INTRO

Good morning, family.

Last week was Easter, and we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus together. But let’s be honest—if we really believe He rose from the dead… how could we possibly stop celebrating? Like, are we just going to move on? Go back to business as usual? No. No way. Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday for those of us who believe. Every breath we breathe is because He is alive.

I was reading in Luke 20 this week—verse 38. It hit me so hard. Jesus says, “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to Him.” Man. That’s everything. He’s the God of the living. That means every moment of your life—it’s meant to be lived to Him. That’s not just theology—that’s real. Like Paul says in Philippians 1:21, “To live is Christ.” That’s not poetry. That’s a whole way of life.

You were never meant to just exist. You were made to live—to live to Him. Romans 14 says, “None of us lives to himself… If we live, we live to the Lord.” It’s not about you anymore. You were bought. You belong. You’re not the main character in your story—Jesus is.

And I just want to ask you—what’s at the center of your life right now? Really. What’s at the core of everything you do?

Every life is structured around something. You might not even realize it, but there’s something at the center. It could be your career. Your image. Control. Comfort. Success. Your kids. Your reputation. There’s something at the hub, and everything else spins around it.

If Jesus isn’t at the center—then your life will collapse eventually. You’ll wobble. You’ll fall. Because He’s the only one strong enough to hold it all together.

I was thinking this week about how a bicycle wheel works. There’s this thing called truing a wheel. It’s when you tighten the spokes and adjust them to make sure the hub is perfectly centered. It’s delicate, detailed work. But that’s what the Word of God does—it centers us. It makes us true. Psalm 19 says, “The rules of the Lord are true.” And they revive the soul. They bring joy. They make us wise. His Word trues us. His Word re-centers us around Him.

So let me ask you: Have you let God center you? Not just once… but today?

YOU DON’T NEED TO BE PERFECT

We live in this age of the curated self. Filtered photos. Branded identities. Constant comparison. It’s exhausting.
This is the Instagram generation, right? And not just for young people—we all do this now. We’re constantly editing how we appear to the world.

Back in 2015—yeah, somehow that’s already ten years ago, which is a little wild—there was this Australian girl, Essena O’Neill. She was 18, and she had built this huge following online. Over half a million people. Influencer status. Branded deals. The dream, right?

But then one day, she just… quit. She deleted a bunch of her posts, and the ones she left up—she rewrote the captions to tell the truth.
Stuff like:
“NOT REAL LIFE.”
“Took over 100 shots trying to make my stomach look good.”
“I was paid to promote this.”

And then she said something that has really stuck with me this week:
“Social media is a system based on social approval, likes, validation, and views—not truth. I was addicted to the idea of being liked.”

That hit me. Because so much of our lives are not based on truth. So much of the way that we do things isn't grounded in the truth. She got everything she thought she wanted—and she still felt empty.
It was a perfectly curated life built with herself at the center… but it wasn’t real.
It wasn’t enough.

We were once at a church that had this series where they posted quotes from celebrities all over the entrance—big pictures with their faces and a quote about how fame or success didn’t satisfy. I remember one from Madonna. And maybe this one wasn’t up there, but it fits perfectly—Jim Carrey once said:
“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

And Jenny and I have experienced just a little taste of that. There was this weird season where Jenny kept signing us up to model at photo retreats with these well-known wedding photographers. So we got tagged in a bunch of really polished photos. Suddenly we had all these new followers and friend requests from people we’d never met—from all over the world.

At first, it felt kind of cool. I mean, who doesn’t like being seen? But then it started to mess with us. There was pressure. Pressure to take the “right” kind of photos. Pressure to be seen a certain way. And this movement toward getting on some “rising stars” list or whatever. But meanwhile… some of the people we were following—people with the perfect aesthetic—were going through some really hard, really dark stuff. Their lives were kind of falling apart. And it hit us: even at the top, even when you “make it,” people are still searching. Still longing. Still trying to fill something.

So they curate these identities with themselves at the center. But it’s still empty.

And I just want to say to you this morning—you don’t need to be perfect.

Not for Jesus.
Not to belong here.
Not to be loved by God.

We’re not asking you to filter your life. We’re not trying to build a brand here. We’re trying to be real. Because only when we’re real can we actually receive what Jesus is offering.
He’s not waiting for you to put yourself together. He already knows the mess—and He moves toward you in it.

