James 2:1-13 (AD 48) Have you ever been a victim of favouritism? It’s hard to imagine that everyone hasn’t, at some point, been on the receiving end. But it’s equally hard to imagine that we haven’t all at some point been the perpetrators of it. James wrote to a poor Christian community. Society was more … More Day 172: Favouritism
Acts 14 (AD 48) – Part 1 Verses 11-12: “When the crowd saw what Paul had done [healed a lame man], they shouted…’The gods have come down to us in human form!…the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.” Verse 21: “They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples.” … More Day 168: People Win Converts & God Converts
Acts 13:13-52 (AD 48) This was a very conciliatory way of preaching to the Jews, despite the fact Paul was expelled from the entire region because of it. There was no notion in his message the whole nation was responsible for the murder of Jesus. References to prophets without pointing out a lot of them … More Day 167: Paul: Missionary to the Jews…and then not so much
Acts 12:19b-24 (AD 44) King Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great who killed all the baby boys in Bethlehem, was gaining popularity with the Jews by persecuting Christians (12:1-4). When Peter escaped prison, the humiliation it caused the king – especially because he assumed it was a conspiracy among the guards – provoked Herod … More Day 165: When a Man Found Out That He Was Just a Man
Acts 10:1-23a (AD 42) Verse two is not a comprehensive statement of what it means to be a good Christian, but neither is it incidental. The Roman Centurion Cornelius was a “devout and God-fearing” man (not just him, but also his family). Furthermore, “he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly” … More Day 162: Living for God for People
Acts 9:23-31 (AD 34-37) Even at this early point in Paul’s ministry we can see lessons about spreading God’s Word. For example: Don’t wait to share the gospel, just get on with it. For many people healed by Jesus, their immediate reaction was to praise God and tell people what Jesus had done for them. … More Day 161: Paul, the Baby Christian, Obeyed His Calling from Day One
Acts 6:1-7 (AD 30) Jesus’ life and ministry was a stinging and humbling corrective to religious leadership. Along with the public perception of what religious – godly – leadership should look like. The Sanhedrin conducted itself in a textbook ‘abuse of power’ manner. They ascribed laws to God that he never made, they were blatantly … More Day 152: An essential ministry
Acts 5:12-28 (AD 30) Already, in the early days of the early church, the patterns that led to the murder of Jesus threatened to lead to the killing of his followers. There were the miraculous healings – loads of them – and great popularity, followed inevitably by the “high priest and all his associates” being … More Day 150: The unstoppable gospel
Acts 4:1-22 (AD 30) Kept promises are a wonderful thing. Compare these two sections – the first is Jesus warning and encouraging his disciples about what would happen under persecution. The second is from the incident recorded in today’s reading. Luke 12:11-12 – “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry … More Day 147: Promise Under Persecution
Acts 1:12-26 (spring, AD 30) “Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem…they went upstairs to the room where they were [all] staying…They all joined constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (1:12-14) So much was going on for the disciples (now termed ‘apostles’ as Jesus was … More Day 142: Constantly in Prayer
Paul T Reynolds 