Creative Space for Wanderers
Read: Part 4 of Paul in Jerusalem left us with the Roman commander completely in charge of the situation. There is no doubt that the authorities were handling the events here. Paul’s life was likely spared as a result of the commander’s rather audacious and timely reaction. The ensuing events through the end of Acts …
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: 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”
Read: The first half Acts 18 finds Paul in the middle of his second missionary journey. Paul leaves Athens and moves on to Corinth and connected with a ministry couple named Aquila and Priscilla. His early focus in Corinth was continuing his work convincing the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. There are some serious …
Continue reading “Acts: Encouraged by Jesus, Paul Shifts Gears in Corinth”
Read: Luke recalls the story of Paul and Silas being beaten and imprisoned while they were ministering to the people of Philippi, a Roman colony. They encountered a fortuneteller that began following them around shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved” (). While this …
Read: The early church is not perfect. They don’t have everything figured out, but they are focused and intent on spreading the gospel. The passage today highlights a sharp disagreement between two significant leaders: Paul and Barnabas. Luke doesn’t go into a lot of detail here, but as they discussed who to take on the …
Continue reading “Acts: Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas”