The end of Luke’s second book has a bittersweet taste to it. The bitterness comes from the rejection of Paul’s gospel by many of his fellow Jews in Rome, which highlights the power of sin in human hearts. The sweetness
Missing resolutions
When a new year dawns we may resolve to change our lives. Some of those resolutions may work out well; others not so well. But we should also look for the missing resolutions. The changes that we ought to make
The church before the world
How did the first Christians see their relationship with the society around them? Here in Acts 24, we see three things in Paul’s words and actions which give a partial answer to that question Firstly, they saw themselves as witnesses
Handle with care
Genesis describes the start of the world as good (Ge 1:31): a place where early humanity could live in innocence and peace (Ge 2:25). Society today is rather different! Sin has created division, disharmony and violence. The Lord has promised
Take a vow!
Sometimes a Bible verse strikes us as odd. In our passage, v18 can seem that way. Why does Luke interrupt the flow of Paul’s journey to write about a haircut? But in fact the verse captures powerfully Paul’s determination to
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.
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
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
A difficult meeting
All of us are affected by what’s around us. Ideas, beliefs, people, environment – all these, and other things besides, can shape our behaviour. But if we ask what leads to all the wrong we do, then the core of
Crisis? What crisis?
A crisis is growing in first century Jerusalem as the 12 apostles play a dangerous game. Having already been arrested and threatened by the authorities (Ac 4:3, 5:18), they provoke them further by returning to the temple to preach (Ac