After learning about the church in Antioch (Acts 11:19-30), Luke includes a fascinating incident involving Herod and the Jerusalem church before transitioning to the missionary activity of Paul. Here, we read of the martyrdom of James, the miraculous deliverance of Peter, but also the earnest prayers of the church. We love to read exciting (and […]
The kingdom of God has never been just about one nation but a people from every nation. The promise to Abraham was about blessing the nations. Daniel saw the kingdom of God as a mountain filling the whole world. Isaiah saw the nations streaming into that kingdom as part of God’s people. And when Jesus […]
Having received a vision from God in which all food was declared “clean,” Peter’s eyes were opened to see the ever-expanding redemption story of God’s love for a people from every nation. Just like all food was pronounced by Christ to be clean for eating, so Peter is to no longer refuse to be among […]
The story of Peter and Cornelius takes up a considerable amount of space in Luke’s narrative because it was a defining moment in redemptive history. God had promised Abraham that not only would he and his offspring be blessed, but that in him, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). The […]
Many Christians and churches today seem only to care about bigger numbers, emotional experiences, and especially “signs and wonders.” We think we need these things to convince the world that the gospel is true, that Jesus is alive, and that our church is successful. Yet while our God continues to be a miracle-working God to […]
By God’s sovereign grace, Saul—who was a self-righteous Pharisee and a violent opponent of the Christian church—came to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. He called upon his name, he was baptized, and he joined the disciples in Damascus (the very people he came to imprison). But this story shows us […]
Throughout the book of Acts, Luke includes several accounts of sinners being converted to the risen Lord Jesus. Conversion is what happens when God, by his Spirit, awakens those who are spiritually dead and enables them to repent of their sins and turn to Christ in faith. Each of these stories in Acts reminds us […]
Under the old covenant, the ceremonial laws communicated the truth that God is holy, and that he is totally separate from all that is not holy. This is why people with diseases or deformities were considered unclean and separated from the assembly of Israel. It wasn’t that these things made people evil; they symbolized the […]
The persecuted church in Jerusalem had been scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, preaching the Word as they went. Philip the evangelist had gone to Samaria, where the city received the gospel with joy. But Luke also includes a specific incident involving a Samaritan sorcerer name Simon. This story serves to illustrate a profound truth related […]
Acts 8:14-17 has been at the center of all kinds of controversy regarding the book of Acts and its interpretation. The doctrine of a “second blessing” taught in many churches is based partly on these verses. But why exactly did the risen Lord Jesus wait to send his Holy Spirit on the Samaritan Christians? If […]
The first part of the book of Acts ends with Stephen’s death and the persecution of the Jerusalem church. However, the attempts of Saul and the religious leaders to destroy the Christian church only served to bring about the fulfillment of the words of Jesus spoken in Acts 1:8, as believers were “scattered throughout the […]
The true people of God have always been persecuted by those who oppose God. But, as the Bible tells us, “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). As we consider the death of Stephen, the first martyr of […]
Jesus said that if the world hated him, then it would hate those who follow him (John 15:18-21). It wasn’t long before the early church found this to be true. In Acts 7, we find Stephen’s response to the false accusations brought against him—that he had spoken against Moses and the temple. Yet, instead of […]
The Bible is a story all about God, and every prophet, priest, king, and biblical hero in Scripture ultimately points us to Jesus Christ. However, in one sense, the Bible is also about us; the characters we meet do show us how we should live before God. Abraham’s faith, David’s repentance, and even Christ’s patient […]
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said: “The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and most urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.” Why? Because only in the word of God do we discover man’s real need and God’s […]
