With Salt
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6, NIV) Many of us western Christians, perhaps for the first time, are learning what it is like to […]
You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit (Colossians 1:7-8, NIV). Evangelism. Just the mention of the word causes some of us to break out into a cold sweat. It conjures up the […]
I Believe in Miracles
Once our hero, Paul, and the other castaways washed up on the shore of Malta, we read what happened next: As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself to his hand. When the local people saw the creature hanging […]
Three Legs of Evangelism
But Paul replied, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment… “I wish before God,” replied Paul, “that whether easily or with difficulty, not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am—except for these chains.” (Acts 26:25, […]
Resident Aliens
Acts 22:22-26 (HCSB) 22 They listened to him up to this word. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this person off the earth—it’s a disgrace for him to live!” 23 As they were yelling and flinging aside their robes and throwing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into […]
Don’t Shrink Back
When it was time for Paul to head to Jerusalem, he had a sense that “this was it.” And so, in a very touching moment, Luke records for us his farewell to the Ephesian elders. Paul was connected to lots of churches in the mid-east and Asia minor, but he was closest to the people […]
Go, Team, Go!
Acts 20:4-6 (HCSB) 4 He was accompanied by Sopater, son of Pyrrhus, from Beroea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.5 These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas,6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread. In five days […]
Spiritual Warfare and Union Bosses
In our study of Acts, we come today to the great riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41). A man named Demetrius was angry with the church and incited a mob in the city center. There were two issues at hand. The first was economic – because of the great number of converts to “the Way,” the […]
Show Me the Money!
17 This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Then fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.18 And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices,19 while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned […]
The Death of Discipleship
Acts 18:24-28 (HCSB) 24 A Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was powerful in the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus.25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught the things about Jesus accurately, although he knew only John’s baptism.26 He […]
Saying Goodbye
Acts 18:18-22 (HCSB) 18 So Paul, having stayed on for many days, said good-bye to the brothers and sailed away to Syria. Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He shaved his head at Cenchreae, because he had taken a vow.19 When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and […]
When Good News and Hubris Meet
Acts 18:5-6 (HCSB) 5 When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with preaching the message and solemnly testified to the Jews that the Messiah is Jesus.6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From […]
