Service of Installation

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 95:1-7
• Hymn — O Come Let Us Sing to the Lord
• Prayer of Invocation
• Scripture Reading — Acts 12:1-24
• Sermon
• Hymn — The Church's One Foundation
• Constitutional Questions to the Pastor-Elect
• Constitutional Questions to the Congregation
• Prayer of Installation
• Handshake of Fellowship
• Pronouncement of Installation
• Charge to the Pastor — 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12
• Charge to the Congregation — Ephesians 6:13-20
• Prayer of Blessing
• Hymn — How Deep the Father's Love for Us
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: The Simply Remarkable Work of God and the Remarkably Simple Work of the Church

Scripture: Acts 12:1-24

I. The Simply Remarkable Work of God

A. The context: opposition against the early church

1. Herod Agrippa I kills James the brother of John with the sword — Acts 12:1-2
2. Seeing this pleased the Jews, Herod arrests Peter and imprisons him with four squads of soldiers — Acts 12:3-4

B. Peter's character and significance

1. Philip Schaff describes Peter as the strongest and weakest of the Twelve — bold, impulsive, changeable, yet of great service to the church
2. Acts 1–12 centers on Peter at the forefront of the birth and growth of the church
3. Peter had been imprisoned three times: twice by religious authorities, now by political authority

C. Herod Agrippa I as oppressor

1. Grandson of Herod the Great; his power exceeded that of the previous generation
2. Josephus describes him as mild and humane, yet he staged gladiatorial fights to the death (700 vs. 700 in Beirut)
3. At Caesarea he donned royal robes, sat on his throne, delivered an oration, and received the people's acclaim — "the voice of a god, not of a man!" — Acts 12:21-22

D. God's angel is the active agent throughout the chapter

1. An angel of the Lord miraculously frees Peter — chains fall off, gates open of their own accord — Acts 12:7-10
2. When Peter realizes what happened, he credits the Lord: "The Lord has sent his angel and rescued me" — Acts 12:11
3. An angel of the Lord strikes Herod down because he did not give God the glory; he was eaten by worms — Acts 12:23
4. Herod's word stopped; the word of God increased and multiplied — Acts 12:24

E. Unanswered questions — held in tension with God's sovereignty

1. Why was Peter rescued but James killed with barely a verse of mention, while Stephen's martyrdom was recounted at length in Acts 7?
2. Why was Herod struck down for pride rather than for harming the church?
3. We do not always know, but opposition to the church is never unchecked, random, or arbitrary — God allows and uses it for his purposes
4. Jesus promised he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it — Matthew 16:18
5. The same Jesus who delivered Peter is still supernaturally at work today to build and prosper his church

II. The Remarkably Simple Work of the Church

A. Ordinary people gathered at Mary's house — Acts 12:12

1. Mary, likely a widow of means who exercised the gift of hospitality
2. John Mark — later associated with the Gospel of Mark — who had earlier deserted Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey
3. Rhoda, a humble servant girl with a Greek name, possibly not from Jerusalem, dismissed by the others when she announced Peter's arrival

B. The hinge of the entire passage: earnest prayer — Acts 12:5 and Acts 12:12

1. "Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church" — Acts 12:5
2. Amid swords, soldiers, midnight escapes, and the pageantry of Herod's court, the church's simple activity of prayer is the central hinge
3. The irony: the church prays, Peter is delivered, yet they are amazed when he appears at the gate — prayer offered without full expectation of the answer

C. The word of God — Acts 12:24

1. Gathering + prayer + the word of God: that is what the church is and what it is to be
2. Done by blue-collar workers, housewives, widows, students — regular, ordinary people
3. The call of Hebrews 10:25 — do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together, especially as you see the day approaching

D. Application to this installation service

1. The church does not need flashy marketing strategies or remarkable events to grow
2. The church needs faithful pastors and shepherds to open God's word, lead in prayer, and foster faithful weekly gathering
3. The call: continue to bring prayers for one another, for the community, and for the spread of the gospel — that the word of God may continue to increase and multiply