Unafraid Witness

SERMON SERIES · PILLARS REFINED

Unafraid Witness

You can talk about a batting average from 1997 for an hour. Then someone asks about Jesus and the words get stuck. This message walks through Acts 5 and the five convictions that move us from silence to clear, direct witness.

An unafraid witness is not pushy. It is a clear, direct, sincere testimony of what Christ has done in your life.
WHAT THIS SERMON IS ABOUT

Why the Words Get Stuck. And How They Get Loose.

Most of us can talk about our hobbies, our teams, our politics, and the weather without a second thought. Then a coworker asks about church, or a friend mentions they are struggling, and we go quiet. This message names that tension honestly and walks through where the courage to speak actually comes from. Valor Church is an expository, Bible-teaching church in northwest Arvada, Colorado, serving Westminster, Broomfield, Five Parks, and Candelas. Sundays at 10am at Excel Academy, 11500 W 84th Ave.

The text is Acts 5:17-42. The apostles are jailed, released by an angel, told to go right back to the temple, and arrested again. When the Sanhedrin orders them to stop, Peter answers: ‘We must obey God rather than people.’ The Greek imperative in verse 20 is ‘go.’ Not someday. Now. And the life they are commanded to speak about, Zoe, is eternal life through Jesus.

Justin walks through five convictions from the passage. God empowers us in the mission. God commands us to be unafraid witnesses. God demands our obedience above all. God uses our testimony to advance his mission. God guarantees his church is unstoppable. Each one names a fear and replaces it with a Scripture-rooted reason to speak.

An unafraid witness is not a polished gospel presentation. It is the blind man in John 9 saying, ‘I do not know everything. All I know is I was blind, and now I see.’ If Jesus has done something real in your life, you have a witness. The fear of God outweighs the fear of man. The plan of God cannot be stopped. So we open our mouths.

A new church plant in NW Arvada.

Sundays at 10a at Excel Academy. Expository preaching, real community, a clear next step.

PLAN YOUR VISIT
A 7-DAY DEVOTIONAL

Go deeper with this message all week.

Seven days of Scripture, reflection, and prayer drawn from this sermon. One a day. Read it in five minutes. Carry it the rest of the day.

DAY 1

God Goes Before You

Acts 5:19

The angel opened the prison doors before the apostles even asked. God was clearing the path while they slept. The same God works ahead of every conversation you will have this week. You are not the one carrying the weight of the outcome. He is.

Prayer
Lord, go before me today and open the doors only you can open.

DAY 2

Go Means Now

Acts 5:20

The angel did not say someday. He said go. The Greek verb is an imperative, a command, present tense. Your temple is your workplace, your neighborhood, the park you walk through, the family text thread. That is where you have been sent. Today.

Prayer
Lord, give me eyes to see the people you have already placed in front of me.

DAY 3

Obey God Rather Than People

Acts 5:29

Peter did not insult the Sanhedrin. He did not posture. He simply named the higher authority. When you fear God more than you fear being misunderstood, every other fear shrinks. The worst case scenario from sharing your faith is almost never as bad as the silence God asks you to break.

Prayer
Lord, make my fear of you bigger than my fear of anyone else in the room.

DAY 4

I Was Blind. Now I See.

John 9:25

The blind man Jesus healed did not have a theology degree. He had a story. When pressed, he gave the simplest possible answer: one thing I know, I was blind, and now I see. That is what witness sounds like. Not a sales pitch. A first-person account of what Christ has done.

Prayer
Lord, remind me today of what you have done in my life so I can say it out loud.

DAY 5

Renew the Joy

Psalm 51:12

If your salvation was a long time ago and the fire has dimmed, the prayer is the same one David prayed. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. God is not stingy with that prayer. He answers it. A renewed heart is a brave mouth.

Prayer
Lord, restore the joy of my salvation and the willingness to speak of it.

