PAUL RENTS A LECTURE HALL FOR CHURCH MEETINGS Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire during the time of Paul. It was a seaport city with a population of over 250,000. It became the center of Paul’s missionary efforts in Asia Minor. Some gospel work had already been done in Ephesus,
DON’T LET FEAR KEEP YOU SILENT After Paul preached Jesus as the Christ to the members of the Corinthian synagogue, they opposed him. But he didn’t let fear of opposition stop his preaching of the gospel. Instead, he shifted his ministry focus to the Gentiles in the city. Yet, the opposition among the Corinthian Jews
PAUL’S COMMON GROUND APPROACH After debating with some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens, they invited the apostle Paul to appear before the city council to explain more fully his teaching. For the Athenians loved talking about different religions and philosophies. Noticing that Athens was filled with shrines and altars to a multitude of gods,
NO ONE IS RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD David understood that he could not stand before the Lord as one accused. For he was a sinner, as are we all. So, he called on the Lord’s “unfailing love” (v.8) instead of His judgment. God’s “unfailing love” or “chesed” as it is in the Hebrew, is His covenantal
HOW THE GREAT COMMISSION ENLARGES OUR HEARTS After Paul and Barnabas finished their first missionary journey, they returned to their sending church at Antioch. What a joy it must have been to return to this large and prosperous church. After giving their report, they continuing teaching and preaching in Antioch. Yet after a while, Paul
TAMING THE TONGUE David understood that his tongue was beyond his control. We need help from the Lord to tame the tongue. So, David prayed that God would take control of his words and set a guard over his lips. The Spirit inspired the apostle James to write about the same topic saying, “If
THE FIRST CHURCH MISSIONS REPORT Although the 72 disciples that Jesus sent out two-by-two were perhaps the first to offer a missions report, this report by Paul and Barnabas to the church at Antioch may have been the first to a church. While there was no mention of souvenirs brought back, nor a slide show
ARE YOU GLAD FOR GOD’S ATTENTION? The psalmist David wrote of his wonder at God’s constant awareness and attention towards him. He considered it wonderful that God would be so attentive to him. Yet, not everyone wants God to see everywhere they go and know everything they do. They desire a secret life hidden
ARE YOU RIGHT WITH GOD? Paul and Barnabas preached justification by faith in Christ alone while visiting the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, which was a prominent Roman city located in what is now Southwest Turkey. This was Paul’s first missionary journey. He and Barnabas made it clear that what the law of Moses could never
SENDING CAPACITY OVER SEATING CAPACITY Imagine attending a worship service that ends not with an invitation to lunch, but with a commissioning service that puts you on the next boat going out to sea. That’s what happened to Barnabas and “Saul” (“Paul”). O to have worship services so Spirit-filled that people immediately surrender to