[Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash] The story of Acts has taken a dramatic turn in chapters 6 and 7, as Stephen becomes the first martyr in the church. A great ensuing persecution scatters many of the believing community from Jerusalem. While this initially seems like a loss for…
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Acts 6:8-8:3 | Stoning Stephen
Photo by Valentin Salja on Unsplash Stoning StephenActs 6:8-8:3 is a lengthy section that revolves around the arrest, testimony, and execution of Stephen. Stephen was one of the seven deacons appointed to serve food to widows in the church. But his ministry takes a sudden and drastic turn…
Acts 5:17-6:7 | Into the Fire (part 2), The Church in Action
Photo by Adrian Infernus on Unsplash In our last post, Acts 4:32-5:16 | Into The Fire (part 1), we looked at the way the power of God was manifested in the early church, bringing both healing and care for the needy and sick, but also destruction to the manipulative…
Acts 4:32-5:16 | Into The Fire (part 1)
This week I want to focus in on a famous story from the book of Acts that has sometimes rubbed people the wrong way. The story of Ananias & Sapphira parallels a handful of other stories in the Bible, and yet it tends to run contrary to many people's perception…
Acts 3-4: A Tale of Two Temples
The new Temple shows it's powerActs 3 brings a new conflict into focus. While the disciples of Jesus have been filled with power from the Holy Spirit in the previous chapter, the demonstration of this power in public will bring them into conflict with the Temple establishment. There are, in…