Evidence of a Real Church | September 28, 2025
The Setup: Signs, Wonders, and Healing Shadows
Sermon number twelve came right on the heels of the sobering judgment on Ananias and Sapphira, and Pastor Justin used Acts 5:12-16 to show what a healthy, Spirit filled church looks like in the aftermath of that kind of holy correction. Rather than the congregation shrinking back in fear, Luke tells us many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people through the apostles, and more than ever, believers were added to the Lord.
The passage even describes crowds carrying the sick into the streets on cots and mats, hoping simply that Peter's shadow might fall on them as he walked by, and Luke records that they were all healed. Pastor Justin reminded us that the book of Acts is not a story about spiritual superheroes, it is ordinary men and women who gave their lives to Jesus and then watched God do what only He can do, which is the exact same DNA he wants marking The Crossings.
That gave us the first point of the message, that a real church is marked by God's power, not human programs. Pastor Justin was candid that no amount of excellent lighting, sound, or programming, however good and worth pursuing, can manufacture genuine revival, quoting Proverbs 26:11-12 as a warning against a church that becomes wise in its own eyes rather than dependent on the Spirit. He said plainly that if Jesus does not show up in a service, it is just a club.
The second point turned to verse thirteen, that none of the rest dared join the believers, yet the people held them in high esteem, giving us a real church marked by holy fear and deep unity. Pastor Justin explained this is not about building walls around the congregation, it is about an authentic, God centered community so genuine that even outsiders sense it is not to be played with, a community where hidden agendas and Sunday only Christianity have no place.
He challenged the congregation to imagine being followed for a week by an outside observer, asking whether that observer would conclude the people of The Crossings actually mean what they say to one another or are simply making small talk on Sundays. Pastor Justin tied this back to the church's core value of authentic relationships, no perfect people allowed, where sin is named honestly and grace is extended just as honestly.
The third point moved to the ripple effect described in verse sixteen, where people gathered from towns all around Jerusalem bringing the sick and the afflicted, and they were all healed, giving us a church whose mission is always outward. Pastor Justin listed out what that outward mission looks like practically for The Crossings, feeding the hungry, helping the addict, rescuing the family in crisis, and eventually multiplying into new churches and new leaders sent out from Brunswick.
Matthew 5:2-12, the Beatitudes, rounded out the message, reminding us that the poor in spirit, the meek, and even those persecuted for righteousness are the ones Jesus calls blessed, a picture of the same humble, Spirit dependent posture the early church displayed after watching God deal seriously with sin in their midst. A real church, in other words, takes God's holiness seriously first, and only then experiences His power on display.
This Week's Application
So this week, ask yourself honestly whether your view of God holds both His holiness and His power together, or whether you have quietly softened one to make more room for the other. We would love for you to join us this Sunday as we continue walking through Acts together.