Acts 20 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence All throughout this chapter, Paul is eager to make his way back to Jerusalem to be there in time for Pentecost, even though he knows from the Lord that this trip will lead to his imprisonment. Nevertheless, on the way he makes a very important stop at the city of Miletus to speak to the Ephesian elders again before he is imprisoned. Believing this would be the last time…

Acts 19 by Mark Hudson Chapter 19 events take place in Ephesus as part of Paul’s third missionary journey.  If Athens is the intellectual center of the Mediterranean, Corinth is the commercial capital, then Ephesus is the religious center.  Ephesus’ population at this time is close to 500,000.  If you lived in Asia Minor, you probably had or hoped to travel to Ephesus.  There were three temples dedicated to the worship of the Emperor.  The…

Acts 18 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence After having very little success amongst the Jews in Corinth, Paul dedicated the rest of his ministry in that city to the Gentiles. But in leaving the synagogue, he didn’t go very far, for right next door to the Jewish house of worship, Paul set up in the house of Titius Justus who was a Gentile worshiper of God, and he began to preach to anyone who would listen…

Acts 17 by Pastor Mark Hudson In Acts 17, Luke introduces different cities and settings which call for different approaches and distinct sermons.  As you read through Acts, look for the factors that set one sermon or experience apart.  Ask yourself, “Why did Luke include this sermon (and not hundreds of others)?  Luke is not just reporting mere facts but his history of the early church is theological history.  Luke is teaching us through these…

Acts 16 by Pastor David Groendyk If you read slowly through this chapter and think about it, there are a lot of things that are really confusing about Paul’s ministry. For instance, Paul has Timothy circumcised immediately after the Jerusalem Council stated that circumcision was unnecessary (v. 3); the Holy Spirit forbids Paul to preach the gospel and minister to a certain region (vv. 7–8); and Paul and Silas (twice!) do not walk out of…

Acts 14 by Pastor Mark Hudson Acts 14 concludes the first missionary journey.  This first trip is rather short, beginning in chapter 13 with the call from the church in Antioch and concluding at the end of chapter 14 with a report to the church in vs. 27-28.  We are witnessing sustained incursions or outreach into Gentile lands.  The Jerusalem church (and the Jewish temple) have been left behind. Antioch is where the disciples leave…

Acts 12 by Pastor Mark Hudson Acts 12 is a fascinating and funny chapter that places in bold contrast the power of the government verses the power of God.  At the beginning of chapter 12, the church is suffering, and Herod is in control.  This Herod is the grandson of Herod the Great called Herod Agrippa I.  His uncle Antipas had known and tried Jesus.  Herod Agrippa I wanted to court the Jew’s favor as…

Acts 11 by Pastor David Groendyk The first half of Acts 11, verses 1–18, puts a bow on the previous story of Peter and Cornelius. When Peter goes back to the home church in Jerusalem to report about what had happened in Caesarea, certain Jewish Christians were critical. These Jews, named the ‘circumcision party’, pop up in a few places in the New Testament. These Jews do not simply allow Gentiles like Cornelius to believe…

Acts 10 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Unexpectedly, instead of an apostle being the first Christian to bring the gospel to a gentile, it was the deacon Phillip who led the Ethiopian eunuch unto the Lord, soon after leading Samaritans into the Church of God and later some descendants of the Philistines as well. Nevertheless, this account of Peter bringing the gospel to the Italian centurion Cornelius is the first official step of the Church of…

Acts 9 by Pastor Mark Hudson Paul’s conversion is significant for Luke since this is told in chapter 9 and told again in chapters 22 and 26.  Paul is significant because he writes 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament.  Paul is The theologian of the New Testament and THE evangelist to the Gentiles or non-Jewish world.  In fact, while Peter dominates the first part of Acts, Paul soon takes center stage and…

Acts 7 by Pastor Mark Hudson In this chapter, we read Stephen’s speech (sermon?) before the religious leaders of Jerusalem.  Stephen was accused of blasphemy in 6:11 so Stephen has some work to do to even gain a hearing.  They had lied about him in chapter 6, yet they also saw his face change “like the face of an angel.”   Now it was Stephen’s turn to speak after that wonderful introduction. He has to answer…

Acts 6 by Pastor David Groendyk At the very birth of the church in Acts 1–7, the believers are facing many different types of challenges and trials, both from outside the church and inside the church. There has been persecution and intimidation from local authorities (chs. 4–5), the threat of hypocrisy and lies from the church’s own members (ch. 5), and now they’re facing the issue of division. The specific problem is that certain widows…

Acts 5 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Thus far in the book of Acts we have seen a vision and a foretaste of the ideal church in glory where everything seemed to be as it should be, but sadly this would not remain the norm. Matthew Henry points out in his commentary that chapter five “begins with the melancholy word ‘but’ which puts a stop to the pleasant and agreeable prospect of things which we had…

Acts 4 by Pastor Mark Hudson Acts 4 is a continuation of the event of healing the lame man in chapter 3.  In chapter 3, Peter preaches to the people at the portico of the temple.  As Peter and John were speaking to the people, the religious leaders came out and arrested them (4:1-4), put them in custody until the next day.  Yet, in the midst of this the report in v. 4 is that…

Acts 3 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence At three o’clock in the afternoon, or the ninth hour after sunrise, Peter and John went to the temple in order to pray, which was their custom having devoted themselves to “the prayers,” as it reads in Acts 2:42. There were three daily prayers that these first Jewish Christians kept in accordance with tradition praying at the third, sixth and ninth hour of the day. And when Peter and…

Acts 2 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson Acts 2 begins with a problem which prompts Peter to explain what is happening by a quote from the minor prophet Joel.  Then Peter preaches what is the first Christian sermon, so that 3,000 people join the church.  Next, we read of the most lively and warm fellowship we could hope for. This is such a beautiful and significant chapter. In verses 1-4, it appears the disciples are…

Acts 1 by Pastor David Groendyk Acts is a unique book in the New Testament, because it is the only history book we have in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, we have books like Joshua, 1–2 Samuel, and 1–2 Kings that record almost 1000 years of Israelite history, but in the New Testament, the only book like that is Acts. It only covers about 30 years of history, but what a lot happens…

Judges 21 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence What a depressing conclusion of the book of Judges, for it ends just as it started with there being no king in Israel and everyone doing what is right in his own eyes. But in these remaining chapters, Israel is not facing any external threats from the enemies of God but only internal threats from those whose hearts had been given to sexual immorality and idolatry. But after the…

Judges 20 by Pastor Mark Hudson Judges 20 is descriptive not normative or prescriptive, as if I needed to mention that.  In other words, these chapters are describing not prescribing these actions as normal.  In fact, what we witness is the opposite of what God intended for the conquest, taking, and living in the land of Israel.  Rather than kicking the Canaanites out of God’s promised land so holiness, justice, and righteousness would reign, Israel…

Judges 19 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence After the passing of the generation of Joshua, who famously said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” it appears that his descendants did not maintain that perspective and passion for God. In this chapter, another rogue Levite is wandering around the nation of Israel without any sense of calling from God. Instead of indulging in blatant idolatry as the previous Levite did, this one’s…

Judges 18 by Pastor Mark Hudson I always thought these last few chapters of Judges are stories when the Israelites go off the rails.  This is when the readers shakes his head, when she say, “Oh, no.  Not this.”  I remember when I first became a Christian, I heard a sermon called Ten Shekels and a shirt by Paris Reidhead  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d7mhAY5FVwm ) which may one of the best sermons on any chapter in Judges IMHO.…