Creative Space for Wanderers
Read: The Roman commander is curious, so he arranged a meeting with the Sanhedrin, a mix of Sadducees and Pharisees, but this didn’t go well either. Once again, Paul was in the hands of the Romans for his own protection. Meanwhile, a group of Jews forms an alliance and a plot to kill Paul. This …
Read: Paul finally gets to speak to the crowd, the preacher is given the microphone and seized the opportunity to set the record straight. The sermon goes well until Paul mentions spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles. This is the turning point. In Part 2, the main accusation against Paul was that he led a …
Read: Paul was received well but given a task to go through some purification ritual to appease the Jewish Christians (see Part 1). Trouble finds him before he gets to finish the process. In this part, we’ll focus on the few verses that turn the corner in the story. Paul was warned by his brothers and sisters …
Read: Paul, Luke, and the entire group were warmly received when they arrived in Jerusalem. James, the brother of Jesus, and the elders of the church are excited to hear the news of Paul’s missionary efforts, but there is a problem that requires resolution in the eyes of the established Church. There is so much …
Read: Luke provides a dramatic story of their journey from Miletus to Jerusalem. He begins by enunciating the emotional departure from the Elders as they began their journey through several cities. They stayed in Tyre for a week and ministered to the church in this challenging city. As the story unfolds, I’m swept away by …
Read: Luke provides some details about Paul’s travels, from Philippi to Troas to Assos to Mitylene to Chios to Miletus. However, the emphasis of this section is on his ministry, in particular, his leadership style. At a time when there were no examples to lean on, Paul demonstrated how to be an effective evangelist and …
Read: As we read many details of Paul’s travels in this chapter, we are given some significant insight into his way of encouraging leaders of the first century Church. He encourages them through teaching well into the night and even through a miraculous healing without missing a beat. We need to read his letters to …
Continue reading “Acts: Sunday Gatherings Begin and the Eutychus Miracle”
As I was reading Acts 20, I couldn’t help but stop and wonder about Luke, the author, and the Bible itself. I don’t want to forget the human element that is part of the divine inspiration which we believe is the result of this thing we call the Bible. Luke is the author who is …
Read: Two contrasting stories are recorded by Luke in this passage. In the first, God does amazing work through Paul which bolsters believers but unfortunately encourages copycat ministries. The improper reaction of a few doesn’t go well, but God uses the Seven Sons of Sceva for good and the church grows. The second story involves a …
Continue reading “Acts: Seven Sons of Sceva and Riot in Ephesus”
Read: As Paul travels to Ephesus, he meets Apollos and other disciples. It appears that Paul invested quite a bit of time into teaching disciples on this trip. A group he finds in Ephesus is particularly interesting because they didn’t even know about the Holy Spirit. Obviously, there were gaps in their education that Paul …