He’s not after the image you project. He’s after your heart.

YOU JUST NEED TO BE CHANGED

You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be changed. To be open to let Him change you.

I think that’s such an important truth. And it’s exactly what we see in Acts 8. The Church is facing all kinds of pressure. Persecution from the Jewish leaders, from Paul, from everywhere. It’s a dark moment. It feels like the end. Maybe it’ll all come crashing down. Maybe it’s over before it even really began.

But then something incredible happens: the Church doesn’t crumble. It’s scattered, yes—but it’s not shattered. Why? Because the Church is built on something that can’t be destroyed: Jesus. He is the center. He is the foundation. He’s the hub. And even as these believers are scattered, they’re not falling apart. No, they’re carrying Jesus with them wherever they go. Their lives have been trued by the gospel, and now—now, they’re changing the world.

Here’s the thing I want us to grab today:
You’ve heard the saying, “hurt people hurt people,” right? Broken people spread brokenness. But the gospel flips that on its head. The truth is: changed people change people. The gospel spreads joy. It transforms people. Wholly. Completely. And that change—it can’t help but spread.

We see this in Acts 8:
“4 The believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. 5 Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. 6 Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did… 8 So there was great joy in that city.”

Persecution has forced the gospel out of Jerusalem. Now the gospel is on the move. And where does it stop first? Samaria. The believers aren’t waiting around for the perfect conditions—they’re moving forward with the message. And as they go, they’re doing something beautiful: they’re just letting the gospel slip into their conversations. They’re gospeling the gospel. It’s coming out so naturally—just like gossip.

Now, I know we gossip about a lot of things, right? We gossip about TV shows, about bad dates, about Taylor Swift, about whatever’s happening at work. You’ve probably had some conversations like that, right? We do it all the time.

Jenny and I, a few weeks ago, had this free trial of Apple TV but it was on Amazon Prime (because that makes sense), and we started watching this show called Severance. It’s this crazy show where people have their work memories and personal memories separated. It’s so trippy. But here’s the thing—I got to talking about it with a coworker. It just slipped out. The show was on my mind, so we’re talking about this crazy show. We gossip about everything. Why not gossip the gospel? Why not let the good news slip out of your mouth just as easily as anything else?

That's what it means to gospel the gospel. When it’s in you, it comes out of you. When the gospel is deeply rooted in your heart, it just spills over. It’s not forced. It’s not contrived. It’s just real.

I want to be like that. Don’t you?

Wherever these believers went, they weren’t shy about sharing the gospel. It wasn’t just for Sundays. It wasn’t just for church. It was part of their everyday conversations. They were talking about real life, and the gospel was woven into it all. And I have a feeling—they weren’t subtle about it either. They were casting seed. Wherever they went, whoever was around, they were scattering the gospel.

I want to be like that. Don’t you?

And that’s where we meet Philip. This Philip. Not the apostle, but a different Philip. You may have imagined him as the apostle Philip—but no. This Philip was one of the seven servants chosen to care for the widows in the early Church. He’s not a high-profile apostle. He’s a servant, a man full of the Spirit and wisdom. And even in his humility and in his role, we see the power of a changed life. Because a changed life doesn’t just change one person—it changes everyone around them.

That’s what happened with Philip. His life had been transformed. And it was through that transformation that Samaria was changed. And not just Samaria—Ethiopia, too. The gospel spread through this man’s changed life.

TWO MEN. TWO MESSAGES. ONE TRUE POWER.

Many responded, and joy filled their hearts as they were changed. But there’s one man in particular who stands out from the rest. Acts 8:9-11 says,
“9 A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. 10 Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as ‘the Great One—the Power of God.’ 11 They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.”

Simon, he had it all. He would’ve crushed it on social media. He had the perfect formula: A curated image—someone great. Compelling content—magic that amazed. A loyal following—people hanging on every word. A reputation—“The Great Power of God.”

He was famous. He was followed. He was fascinating.

But what we see here is a radically different picture—a contrast. Two men. Two messages. Two apparent sources of power. And one of those sources, it’s going to greatly outshine the other. But still it looks like he has some power.

You’ve got Simon, this man who is all about promoting himself. His brand? Himself. He’s the power. He’s the greatest. He points to himself, and everything he does feeds his brand, his image. It’s all about what he can do.

But then you have Philip. He shows up, and the crowds are drawn to him. He’s doing incredible things—powerful things. But Philip’s not promoting himself. He’s not trying to increase his brand. He’s pointing to someone greater. Philip’s not the center of the story—Jesus is.

It’s like what John the Baptist says in John 1:27, “I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.” Or John 3:30, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”
And even Jesus Himself says in Matthew 12:6-7, “There is one here who is even greater than the Temple… The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

You see, Philip isn’t drawing attention to himself. He’s disappearing into the message of Jesus. He’s not trying to make a name for himself. He’s pointing to the name that’s above every name. The one true power that even amazed Simon the sorcerer.

It’s so different from Simon, right? Simon, he’s trying to captivate people with his own magic. But Philip isn’t replacing Simon in the same way. He’s not trying to impress anyone. No, he’s just pointing to Jesus. He’s name-dropping Jesus in everyday conversations. He’s gospeling the gospel. And when someone has changed your life, don’t you just want to talk about them? Don’t you just want to share what they’ve done for you?

So let me ask you:
If changed people change people—if Jesus is the one who transforms us—then why isn’t He a natural part of our conversations? Why does it feel like we have to try so hard to bring Him up? Do we really believe that we’ve been changed? Have I been changed? Am I being changed?

Am I amazed by Jesus? Or is this just something I go through the motions of—showing up, singing the songs, going through the routine of religion, and just getting by? Or am I actually experiencing the power of God’s Spirit in my life, giving me victory over sin and death, empowering me for His witness, transforming me from the inside out?

Am I amazed… or am I changed?

AMAZED OR CHANGED?

Now, these two things—being amazed and being changed—they’re not the same. You can be amazed without ever being changed. I’m not so sure that the opposite is true. If you are truly being changed, then you’ve got to be standing in awe. But you can just be amazed, and that’s where it stops.

Not all belief is saving belief.

Take Simon, for example. He “believes.” He even gets baptized. And listen, I want to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. It looks like he really wants to be different, especially when he tries to buy the power of God to continue his own brand of greatness. He seems to sincerely ask Peter to pray for him. It seems like there’s some kind of repentance there.

But I’ve got to be honest. I remember a time when I heard about a guy I went to high school with. This guy was… well, let’s just say he wasn’t living the most godly life. He was popular, yeah, but everything about his life screamed “far from God.” And then I hear he got saved. That he’d turned his life around. That he was living differently now. And I’ll be real—I wanted to believe it, but it was hard. All I knew was the guy from before. Could this really be him?

I want to believe Simon was being changed. I really do. But it seems like, in his case, his heart just wasn’t really affected. It’s like he stayed on the surface.

The people? They were changed. The moment the gospel hit them, they stopped being amazed by Simon. But Simon, he stayed the same. His heart wasn’t rooted in Jesus. He was like that rocky soil, shooting up quickly but with no real root. So when things got tough, he went back to his old ways. He was amazed, sure. But he wasn’t changed.

You know, you can raise your hands during worship. You can sing “Great Are You Lord.” But that doesn’t mean you’re changed. You can still be lost, still be consumed by your idols. And that’s a hard truth to face, but it’s real.

STILL CHASING IDOLS

We talked about idols last week—those counterfeit gods that rule our hearts: Money. Power. Pleasure. Praise. Simon’s idol? Praise (maybe power). He lived for the applause, for people calling him “the Great One—the Power of God.” He was all about the admiration, the recognition. And when he couldn’t buy the power of the Holy Spirit to keep that going, Peter sees right through him. He says, “Your heart is not right with God.”

Listen to this. Peter says, “21 You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. 22 Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, 23 for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.” (Acts 8:21-23)

Simon’s idol was praise. But you know what? Our idols might look different, but they grip us the same way. This is the iGeneration we live in—Insta-famous. Insta-pleasure. Insta-gratification. Always comparing ourselves to everyone else’s perfectly curated life. And man, does that lead to bitterness.

You’ve heard it before: Comparison is the thief of joy. And the Bible, it warns us about that bitterness. It says, “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” (Hebrews 12:15)

James warns us too: “14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” (James 3:14-16)

Bitterness? It robs you of joy. It eats away at you. But the gospel? The gospel doesn’t just leave you empty. It fills you up. It spreads joy wherever it goes.

