The Joy of Salvation

The early church in the book of Acts experienced great exploits for the kingdom of God. The power of God was on display daily. However, the kingdom of darkness quickly rose to oppose any progress made by the church. Peter preached—and was thrown into prison. Stephen boldly proclaimed the gospel—and was stoned to death. It seemed that as the church advanced the kingdom, the enemy was quick to strike back. Still, the church pressed on. They continued to preach the gospel, and soon Saul began going house to house, dragging believers off to prison. Light attracts darkness. The early church understood spiritual warfare and the reality of the conflict between the light of Christ and the powers of darkness. In today’s message, "Light in the Darkness," we are reminded that this battle is still very real in the life of every believer. As children of light living in a dark, fallen world, we represent Christ—and that means we face opposition daily. If we’re not careful, we can lose the joy of our salvation. And as Scripture says, the joy of the Lord is our strength.