Acts

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“Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20 NKJV).

June 13, 2017

Saul the persecutor became Paul the preacher. Within days of his Damascus road experience with Jesus, Saul was preaching Christ in the synagogues. His passion for killing Christians had been replaced with a passion for making them. Why? Because he had encountered the risen Christ and believed. And he wanted everyone to know what Christ had done for them.

Are all believers immediately called to making disciples for Jesus? Paul certainly thought so.

“For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand” (Acts 7:25 NKJV).

June 9, 2017

Stephen’s defense before the Jewish council was amazing in its span and understanding of Jewish history. He offered a condensed version of the Old Testament story starting with Abraham and steadily progressing to the 1st Century time of Jesus. But it wasn’t just a summary. It offered profound spiritual insights on the ancient faith story.

Consider the Moses part of the story. Here, Stephen described not only the facts of Moses’ life, but his motivations. Stephen described Moses as being aware of his God-given calling to be the deliverer of Israel when he was only 40 years old. So, when he fled to Midian after killing the Egyptian, he wasn’t just fleeing Pharoah’s judgment, he was fleeing God’s call.

Stephen’s commentary on the Old Testament helps us understand the storyline from God’s perspective. He establishes the best practice for our reading today. For the best way to understand the Old Testament is through the lens of the New Testament and through the person of Jesus.

Stephen tried to help the Jewish council understand that their history had always pointed to Jesus, that He was the fulfillment of their Hebrew Scriptures. Yet, they would not believe. And they sentenced Stephen to be stoned to death.

“Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:3-4 NKJV).

June 8, 2017

It didn’t take long for the early church to experience the complaints of its members. The apostles had apparently started a food distribution ministry to the widows, but the church had grown so rapidly that the size of the task had become overwhelming. Plus, the Greek background believers complained that the Jewish background believers were neglecting their widows. What began as a complaint about unfair food distribution had become an accusation against the apostles of racism.

Depending on how the apostles responded, this problem could have either split the early church or severely slowed it down. If they had turned a deaf ear to the complaint and done nothing to address it, the disunity probably would have split the church. But if they had focused the work of the apostles on working at the tables to distribute food fairly, then they would have neglected their true calling, namely, the ministry of the Word and prayer, which would have severely slowed the growth of the church.

However, the apostles responded wisely, gathering the people together, they asked for seven men to be appointed as “deacons” (Greek: diakonos – “servant”) to administer the widow ministry and to address the disunity. In this way, they wisely delegated this ministry, so that they didn’t neglect their own ministry calling.

The first-century church offers a wise paradigm for ministry in the 21st-century church. It is wise to set apart certain ministers to focus on caring for the physical needs of the flock. But it is equally wise to set apart pastors who are to focus on preaching and teaching the Word and praying for the flock. Both are needed in the church today.

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts 1:14 NKJV).

June 3, 2017

Just before His ascension, Jesus told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit, so that they would receive power to be His witnesses. They obeyed. The remaining eleven disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem “with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”

Those scattered in fear by Christ’s crucifixion were now gathered in faith by Christ’s resurrection and ascension. Even the brothers of Jesus were in “one accord” with the disciples now, having come to faith after His resurrection.

This little band of believers “continued” in united prayer over the next ten days while the rest of Jerusalem lay unaware of the spiritual earthquake that was about to turn the world upside down for Christ.

A Shared Focus

August 28, 2016 | Acts 2:42-47 | community, prayer

The early church had a shared language–– it was the language of prayer. It was a shared focus, one that focused on spending time together talking to God in prayer. How are you doing in this area? Do you pray? Do you pray with your spouse, with your kids? Do you pray with your family? How about with other believers? Are you devoted to praying together with God’s family? We can experience the same devotion to prayer that the early church did.

A Shared Food

August 21, 2016 | Acts 2:42-47 | community, food

There’s something about shared food, a shared meal that leads to authentic community. Every culture has its own distinct food. So does the family of God. However, isn’t the physical, but the spiritual food that makes for an authentic Christian community.

A Shared Family

August 14, 2016 | Acts 2:42-47 | community, fellowship

Just as our physical birth means we are a part of a family, our spiritual birth makes us part of God’s family. The early church cultivated that shared family by being devoted to the fellowship. Learn how we can cultivate a shared family in our church today.

A Shared Faith

August 7, 2016 | Acts 2:42-47 | community

The first century church had four devotions. The first was the apostle’s teaching. They were devoted to the preaching, teaching, study, and obeying of God’s Word.

“And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves.” (Acts 27:35-36 ESV)

July 10, 2016

Paul’s status changed from prisoner to priest and from accused criminal to acting captain as everyone aboard the storm-driven ship began to listen to him. Although others may disregard our Christian testimony or even demean it, when storms come they often turn to the one who knows the Lord. This is what happened to Paul. Both the sailors and the soldiers were encouraged to hear his words.

“And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius” (Acts 27:1 ESV)

July 9, 2016

Dr. Luke once again includes himself in the Acts narrative with the use of the first person plural “we.” This is the last of the four “we passages” found in Acts (Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-8; 27:1-28:16). Although there is some debate about these passages, the simplest explanation is that Luke was actually an eye witness of these four events. This explains the great detail of these passages, where Luke even gives the name (“Julius”), rank (“centurion”) and company (“Augustan Cohort”) of the one responsible for transporting Paul to Rome to appear before Caesar. Throughout the account of their sea voyage to Rome, this Roman centurion showed favor to Paul, allowing him to receive comfort from his friends when visiting a port and protecting him from his soldiers when they were shipwrecked. Luke speaks so favorably of Julius, and they spent so much time together, that one must wonder whether he came to faith during this time. Will “we” meet Julius the Centurion in heaven someday?