Reframing My Life Around Jesus

The audio of this teaching is available on Spotify.

The Unstoppable Church Series - Acts 3:11-26

We live in what Pastor Bart calls "the selfie generation" – a culture that celebrates self-promotion, personal branding, and making ourselves the center of attention. Whether it's sharing our latest accomplishments on social media or angling for recognition at work, we're constantly tempted to put ourselves in the spotlight. But what if God is calling us to something radically different?

In this week's message from Acts 3:11-26, we see the apostle Peter faced with the perfect opportunity for what we might call a "spiritual selfie." He and John had just performed an incredible miracle – healing a man who had been lame from birth. Crowds gathered in amazement, and Peter suddenly found himself with a platform to preach to thousands of people.

Most of us would have been reaching for our phones to capture the moment. Check out this crowd I'm preaching to! Look at this miracle I just performed! But Peter did something completely counterintuitive. Instead of basking in the attention, he immediately deflected it away from himself and pointed everyone toward Jesus.

"Why are you amazed at this?" Peter asked the crowd. "Why do you stare at us as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness?" Peter understood something that our selfie culture hasn't figured out: true meaning and lasting legacy don't come from building your own image. They come from reflecting God's glory and serving others.

Why Do I Always Need to Be the Smartest Person in the Room?

Pastor Bart shared a personal story that many of us can relate to. Nearly 30 years ago, his boss Scott pulled him aside after a team meeting with some unexpected feedback. Instead of the praise Bart was hoping for, Scott told him he needed to be the last person to speak in their meetings. Why? Because Bart's eagerness to share his ideas first was inadvertently silencing others in the room. It stung, but it revealed something important: Bart's desire to be seen as the smartest person in the room was actually hindering the team's effectiveness.

Is It Wrong to Want Credit for My Hard Work?

This tension between wanting recognition and choosing humility is something we all face. We want to be right, we want to stand out, we want credit for our contributions, and we want to feel needed and impressive. There's nothing inherently wrong with these desires, but when they become the driving force of our lives, we've made ourselves into gods – and they're very bad gods indeed.

How Can I Give God Credit When Good Things Happen to Me?

The challenge for those of us who follow Jesus is learning to live by kingdom culture rather than selfie culture. As Pastor Bart put it, "We can live for the selfie or we can live for the Savior, but we can't really do both." This means developing the discipline to deflect attention away from ourselves and reflect it toward Christ.

Peter shows us the pattern: God worked, people noticed, and Peter deflected. When God shows up in our lives and people take notice, our instinct should be to point them toward Jesus rather than soaking up the praise ourselves. This isn't about false modesty or downplaying our gifts – it's about recognizing that every good thing in our lives ultimately comes from God.

What Does It Mean to Put Jesus at the Center of My Life?

But here's the deeper question Pastor Bart challenged us with: Are you still the center of your own story? For those who claim to follow Jesus, this is a searching question. How often do we give Jesus real credit when things go well? We're quick to blame God when life gets hard, but when success comes our way, do we acknowledge that it's because of the gifts He's given us and our relationship with Him?

God's plan for your life isn't for you to become a better version of yourself – it's for you to become a better reflection of Jesus. When we embody the characteristics we see in Christ – peace, patience, kindness, love, gentleness, and self-control – we reflect His glory in our communities, workplaces, and families.

How Do I Stop Comparing Myself to Others on Social Media?

For those who haven't fully committed their lives to following Jesus, Peter's message in Acts 3 includes a call to repentance. This doesn't just mean feeling sorry for wrongdoing; it means changing your mind, changing your thinking, and changing direction. You might like Jesus and appreciate His teachings, but have you given Him the rightful place as the leader and Lord of your life?

How Can I Find Real Purpose and Meaning in Life?

The beautiful truth is that when we stop living for the selfie and start living for the Savior, we discover the full and meaningful life that Jesus offers. It's not found in building our own platform or accumulating achievements – it's found in a personal relationship with Christ that transforms how we see ourselves and how we treat others.

So the next time something amazing happens in your life, resist the urge to take that spiritual selfie. Instead, turn the camera toward Jesus. Tag Him in your victories. Give Him the credit He deserves. Learn to deflect so you can reflect, and watch how God uses your humility to draw others to Himself.

Want to learn more about putting Jesus at the center of your life? We'd love to connect with you. Reach out to any of our pastoral team to set up a conversation about what it really means to have Jesus at the center of your story.

This message is part of our ongoing series "The Unstoppable Church" as we journey through the book of Acts together. Join us as we discover how the early church's example can transform our lives and community today.