Our first introduction to Saul occurs at the stoning of Steven Acts 7:58: Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. Saul is a Zealous Jewish Pharisee, fiercely loyal to his Jewish convictions and heritage, and also characterized as a man of violence. Saul’s religious righteousness and zealousness […]
Last week, we explored Acts chapters 6 & 7 culminating in the stoning of Stephen. At the beginning of Acts 8, we read that great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. The disciples scattered and Philip went proclaiming the good news of Jesus in the city of Samaria, with great success. An angel […]
The book of Acts begins with the early church sharing all things in common with glad and generous hearts. The early church was characterized by face-to face encounters. They embraced the well-being of the whole community, insuring that everyone had what they needed. But the honeymoon of the spirit of ecstatic spiritual experiences, shared meals, […]
The Gospel of Luke begins like this: Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I, too, decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know […]
On the day of Pentecost, 120 believers named in the first chapter of Acts, were all together in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit descended on them. They were celebrating the Jewish harvest festival Shavuot. Today, Christians celebrate Pentecost as the the birthday of the Church remembering the wild spirit that descended on the […]
The book of Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke, and the opening verses tell us that Jesus spent 40 days after his suffering and resurrection, talking about the KoG with his disciples. The number 40 in the Bible wasn’t used to signify a specific number, but used as a general term […]
The words from John 15 are part of Jesus’ final commandments to his disciples on the night he was betrayed & arrested. He knew the end was near & still, he made an intentional choice to celebrate the Passover Feast with his disciples, whom he now calls his friends. Jesus intentionally chooses to not be […]
There are several verses in the Gospel of John that we frequently hear at funerals. Some from ch. 14. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. I go to prepare a place for you.” These are comforting words to […]
There is a great quote attributed to Jacob Nordby, the author of Blessed are the Weird: “Blessed are the weird people – the poets and misfits, the artists, the writers and music makers, the dreamers and the outsiders – for they force us to see the world differently.” It is the gift of square pegs in […]