a woman that - according to cultural norms - never should have happened. We considered how Jesus models interacting with the opposite sex, addressing the "elephant in the room," and freeing people from shame.

This week we started our new sermon series (Conversations With Jesus) with a look at one of Jesus's most famous dialogues: his nighttime conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus told Nicodemus that no one could see the Kingdom of God without being "born again." Today 1 in 3 Americans consider themselves "born again," but do we mean the same thing as Jesus when we use those words?

As we concluded our Scenes in Acts series, we went back to the beginning of the book when the apostles were first empowered to do the incredible acts we've been reading about over these last 14 weeks. We looked at that first empowerment and asked ourselves: What does this power do? Is it available to me? And, if so, what do I have to do to experience it?

This week, guest speaker Bob McCoy showed us how the extraordinary events of Acts 27-28 (i.e., survival of a shipwreck and a poisonous snake bite) have to teach us about our own experiences of chaos, crisis, and confrontation.

In what might be the strangest story in Acts, a man falls asleep and tumbles out a window when Paul talks for hours on end. Guest speaker John Vampatella considered what this story can teach us about how to communicate well.

This week guest speaker Aaron Campbell from The Bridge Church continued our Scenes in Acts series by looking at what happened when Paul shared the Gospel with a group of intellectuals.

When Paul left his friends in Ephesus, everyone knew there was a good chance they would never see him again. With this in mind, Paul left them with parting words that are relevant for all churches: Pay careful attention, and cling to God and His grace.

When the Gospel offended peoples' economic interests, it led to a riot. This week we considered how the concern for money can keep us from believing what is true and doing what is right.

This week in Scenes in Acts: some Jewish exorcists tried to command a demon to leave "in the name of Jesus"...but it didn't work. Why?

Paul and Silas were victims of a terrible, unjust turn of events, but it ended up yielding beautiful results. We considered how this particular story should inspire us to trust God when things take a turn for the worse, and the unique opportunities that occur when they do.

Two apostles had a big fight that led them to split up. This week we considered what we can learn from their conflict. Why do (relatively) good people fight with each other, and how do we keep our arguments from spiraling out of control?

This week guest speaker Bob McCoy continued our Scenes in Acts series by identifying the key factors that led to the growth of the early church and that can also help lead to growth today.

This week we looked at a pivotal, game-changing moment in Scripture: the story of Cornelius and Peter. The Church was able to spread beyond its Jewish context because Peter was able to let go of "us and them thinking." We considered what it means to do the same in our context today.

This week in Scenes in Acts, Pastor Keith looked at the remarkable story of Paul's conversion. How does a man go from viciously suppressing a movement to becoming its most prominent voice?

This week our Scenes in Acts series continued with the story of Simon the Sorcerer. Simon made a big mistake and received a harsh correction from the Apostle Peter for it. We identified what Simon did wrong, and why we should be encouraged by Peter's harsh rebuke.

This week we started our Scenes in Acts series with a look at the frightening story of Ananias and Sapphira, a couple in the early church who fell dead after making an offering to the apostles. Why did they die? What was their sin? And what can we learn from them?

This week we paused between sermon series to consider how one disciple's story can remind us of God's abundant grace.

On this Easter morning, we concluded our Messages in the Miracles series by looking at the best miracle of all.