Everyone worships something, and what we worship eventually writes the story of our lives.

The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands. He isn’t served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath and all things. -Acts 17:24–25

Idolatry is giving first place to something that was only meant to have a place.

God's grace is writing a story that includes all of us.He saw the heavens open and something like a sheet lowered down by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”Surely not, Lord! Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” -Acts 10:11-15Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…-Matthew 28:18-20Who is your Cornelius today?Who has God brought near to you that you have kept at a distance? The person you don’t understand? Who is your Peter today?Who has God sent into your life to help you take one step closer to Jesus? Who can help you understand what God is trying so hard to show you?

Your past may explain where you've been, but it doesn't get to define where Jesus is taking you.

Ananias left and went into the house where Saul was staying. Ananias placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me. He is the same one who appeared to you along the road. He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” -Acts 9:17

The darkness was not the end of Saul’s story; it was the place where his old story finally lost its power.

Paul’s Road to Salvation

1. Collision

2. Darkness

3. Embrace

We all have an important role to play in the story God is writing.For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. -Mark 10:45Christian service is not about proving our worth to Jesus; it is about reflecting the love we have received from Jesus.

Some of God’s greatest plot twists begin as interruptions to our ordinary routines.All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. -Acts 2:42Preoccupation rarely makes us unkind; it usually just makes us unavailable.

The Holy Spirit can write a better story for your life than you could on your own.How the Holy Spirit Works in Us1. Presence 2. Power 3. Guidance 4. TransformationHow We Engage with The Holy SpiritAsk – Read – Listen And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.2 Corinthians 3:18

This is the start of our new sermon series, "The Rest of the Story," in which, over the next 9 weeks, we will go through Acts together. We'll discover that Acts is not just the rest of the story. It's the beginning of ours.

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Waiting on God is not wasted time when we stay open to what God is forming in us.He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” -Acts 1:7

Jesus does not meet our failure with shame. He meets us with grace, restoration, and a next step.Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. – John 21:4-6