Galatians 3:24-6:18; Acts 15:1-21 Who are you? If you are asked this question at a party, there are several different ways you could answer. You could answer with your name, your job, your hobbies, or, if you want to be weird, you could answer you are a child of God. When we place our faith in Christ, we are adopted by God and unconditionally brought with love into his family. This new family mean...  Read More

Acts 14:21-28; Galatians 1:1-3:23 Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. This is the repeated refrain of Paul throughout the book of Galatians. He knows if the church loses the gospel, then they have lost everything ─and they are on the verge of losing it. In Galatia, a lot of things had been added to the pure gospel message. They had placed Jewish tradition, law keeping, morality, and a host of other things alo...  Read More

Acts 12:6-14:20 Jesus commanded his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. The book of Acts is the beginning of that story which continues today. The beginning of Acts was largely focused on the work of Peter making disciples among Jewish people, and our reading today transitions the spotlight to Paul. Paul's focus is largely going to be on making disciples of Gentil...  Read More

Acts 10:1-12:5 New things are constantly starting. There are new restaurants in town, a new NBA season started a month ago, new friendships are being formed─all sorts of new things. In the same way, Jesus' death and resurrection brought a new thing. The old covenant was replaced by a new covenant; thus, a new way of relating to God the Father has been made available to us. Peter was introduced to ...  Read More

Acts 8:1-9:43 As we look at the world around us, we see it is changing faster than ever before. There are changes in politics, economics, and technology. What does not change is our relationship with God. In the UK during the late 1700s, society had slipped into immorality and decadence. Church participation had drastically declined, similarly, as it has globally in recent years. Then John Wesley ...  Read More

Acts 6:1-8:1We are called to be disciples who make disciples. This means we are called to both communicate the gospel and live it. This dual task of proclamation and lifestyle is seen in Acts 6 where some people focused on distributing food, while others focused on teaching. The calling to meet both physical and spiritual needs has always been part of the work of the church. Then in Stephen's life...  Read More

Acts 3:1-5:42 Over the next few days, we will find ourselves working through the book of Acts. It received this name because it recounts the acts of the apostles. After Jesus’ resurrection, we see these early followers of Jesus living out the new life they have received. The church was marked by the miracles of the apostles, the proclamation of Jesus, joy in the face of suffering and persecution, ...  Read More

Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-2:47 Everyone loves receiving gifts. The anticipation of staring at a wrapped box, wondering what is inside, and then the slow (or quick) unwrapping of it. Jesus had promised a gift of a Helper in John 16, and we read about his unveiling today. Jesus had to go away for the gift to come. He left his disciples at the Ascension where he went to the right hand of...  Read More

Luke 24:13-43; Mark 16:12-13; John 20:19-23; Mark 16:14; John 20:24-21:25; Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:44-49 One of the greatest pieces of evidence for the resurrection is the number of appearances Jesus made. He did not just appear to one person at one time but an assortment of people with very different faith positions, over a lengthy period. Yesterday we saw his appearance to Mary ...  Read More

Mark 15:42-47; Matthew 27:57-61; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Matthew 27:62-66; Mark 16:1-8; Matthew 28:1-7; Luke 24:1-12; Mark 16:9-11; John 20:1-18; Matthew 28:8-15"Up from the grave he arose!" This classic line from a hymn embodies the end of the Gospels. Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead on the third day. This extremely familiar fact is the most significant event in human history. Je...  Read More

Mark 15:21-24; Matthew 27:32-34; Luke 23:26-31; John 19:17; Mark 15:25-32; Matthew 27:35-44; Luke 23:32-43; John 19:18-27; Mark 15:33-41; Matthew 27:45-56; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:28-37 Have you ever been yelled at? Have you had to stare at the anger on someone’s face while harsh words flew out of their mouths? If you have been there, know you are not alone in that experience. As Jesus hung on the ...  Read More

Mark 15:2-5; Matthew 27:11-14; Luke 23:1-12; John 18:28-40; Mark 15:6-15; Matthew 27:15-26; Luke 23:13-25; John 19:1-16; Mark 15:16-20; Matthew 27:27-31 Jesus' last twenty-four hours on Earth were a long, tedious, winding road. He moves from a final Passover meal with his disciples, to a wrestling match of prayer in a garden, to his arrest and abandonment by most of his disciples, to a trial by th...  Read More