Across Cultures Crossing cultures is challenging and brings many issues into focus that can go unnoticed. The early church was faced with difficulties in understanding exactly how the mission to the Gentiles was to go forward. The episode with Peter and Cornelius was a vital happening for clarifying the Gospel, not only to the Gentiles…
What is this I see? Peter was given a strange vision to prepare him for what was next in God’s plan. It presented a strong message that we cannot correct God’s word.
How big is your church? That’s one of the most common questions I get asked as a pastor. Western minds seem naturally drawn to think in terms of bigness. We encounter bigness as we go through the book of Acts, but there is also smallness. We find many common, ordinary people in this book and…
Now what? Saul’s life had been radically changed on that road to Damascus. Not only had Jesus saved him, he also called him to preach his Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. This passage shows how Saul got started on that right away.
How could two enemies become friends? Saul of Tarsus was the last man Christians in Damascus wanted to see. He was persecuting Christians with exceptional zeal and had now gone outside Jerusalem. He was converted just outside Damascus, but Ananias’ reluctance was understandable. Saul showed the fruit of a completely changed life and became a…
What was it that drew you to Christ? When we consider the circumstances around our own conversions, we recognize how different they can be between people. Conversions come at different ages, times of life, and circumstances, but if we keep going back in our experience, we eventually get to a point in the history of…
What about this Ethiopian? The Gospel had spread to the Samaritans with important implications for the salvation of non-Jews. So what about this Ethiopian eunuch? Does anything prevent him from salvation and baptism?
What happened in Samaria? At one time, James and John wanted fire to fall from heaven and burn up a village of the Samaritans. That didn’t happen and Jesus rebuked them. Many years later Philip came to Samaria with the Gospel and many of them believed. Something did fall on the Samaritans when Peter and…
Didn’t the Samaritans and Jews hate each other? Yes they did. The Jews and the Samaritans had no dealings with one another and the animosity between them was long standing and deep seated. So, did the Samaritans have to become Jews in order to be saved? No they did not. Philip came from Jerusalem and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ freely…
How shall we respond? Stephen’s execution by stoning led to a sharp increase in persecution against the church in Jerusalem. How will the church respond and what will they do in light of the persecution against them? Acts 8 begins to answer that question as it recounts events in the aftermath of Stephen’s death.