If the material universe is the ultimate reality, then our concerns about right, wrong and justice are simply human inventions to make life more bearable; they have no bigger meaning since the universe ‘doesn’t care.’ We, however, cannot treat them
Misunderstood at home
Returning to our childhood home can be hard, especially if we have changed in ways which are not clear to those still there. Paul has this on a grand scale as he returns to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, where he spent
Upside down world
Every person has their own traits and personality. But when people come together – such as in a town or a team – the combined group can have traits and personality too. Luke uses that in Acts as he describes
Invasion
Landing on a heavily defended beach is the stuff of nightmares, as soldiers wonder if they’ll ever get off the sand alive. In a similar way, Paul & his team must have wondered how far they’d get when the Lord
Demolition gang
How do you look at history? Through dates? Politics? People? Social change? Local events? World events? We have multiple ways to picture history. For the first Christians, their focus was upon Israel – the nation whom God had chosen (De
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
Fully rescued
Stories of rescues have a peculiar power for us. Dramatic ones are often reported widely. One of the famous rescues in the Bible – Noah’s – has been replayed in countless talks, books and songs. Somehow those who survive help
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
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
Son of God
Saul, converted and healed, goes into the synagogues of Damascus no longer to arrest (Ac 9:2) but now to preach Jesus as the ‘Son of God’. That important phrase, which hasn’t been used before in Acts, contains many rich Bible