SCRIPTURE: Acts 16 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. [Luke 4:18-19] Jesus reads…
love, despite differences
SCRIPTURE: Acts 15 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. [John 13:35] Can a church have disputes, disagreements? Yes, for sure. The unity of the church does not lie in its total agreement, but in its determination to act with love, regardless of differences.
the Spirit behind the word
SCRIPTURE: Acts 14 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. [Matthew 10:19-20] Paul and Barnabas discover the power of the…
the word of the Lord
SCRIPTURE: Acts 13 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. [Matthew 13:23] There are 6 references to the “word” (or message of the Kingdom) in our passage. This…
who’s really in charge here?
SCRIPTURE: Acts 12 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.’ [John 19:11] Jesus reminds Pilate that his authority is not ultimate, but dependent. Herod discovers this the hard way. Though he has power to take James’ life, and to execute his soldiers when Peter escapes,…
God’s growing family
SCRIPTURE: Acts 11 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. [John 17:20-21] Through Jesus, the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile is…
tsaddiq goyim
SCRIPTURE: Acts 10 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 8:11] Our reading in Acts is a fulfillment of what Jesus said, after He had encountered the amazing faith of…
the Spirit moves
SCRIPTURE: Acts 9 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. [John 3:8] In our home we have a carbon monoxide detector, an alarm that can detect this odourless, colourless gas. It…
witnesses wherever we are
SCRIPTURE: Acts 8 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. [Matthew 10:18] Jesus predicts the persecution that will happen against His followers. On account of their faith in Jesus, the believers are scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. From our limited perspective, we see this…
missing the point
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. [John 5:45-46] In our passage, Stephen, like Jesus, is being accused of speaking against Moses, the Law and the…