June 24, 2022
THE DISAGREEMENT OVER JOHN MARK Paul wanted to travel to check on the new believers that had come to faith on their first missionary journey. Barnabas agreed. However, they disagreed on taking John Mark with them again. Apparently, Paul considered the young man unreliable after he had “deserted them” and went home early on their
June 23, 2022
ONLY ONE WAY OF SALVATION After certain Judaizers came to Antioch, teaching that circumcision was required for salvation, Paul and Barnabas were sent to bring the question to the apostles at Jerusalem. After much deliberation, Peter stood and reminded everyone that he had been the first one chosen to carry the gospel to the Gentiles.
June 21, 2022
RELY ON THE GRACE OF GOD, NOT MEN In town after town, as people came to faith after hearing the gospel proclaimed by Paul and Barnabas, they would begin to follow them. But the two men always urged the people to rely on the grace of God, not men. For Paul and Barnabas wanted them
June 19, 2022
A PRAYER SERVICE THAT BECAME A COMMISSIONING SERVICE Five key leaders in the Antioch church were fasting and praying one day when the Spirit spoke to them. The Scripture does not say how the Spirit communicated. Did all of the men or only one hear the instruction? Was it an audible voice or an internal
June 16, 2022
MOBILIZED FOR MISSION The apostle Peter told the Roman centurion named Cornelius that Jesus had ordered the apostles to “preach and testify that Jesus is the one.” He was appointed by God to be the “judge of all” and everyone who believes in Him will be forgiven their sins. Hearing this message, Cornelius and his
June 15, 2022
BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT IN SPREADING THE GOSPEL Around noon, the apostle Peter went up onto the roof of the house he was visiting to pray. Morning, midday, and evening prayers were his habit. On this day, the Lord gave Peter a thrice-repeated vision that prepared him to meet with the men that would
June 14, 2022
A SEASON OF PEACE, STRENGTH, AND GROWTH FOR THE CHURCH Previously, a “great wave of persecution” (Acts 8:1) had swept through the church at Jerusalem. It began with the stoning of Stephen and continued until the believers were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. Yet, following this season of persecution, there came a
June 12, 2022
CHRIST IS THE SUBJECT AND STANDARD OF SCRIPTURE When the Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip about the identity of the subject in Isaiah 53, he “told him the Good News about Jesus.” For the eunuch had turned to where Isaiah wrote, “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent
June 9, 2022
THE MAKING OF MOSES In Stephen’s defense before the Jewish high council, he spoke of God’s preparation of Moses as Israel’s deliverer. Moses lived forty years as a prince of Egypt. Adopted by the Pharoah’s sister and raised as her own son, Moses was given a royal education. Yet, after fleeing Egypt and living forty
June 8, 2022
KNOWING AND FOLLOWING YOUR SPIRITUAL CALLING It didn’t take long for the early church to experience the complaints of its members. The apostles had apparently started a food distribution ministry to the widows, but the church had grown so rapidly that the size of the task had become overwhelming. Even more concerning, the Greek background