We live with ticking clocks in our minds, aware of time passing and of key life-events arriving. In his work, Paul was very conscious of a huge event the Lord had planned and which time was counting down towards. In
Back from the dead?
Life is full of disappointments – they are to be expected. Paul seems to have faced one of his in Athens. But these dark patches on our journey through life are not a sign that we’re on the wrong road.
David’s big tent
Some disputes look insoluble to us: the two sides just can’t agree! But then, suddenly, a solution appears and it’s such a relief! In our verses, James, a pastor in the Jerusalem church, comes up with a great answer to
Better call me Paul
This report of Saul’s first missionary journey has some of the elements of a typical church/mission report today: an outreach activity and an interesting conversation. On the other hand, linking the Spirit to the blinding of a man and a
Hearing loss
The death of Herod Agrippa is the tragic tale of a king who will not listen. It takes place at a scary time in old Israel’s history, roughly 17 years after Jesus first appeared in public as the king whom
Peter is no angel
Though a solemn chapter about a murderous king and his downfall, there are also comic elements here which help to expose the foolish arrogance of Herod through mockery (Ps 2:4,5). However, the chapter has other themes too, including an emphasis
A battle of two kings
In Acts Luke has shown us the Lord Jesus taking old Israel and remaking her, through repentance, forgiveness and the gift of the Spirit. He has also shown Jesus expanding his reborn Israel to unite Gentiles with Jews in his
The gospel
In this summary the numbers [1], [2] etc. point to the numbered rows at the bottom of this page. What is the gospel? In eight verses Luke summarises Peter’s explanation of it to the Centurion Cornelius and his houseful of
Moving out – part I
Important points in history often have two types of components in them: those which only happen at the time and those which continue into the future. Both can be found in the drama of Acts 8, and it’s vital to
A brush with danger
For many of us there have been points in our lives when danger has come very near but we’ve not seen it. In these verses that happens to the group of important men who form the main Jewish council in