DAY 6

Worthy of the Name

Acts 5:41

The apostles were flogged and walked out rejoicing. Not because pain is good, but because they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. If you have ever felt awkward, dismissed, or laughed at for naming Christ, you are in the lineage of Acts 5. That is not a setback. That is the company you keep.

Prayer
Lord, count me worthy of any small cost that comes with speaking your name.

DAY 7

The Plan Will Stand

Isaiah 46:9-10

God declares the end from the beginning. His purpose will stand. He will accomplish all his good pleasure. When you share Jesus, you are not throwing words into the wind. You are joining a plan that has already been settled in heaven. The blood of the martyrs becomes the seed of the church. Nothing about this mission is fragile.

Prayer
Lord, make me bold. Your plan cannot fail.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

For your small group, family, or personal reflection.

  1. What can you talk about for hours without effort? What is different when the subject becomes Jesus?
  2. Of the five convictions in this passage, which one do you most need this week and why?
  3. Where is your ‘temple’ right now? Who has God already placed in your everyday path that he is asking you to speak life into?
  4. When you imagine the worst-case scenario of sharing your faith with someone, what is actually at stake? Is the fear bigger than the reality?
  5. Who is your one? Name a specific person you will pray for and look for an opening with this week.
  6. If the salvation fire has dimmed, what would it look like to ask God to renew the joy of your salvation this week?
  7. How does knowing the plan of God is unstoppable change the pressure you feel about outcomes when you share Jesus?

Want to work through these with others? Small groups at Valor meet throughout the week. Find a Group

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions people search for. Here are honest answers.

How do I become a Christian step-by-step?

Acknowledge that sin is real and that you cannot save yourself. Trust that Jesus lived the life you could not live, died the death you deserved, and rose again. Confess Jesus as Lord and turn from sin. Then follow him publicly through baptism and life in a local church. Talk with a pastor and we will walk you through it personally.

What is the typical process for getting baptized in a Christian tradition?

At Valor, baptism is by immersion and follows a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It is not a ritual that saves you. It is a public picture of the salvation Jesus has already accomplished in you. We schedule baptisms regularly and walk every candidate through a short conversation first. Talk with a pastor if you are ready.

How do I find a local church to help me become a Christian?

Find a church that preaches the Bible plainly, that explains the gospel clearly week after week, and where the people will sit with you in your questions instead of brushing them off. If you are in NW Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, or the surrounding area, we would love to walk this with you. Come this Sunday at 10am or talk with a pastor first.

How to know if a church is a good church?

Look for expository preaching that lets the Bible set the agenda rather than a topical theme picked for relevance. Look for a plurality of qualified elders, clear gospel teaching, baptism by immersion of professing believers, and a culture where the hard truths of Scripture are not softened. Valor Church preaches through whole books of the Bible verse by verse. Plan your visit and see for yourself.

What are the characteristics of a biblically-based church?

Expository preaching, qualified elders, the Bible treated as the inspired authority on every question it addresses, baptism and the Lord’s Supper practiced as Christ taught, real community that knows each other by name, and a clear path to grow in the faith over decades. Valor is built on these. We are an expository Bible-teaching church in northwest Arvada, Colorado.

Find churches near me with a strong emphasis on biblical teaching.

If you are in northwest Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, Five Parks, or Candelas, Valor Church preaches verse by verse through whole books of the Bible. Sundays at 10am at Excel Academy, 11500 W 84th Ave, Arvada, CO 80005. Plan your visit this week.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Talk with a pastor.

Whether you are wrestling with what you just watched or with what life is throwing at you. A pastor will reach out within 48 hours.

TALK WITH A PASTOR

JOIN US SUNDAY

Sundays at 10a in NW Arvada.

Excel Academy, 11500 W 84th Ave. Come as you are. A friendly face will save you a seat.

PLAN YOUR VISIT
Serving northwest Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield & Wheat Ridge.
11500 West 84th Avenue
Arvada, CO 80005
720-507-9246

11500 West 84th Avenue
Arvada, CO 80005
720-507-9246
Serving northwest Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield & Wheat Ridge.