'Apostles' Tagged Posts

AC46 – God Knows What He is Doing

What is happening? The spread of Gospel to the Gentiles was not in itself surprising, but the pouring out of the promised Spirit on uncircumcised Gentiles caught many Jews by surprise. Some even objected. Finally, James addressed the meeting that what was happening was in line with prior Scripture revelation.

AC45 – Salvation by Free Grace

Who says? The early churches faced a dilemma as the Gospel spread among the uncircumcised Gentiles. Did Gentiles have to be circumcised and keep the law in order to be saved? After much disputing, Peter testifies about the Cornelius event in Caesarea. He interprets the events and draws conclusions in line with God’s purpose as…

AC44 – The Gospel Controversy

What about the law? As the Gospel spread in the first century, more and more Gentiles came to faith in Jesus Christ. It wasn’t long before some of the Pharisees began to object that the Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the law in order to be saved. Some from the church in Antioch got together with the church in Jerusalem…

AC37 – Peter Rescued

What about him? Peter once asked Jesus about what would happen to John. That wasn’t for Peter to worry about. In this chapter, Peter gets rescued from prison, again. That is not Jame’s story, though. He is martyred by Herod Agrippa 1. Of course, Jesus told his disciples it would be this way.

AC35 – Peter Reports to the Church

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.

AC33 – Peter’s Kindness to Cornelius

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…

AC31 – Great Miracles for Normal People

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…

AC26 – The Spirit in Samaria

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…