Acts 10:24-48 It can often seem overwhelming to enter into a spiritual conversation with someone. We may wonder: What should I say? What questions should I ask? Peter’s conversation with Cornelius gives us an understanding of the most important things we should share with others. Peter begins right away by talking about Jesus. He could have talked about creation, the patriarchs, or the prophets, b...

Acts 10:1-23 Most of the early Christians were ethnically Jewish and they continued to follow the Mosaic laws after coming to faith in Christ. Yet in Acts 10 God clearly helps us to understand that Jesus brought a clear break from the old way of things. Peter received a vision of a sheet falling from heaven filled with a variety of animals. The Mosaic Covenant mandated that animals like pigs, many...

Acts 9:26-43 One of the marks of the early church was a resolute commitment to Christ regardless of the consequences. Immediately after Paul's conversion, he began to share the message of Jesus everywhere. Sometimes it went well, and people came to faith in Christ, and other times it led to murder attempts (see 9:29). No matter the result, he kept on spreading the message wherever he went. One of ...

Acts 9:1-25 Every person that comes to faith in Jesus is a lost person who becomes found. They are a person who is in darkness coming to the light. Every conversion is a miracle, but some are more surprising than others. As you consider people who seem to be beyond salvation, it is hard to imagine someone more unlikely than Paul. He was seeking to arrest Christians and even oversaw their murders—u...

Acts 8:14-40 God’s heart is for all people. He has always wanted all people from all nations to come to faith in him. Acts 8 is the beginning of the church breaking into the Gentile world. It is the beginning of God’s kingdom going out to the whole world. We see the apostles go to Samaria and see the Holy Spirit come upon them. This scene is essentially the Gentile Pentecost. This nearly unparalle...

Acts 7:51-8:13 We need to learn to have eyes to see what God is doing. The early church was rapidly expanding and it seemed like nothing could stand against it. Even when apostles were arrested, they were miraculously released from prison. Then suddenly things seemed to change. When Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin, he was soon murdered through stoning. There was no miraculous angelic interventi...

Acts 7:30-50 If God is faithful, why do people embrace faithlessness? If God rescues, redeems, and saves, why do people turn away from him to other gods? After Stephen recounted the faithfulness of God as evidenced in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, he placed the spotlight on Moses and the wilderness generation. God amazingly rescued his people from Egypt and was going to bring them...

Acts 7:1-29 Where have you seen God’s fingerprints of faithfulness on your life? When you are struggling to make sense of you current circumstances, what do you recount to remember God’s ultimate faithfulness? As Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin, awaiting an uncertain fate, he recounted God’s works on behalf of the Jewish people beginning from the book of Genesis. As he spoke of Abraham, Isaac, ...

Acts 6:1-15 We are called to serve and minister to those who are often overlooked. Who do you feel like are those in your life? Who could you love whom others might not be noticing or reaching out to? Early in the church the Gentile widows were being overlooked for material assistance. Jewish widows were receiving daily food, while the Gentile widows were neglected. When this came to the attention...

Acts 5:1-42 To what extent are you willing to obey God? In Acts 5 we see a picture of both disobedience and obedience and the results that follow. First, Ananias and Sapphira wanted to fit into the culture of generosity in the early church, but were not concerned about truly obeying God. They valued social acceptance more than God’s acceptance. The result was death. Disobedience will rarely lead t...

Acts 4:1-37 Jesus is unique. As the eternal Son of God, he alone transformed all human history through his life, death, and resurrection. He further wants to transform our lives and our ability to respond to all of life. How do you generally respond to difficult circumstances? Acts 4 shows us a response that is truly supernatural in nature. Peter and John were arrested, and probably wondered if th...

Acts 3:1-26 How similar is your life to that of Jesus? In what ways do people see Jesus in you? After receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples continued the ministry of Jesus. They came upon a crippled man and healed him in the name of Jesus. In the same way Jesus healed for years, these men performed similar acts. When the healing drew attention though, they put all the focus on Jesus. Their mira...

Acts 2:1-47 How is your life different because you know Jesus? In just a few short weeks, the disciples went from a scared group to powerfully experiencing the power of God. The day came when the power Jesus promised descended upon them. The Spirit in-dwelt them, and the proof was in their ability to speak in many languages. This speaking in tongues in the exact way described in Acts 2 was rare ev...

Acts 1:1-26 Acts is the second part of the Gospel of Luke. It picks up after Jesus' death, resurrection, post-resurrection appearances, and ascension. The focus moves from the earthly ministry of Jesus to the work of the Holy Spirit through the disciples. The very same work which continues through us today. The effectiveness of the ministry was tied to two things. First, they were only going to be...

John 21:1-25 Do you ever feel like you have drifted too far from God, wracked with guilt and shame you cannot seem to shake? As we consider the love of Jesus, we should always remember that his grace is greater than our sin. John 21 finds Jesus once again appearing to his disciples, this time in northern Israel. He begins his meeting by telling them how to catch an extravagant number of fish. This...

John 20:1-31 In writing his Gospel, John was not only concerned with the belief of the disciples, but desires for everyone to come to belief in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. He places the purpose for his writing in the final verse. John 20:31 says, “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John’s w...

John 19:23-42 Three times in our reading today, John points to an event around Jesus' crucifixion which fulfills earlier Scriptures. Often these fulfillments are of a specific prophecy in a specific verse. For example, John 19:24 fulfills Psalm 22:18, and John 19:33 fulfills Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, Psalm 34:20, and Zechariah 12:10. Other times the fulfillment seems to be broader than simply a ...

John 18:25-19:22 Each of us has been given a sphere of authority and are to lead within the areas which God has given to us. So how well are you leading where God has placed you? In John’s depiction of Jesus’ trial, we encounter two different sets of leaders. The religious leaders saw Jesus as a threat to their religious-political system. They had slowly lost followers and fanfare throughout Jesus...

John 18:1-24 When you wake up in the morning do you primarily think about what you need to accomplish, or how you can serve others? Is your focus on yourself, or on other people? Keep these questions in mind as you read John 18. After an exhausting night which included a meal and intense prayer, a mob came to arrest Jesus. If Jesus’ mindset was selfpreservation he could have fled or denied his ide...

John 17:1-26 The day before Jesus died, he stopped and prayed for you. Yes, he specifically prayed for you. What an amazing thing —to know that Jesus took the time mere hours before his betrayal to pray. So, let us investigate together what exactly he prayed. Stop and reread John 17:20-23. Notice Jesus’ prayer for us centers around the idea of unity. First, he wants us to experience unity with him...