PAUL’S THREE ENCOURAGING FAITH STATEMENTS The ship taking Paul to Rome for his appeal to Caesar was caught up in a great storm and in danger of sinking. But God sent an angel to encourage Paul that although they would suffer shipwreck, no one on board would drown. All would be saved. Paul encouraged the
THE FOCUS OF GOSPEL TEACHING Paul’s testimony before Festus and Agrippa showed not only the focus of his gospel teaching, but also its rootedness in the Old Testament Scriptures. For he was convinced that the good news about the Messiah was clearly foretold by Moses and the prophets. In Paul’s testimony, he gave three
SURROUNDED WITH GOD’S SHIELD OF LOVE David wrote of God’s loving-favor and blessing as a shield that surrounded him, both protecting him from harm without and comforting him with acceptance within. It may seem unusual to visualize God’s love and favor as a shield, which is a defensive weapon of war. But David felt surrounded
PAUL’S FAITHFUL WITNESS Paul was held prisoner by the Roman procurator of Judea, Marcus Antonius Felix for two years. Felix understood the religious culture of Judea better than most Romans, having married the daughter of Herod Agrippa I, Drusilla. Both of them divorced their first spouses in order to be together. Paul’s captivity during
REMEMBERING OUR DUAL CITIZENSHIP Paul’s Roman citizenship was often a help to him as he traveled throughout the empire spreading the gospel. Being a Roman citizen gave him certain rights. One of those rights was the right to a trial before any punishment might be administered. It was this right that Paul brought to the
ARE YOU TELLING EVERYONE ABOUT JESUS? Paul gave his Damascus Road testimony and explained the calling that the Lord Jesus had given him to the rioting crowd in Jerusalem. As he spoke in their native tongue of Aramaic, the crowd grew quiet, listening to Paul. When most people would’ve been in a hurry to escape
WHY SING A NEW SONG TO THE LORD? The Scripture often instructs that a “new song” be sung to the Lord? In fact, this is in the Bible a total of nine times: six in the Psalms, once in Isaiah, and twice in Revelation. So, why does the Lord desire a new song from his
WHAT WORK HAS JESUS ASSIGNED TO YOU? The apostle Paul reminded his friends from Ephesus of the calling he had on his life from Jesus. Even though he knew that suffering and jail awaited him, he was determined to fulfill his life purpose of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful grace. Protecting his
PRAYING FOR REVIVAL IN OUR CITY The preaching of Paul and the apostles and the story of how demons acknowledged the name of Jesus and even of Paul, caused a “solemn fear” of God to come over the city of Ephesus and the “name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.” A spiritual awakening took
ONLY THE LORD CAN . . . Only the Lord can truly set free those who are enslaved by sin and their own addictions to their over-desires for more, even though more never satisfies. “The Lord frees the prisoners.” Only the Lord can truly open the eyes of the spiritually blind, who wonder aimlessly