REJOICING IN THE LORD

You want to know my favorite verse in this whole section? Acts 8:8. It says, “So there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8:8)

Real change leads to real joy. And the gospel? The gospel leads to joy. It’s not just some surface-level happiness—it’s deep, abiding joy.

In Nehemiah 8:10, it says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
In Romans 14:17, we read, “The kingdom of God is… righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord...”

The people in Samaria, they went from being amazed by magic to being changed by the gospel, and now they’re filled with joy. Joy that doesn’t just float on the surface. This is joy that comes from deep, lasting transformation.

So let me ask you—what brings you joy? Is it abiding in Christ? Is it Jesus? Do you have the joy of the LORD in your life?

There are four things in this passage that brought these new believers joy:

1. The gospel was preached.
2. Signs were performed.
3. People were saved.
4. Lives were changed.
   

What’s bringing you joy today? What’s the source of your joy?

“Christians set their hearts on how good it will be in the age to come in the presence of Christ after death. This is why Christians can rejoice in tribulation and not just in health and peace and security. Tribulation drives the roots of joy down into hope. The future joy streams back into the presence and lightens every load.” (Piper)

Real joy, deep joy, comes from knowing the gospel and seeing how it changes lives—yours and everyone else’s.

CHANGED PEOPLE CHANGE PEOPLE

But here’s the thing: Some of you are afraid to have joy. You’re afraid to rejoice in the Lord because you think that would somehow invalidate your sadness. But no, joy doesn’t make our grief less real—it gives our grief perspective.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
This is coming from a man who was no stranger to suffering, who had faced loss, pain, and imprisonment. But despite all of that, his joy wasn’t stolen. Why? Because he had been changed. Deeply changed.

I remember sitting with a friend once, and he was struggling with dissatisfaction and uncertainty. For some reason, I felt prompted to ask him, “Have you lost your joy?” And you know what he said? No, I haven’t lost it. I’ve still got the joy of the Lord down in my heart. Down in my heart to stay. And I’m so happy… No, he didn’t say that. But he said I’ve still got it. I’ve still got joy in the Lord and in my salvation.

The gospel changes us. It brings us joy, even in the hardest of circumstances.

Some of you might be afraid of change. You hold yourself back from truly diving in and being changed because you’re afraid of what happens if it doesn’t work. And so you think it’s better to not even try than to prove the Spirit’s work ineffective in your life. And you’ve been limping along with an impotent, powerless Christianity where nothing ever changes. There’s no difference between you and the rest of your neighbors down your street or in your apartment complex, except that you go to church once a week. That’s the only difference and also maybe the neighbors are nicer.

But here’s the truth: The Spirit of God is alive in you! He’s not impotent, not lifeless. He brings power to change, power to transform. You’re not supposed to just “get by” in your Christian life, not supposed to just show up at church and call it good. There’s so much more to it than that. Too many of us have settled for the same old routine, and I’m tired of it. Aren’t you?

There is supposed to be more to the Christian life. I’m tired of the same. I want to be changed. Don’t you want to be changed? I want God to change me so deeply that He can use me to change others.

Changed people change people.

Maybe it’s time to give yourself a little pep talk. I know I’ve had to do that. Just this past week, I walked across the street to invite some college students to our Easter gathering. They were playing beer pong, but I was praying, trusting God to move in this small act of obedience. You know God, you’re the one in charge here. You said you’ll show up. You said, "I will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on me so that I can be your witness…” (Acts 1:8) It scares me. But I’m tired of the same. I’m tired of playing it safe, tired of a powerless faith.

According to a large number of inspirational mugs and posters, Albert Einstein (or maybe Rita Mae Brown) said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

I’m tired of pouring in the same effort and expecting different results. I’m tired of settling. I’m tired of an impotent and ineffective faith. I want to see the Spirit move in power. I want to be changed. Don’t you?

MEDITATION

Maybe that’s where you are today.

Maybe you’re done chasing what doesn’t last. You’re tired of being amazed, but never truly transformed. The good news is: You don’t have to stay stuck. The same gospel that changed Samaria… can change you. The same Spirit that moved then… is still moving now.

So here’s what I want to do right now: I want to create some space for you to sit with Jesus and be changed by His Word.

As some verses scroll across the screen, let them wash over you. Reflect on the gospel. Meditate on the joy of the Lord.

And in the quiet, ask Him to do what only He can do:
To change you.

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

Precept Austin - Acts 8 Commentary