Who do you say that Jesus is? If Jesus were to be here with us, he would have asked in this way, “who do you say that I AM?” We call Him Lord and Savior; we call Him the Son of God and Son of Man; we call Him the Messiah. Some called Him carpenter’s […]
With the ascension of Jesus and outpouring of his Spirit upon the church, we find ourselves living between the 1st and 2nd comings of Christ. At his first coming, Jesus won the decisive battle of the war against the kingdom of darkness. Now, God’s kingdom is advancing throughout the world, bringing forgiveness and joy to […]
The kingdom of God, under the saving rule of Jesus Christ, is the reality to which all history is headed—a new heaven and earth, and a redeemed humanity experiencing the blessing of fellowship with God and one another forever. But this kingdom is also a present reality. The saving rule of Jesus is experienced today […]
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 […]
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 world tells us that the good life is to be found in financial security, physical fitness, beauty, sex, loving relationships (however we define them), and other comforts. To be sure, these things can bring us happiness. Yet many of us know that such happiness is fleeting. True satisfaction is always one job, drink, or […]
In Acts, the power to heal was given by the risen Lord Jesus to his apostles to lay the foundation of the church (Acts 2:43; Eph. 2:20). These miracles were redemptive signs that accompanied the preaching of the gospel and validated their message. And like all signs, they pointed to something else; they pointed to […]
Having just mentioned the prayers, the signs of the apostles, and the church’s gatherings in the temple (Acts 2:42-47), Luke then focuses on a specific event concerning one sign, two apostles, a time of prayer at the temple, and a lame beggar. But why tell this story? First, this sets the stage for the next […]
Throughout Luke’s gospel, the advancement of the kingdom of God has evoked one of two responses: acceptance or rejection. In the healing of the crippled woman in Luke 13, we see both (v.17). Immediately following this miracle, Jesus gives two parables to explain how, despite opposition, the kingdom of God would spread and make an […]
