Finding God
When Paul began explaining God to the people in Athens, he told them the Lord brought them to this point in time: “27 so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 28 For in Him we live and […]
JXSW (Jesus by Southwest)
Acts 17:19-21 (HCSB) 19 They took him [Paul] and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, “May we learn about this new teaching you’re speaking of? 20 For what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these ideas mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent […]
A Reasonable Faith
Acts 17:16-17 (NIV) 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. […]
Mobs, riots, and the Truth
Acts 17:5-9 (NIV) 5 But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not […]
The Art of Persuasion
Acts 17:1-4 (NIV) 1 When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and […]
Pass it on!
Acts 16:26-34 (NIV) 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself […]
On Demons, Money, and Lies
Acts 16:16-21 (NIV) 16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These […]
The Church, the Gospel, and Women
Acts 16:13-15 (NIV) 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the […]
Cross-Worldview Communication
God spoke to me a couple years ago about my ministry through a passage in Ezekiel: “…Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?” (Ezek. 33:10, NIV) Our churches – and consequently our nation – are wasting away because we’ve lost our sense […]
Winning! By Oxycodone
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1568229660683{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]“They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch…” (Acts 14:21, NIV) The Greek in this verse, describing Paul and Barnabas’ time in Derbe, says: “They evangelized that city and made a great number of disciples.” But I […]
Good News / Bad News
When Paul and Barnabas came to Lystra and Derbe, a man who had been crippled since birth was healed. Amazed, the people jumped to the conclusion that these apostles were gods: Zeus and Hermes. One of the priests of Zeus even began preparations for sacrificing bulls to Paul and Barnabas. The apostles urged them to […]
Go Team!
“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for […]
