Tag Archives: life

Phillip Has a New Friend

Acts 8:26-40 In this scene, Phillip has gone from Samaria, and is travelling south on the “desert” road between Jerusalem and Gaza. While many scholars would use this as a time to float theories about which road he took toward … Continue reading

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The Singular story of Simon

Acts 8:9-23 Luke tells us about a man named Simon who had gained quite a following because of his sorcery; it would seem that he was a master of the arts of magic. When Phillip and others came into the … Continue reading

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Persecution and Triumph

When Stephen was being murdered for speaking the truth to the Sanhedrin, a young man named Saul was on hand for the festivities; he seemed to be watching over the cloaks of those who wanted to free up their throwing … Continue reading

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An Incredible Story

Acts 7 The narrative of chapter six continues into chapter seven without interruption despite the chapter break: Stephen stands falsely accused before the Sanhedrin, and these false accusations have been made against him, probably at the prompting of his judges. … Continue reading

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Stephen’s Story

Acts 6:8-15 Having mentioned his name for the first time in the previous section as one of the seven to be placed over the widows’ ministry, Luke now turns to the story of Stephen. It would appear that Stephen had … Continue reading

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Widows’ Needs and Ministry Teams

Acts 6:1-7 As the early church grew rapidly, conditions required that steps be taken to meet the needs that arose in the congregation; in this text we see needs, responses to needs, and two all-time firsts. The main problem that … Continue reading

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God’s Next Move

Acts 5:34-42 With the apostles standing before the Sanhedrin, having just infuriated everyone to the point of murder, something happens that is surprising to say the least. The greatest of the Pharisees in those days was a man named Gamaliel. … Continue reading

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The Adventure Continues

When Peter and John had first appeared before the Sanhedrin (4:1-22), they were not guilty of any particular offense against the Jewish leadership, but this time they were guilty of continuing to preach Christ after they had been ordered to … Continue reading

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God Is Rather Busy

Acts 5:17-26 While the followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit, the priests and teachers of the law were full of something quite different: jealousy. Consequently, they ordered that the apostles be arrested and thrown into jail. At … Continue reading

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Glorying God in Culture: Redux

We Christians can be critical of culture; I include myself in this statement.  It is actually quite easy to be critical of culture since culture involves so many questionable things; especially present day culture.  We would be making a mistake … Continue reading

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