Can that really happen? Peter and his companions were surprised by events in Caesarea, but God wasn’t. Peter faced objections back home with the church in Jerusalem. He retells the account, highlighting the work of God and the Spirit, in order to bring them along to the conclusion he reached.
Faith in God, Love for People
'Acts' Tagged Posts (Page 6)
What is the Gospel to the Gentiles? This passage gives Peter’s message at Cornelius’ house. The Gospel message is the same to the Gentiles it is to the Jews. Salvation is in Jesus Christ alone through faith in his name, accompanied by repentance.
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…