September 27, 2026
One Name
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
Acts 4:8-9 NIV
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,”
Acts 4:10 NIV
“then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.”
Acts 4:12 NIV
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:4 NIV
(God) wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Knowledge is not just a knowing, it is also a doing.
1 Timothy 2:5-6a NIV
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”
The truth both points us to Jesus as the author and perfector of our faith and challenges us to live our lives on Earth in the same way He did while He was here.
Acts 4:11 NIV
“Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’”
Every person must ask themselves: “Have I lined myself up against the life of Jesus?”
Our Vision: To become more like Jesus.
1 John 3:16 NIV
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
1 John 3:17 NIV
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
1 John 3:18-19 NIV
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:
My faithful, Christ honoring actions do not save me, but they do reveal to me, my family, my enemies and everyone who is watching – that I believe there is a God in Heaven. And when I act like Christ, I obtain a peace in my heart that cannot be obtained in any other fashion.
Forgiveness and reconciliation: When I forgive others as Christ forgives me - I become like Jesus and make the world a less hostile place. Instead of seeking out vengeance, I pursue reconciliation. (Matthew 6:14-15, Colossians 3:13)
Servant leadership and dignity restored: When I take the lowest job instead of demanding recognition, not because it earns me anything but because Jesus knelt and washed feet, I make workplaces and homes less about status and more about people. (John 13:14-15)
Sacrificial generosity and meeting real needs: When I give until it costs me something, not for the tax deduction but because Christ gave everything for me, I put actual food on actual tables instead of just feeling good about giving. (2 Corinthians 8:9, 1 John 3:17)
Integrity under pressure and trust restored: When I keep my word and deal honestly with others, even when lying would be easier and profitable, because Christ is truth itself, I make the marketplace a place people can actually trust again. (Colossians 3:9-10, Proverbs 11:1)
Gentleness under attack and conflict defused: When I answer an insult with a soft answer instead of firing back, because Christ stayed silent before His accusers, I break the escalation cycle that's eating alive every comment section and family group chat. (1 Peter 2:23, Proverbs 15:1)
Hospitality to outsiders and unity in society: When I welcome the person who doesn't look, vote, or believe like me to my table, because Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, I make my street and my church a place where isolation, and ultimately Satan, loses. (Romans 12:13, Luke 15:1-2)
Faithfulness in marriage and covenant proven possible: When I stay faithful to my spouse in a culture that assumes no one can, because Christ loved the church with an unbreakable love, I give my kids and my neighbors proof that covenant and commitment still means something. (Ephesians 5:25)
Refusing gossip and community rebuilt: When I speak well of someone behind their back instead of tearing them down, because Christ intercedes for me rather than exposes me, I help build the kind of trust that anxiety and isolation have been starving people of. (Ephesians 4:29, James 3:9-10)
1 Peter 2:12 NLT
“Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.”
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." - Brennan Manning