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Sunday, June 21, 2026

What Winning Looks Like

Acts 3:1-10

Austin Axen
Sermon & Bible
Watch sermonBible.com · Acts 3ESV.org · Acts 3

Sermon Notes

Redefining what it means to win

  • Father's Day: Austin opened with the desire fathers have for their children to win and the competitive instincts often associated with dads.
  • The redefinition: He rejected self-promotion, scorekeeping, and achievement as the Christian measure of winning.
  • Team Jesus: Winning means making God known and loving people through faithful participation in Jesus' mission.
  • Series continuity: The sermon builds on Acts 1 and 2. The Spirit empowers the church to witness, practice and share life together, and now recognize what faithful winning looks like.

01 · Acts 3:1-5

Winning Is Seeing People

  • Prayer opens eyes: Peter and John went to the temple at the scheduled hour of prayer, continuing the mission in their Jerusalem circle.
  • A person, not a label: The man had been unable to walk from birth and depended on others for daily support, but the passage invites attention to his story and dignity rather than reducing him to his condition.
  • Directed attention: Peter and John stopped, looked intently at him, and refused to pass by a person in need.
  • The circle: Austin urged the church to pray for people nearby because prayer can open both opportunities to serve and hearts that truly see.

Supporting references used in the sermon: Acts 1:8; Acts 2:42; Acts 4:22.

02 · Acts 3:5-8

Winning Is Sharing Jesus

  • Give what you have: Peter had neither silver nor gold to offer, but he acted in the name of Jesus.
  • Power belongs to Jesus: The man's feet and ankles were made strong. Peter later credited the healing to faith in Jesus' name rather than apostolic power.
  • Description and direction: Austin acknowledged that Acts records extraordinary miracles and refused to guarantee physical healing through believers today.
  • A message we can carry: Although Christians cannot promise a miracle, they can share the gospel message of healing, hope, forgiveness, and spiritual wholeness in Jesus.
  • Ordinary witnesses: Austin used Acts 4:13 to encourage believers that sharing Jesus does not require a title, degree, or polished presentation. It grows from being with Jesus.

Supporting references used in the sermon: Acts 3:16; Acts 4:13; Romans 10:9.

03 · Acts 3:9-10

Winning Is Stirring Wonder

  • Visible change: The people saw and recognized the man who had sat at the gate. He was still the same person, but his life now visibly told a different story.
  • Walking, leaping, praising: The healed man's response made God's work visible and filled the witnesses with wonder and amazement.
  • Witness through life: Austin connected the scene to Acts 1:8 and urged believers to let transformed lives testify to an encounter with Jesus.
  • Do not take the spotlight: Peter rejected attention directed at himself and pointed the crowd to Jesus as the source of healing and wholeness.
  • Pastor's Homework: Draw or revisit your circle, pray for people in it, look for opportunities to care and speak about Jesus, and read Acts 3 and 4.

Supporting references used in the sermon: Acts 1:8; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:10.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible, © 2001 by Crossway. Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. Permissions. Prepared for this small group from the June 21, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.

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