Read: Acts 15 The Jerusalem council and the discussion that developed out of it is of great importance to the Christian faith. Paul and Barnabas were seeing Gentiles coming to faith and receiving the Holy Spirit just like the Jews did. However, many of the Jews made the argument that these Gentiles should still be…
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Read: Acts 14 Starting in verse eight, we have a peculiar story about Paul and Barnabas visiting the people of Lystra. There is a man who had been lame all of his life who listened to Paul and because of his faith, he was healed. When this happened the crowds were naturally amazed! Who could…
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Read: Acts 13 In the beginning of Acts 13, we see that the church at Antioch had many prophets and teachers. Because of this, they saw the need to send out some of these leaders to carry the gospel message to new places. They were led by the Holy Spirit to choose Barnabas and Saul…
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Read: Acts 12 Here we see that James has already been killed by King Herod. For those who have read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), it is clear that though Jesus had twelve apostles, there were three that he invested in to greater extent. These three men were Peter, James, and John. All…
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Read: Acts 11 The story from Acts 10 continues in chapter 11. Peter’s Jewish buddies were wondering why he went to spend time with a Gentile man. As was mentioned previously, the Jews did not have a very high view of Gentiles or non-Jewish folk. Because of this, Peter recounts the vision and experience he…
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Read: Acts 10 In this chapter, we see Peter having a strange vision. Jewish people were not supposed to eat certain animals that were considered unclean. In the dream, Peter sees these animals and is told to kill and eat them. Peter declines, saying he has never eaten anything impure. The voice replied, “What God…
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Today socialism is a hot topic. In 2015, Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders won the hearts of many young Americans in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination with promises of free college tuition and medicare for all. More recently Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has taken the spotlight as she pushes the radical vision of her Green New…
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Read: Acts 9 This chapter represents a turning point in the Book of Acts. The persecutor named Saul becomes the persecuted. Whereas most of the Book of Acts has been about Peter, John, and Jesus’ other disciples, now the story shifts to focus much more on Saul. Here in this chapter, one of the most…
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Read: Acts 8 Here we see that the persecution that the Christians are facing worsens to the point that “all except the apostles were scattered.” This forces the new believers to go to places they normally wouldn’t go. Philip specifically goes to Samaria. Typically, Jews hated the Samaritans; a Jewish man like Phillip would not…
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Read: Acts 7 When good things begin to happen, Satan prepares to make his move. In Acts 7 we have the first recorded instance of someone being killed for proclaiming the name of Jesus. Stephen, “full of the Holy Spirit,” speaks a powerful message about the history of Israel and he condemns the listeners for rejecting the…
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