🔦Sermon Title: Faith Over Familiar
Speaker: Elder Street
Date: January 25, 2025
Location: Sichem SDA Church
Text: Acts 19:1–7

“Some of us know church… but don’t know Christ. We’ve got tradition, but not transformation.”

With passion, boldness, and a whole lot of truth, Elder Street invites us to take inventory of what our faith is actually built on. Are we rooted in God—or just rehearsing the familiar? Preaching from Acts 19, he reflects on Paul’s conversation with the disciples at Ephesus who hadn’t even heard of the Holy Spirit. It’s a wake-up call for every believer who’s been going through the motions without growing through the Spirit.

Through personal stories, practical steps, and punchy one-liners, Elder Street challenges us to leave behind empty rituals and fake perfection—and embrace a Spirit-filled life that’s real, raw, and rooted in God.

🧩 In This Message:

• A vivid childhood story about being mesmerized by movies—and the moment he realized it was all fake.

• A callout to fake faith, fake smiles, and fake Christians—”Hollywood Christians” who perform instead of transform.

• A no-holds-barred takedown of the “fake it till you make it” mindset—and what to do instead.

• A heartfelt reminder that God doesn’t expect perfection—He expects honesty, surrender, and growth.

• A rallying cry for young people to know their history, own their gifts, and make Christ-centered choices.

• The Five Anchors for Spiritual Survival:

  1. Know your history

  2. Use your gift for good

  3. Center your joy in the Lord

  4. Embrace imperfection

  5. Understand your power of choice

🗣️ Standout Quotes:

Lord, make me a beacon of your light that can be seen from afar so I can share with others the love, the kindness, and the truth of who you are.

Parents, grandparents, stop trying to crush your kids and grandkids’ gifts. I know you want them to be the doctor, you want them to be the lawyer, you want them to be the nurse—but let them nurture their gifts.

One of the dumbest things I ever heard as an educator is ‘fake it until you make it.’ We don’t want you to fake it. We want you to be real and be a child of God.

Some of us may carry some nasty attitudes because the world told you you’re beautiful as a model—but there’s no amount of makeup, workouts, or cover pages that will get you into heaven.

If we watch and read more fake stuff than we watch or read and study the things pertaining to the Word of God, we run the risk of being confused about who we are.

🎧 Listen If You’ve Ever:

• Felt like you were just going through the motions at church without really growing.

• Wondered if the version of yourself you show others is hiding the one God really wants to heal.

• Needed a reminder that you’re not called to be perfect—just faithful.

• Wanted real talk on what it means to live a Spirit-led life in a fake-it-for-Instagram world.

🙏🏾 Final Word:

“Don’t let your faith get stuck in the familiar. Let the Holy Spirit grow you into who God really made you to be.”