The Rev. Nabil Nour, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartford, SD and fourth vice president of the LCMS, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 8:4-25.

In the wake of Stephen's martyrdom and scattered by persecution, the early Christian believers begin to evangelize beyond Jerusalem. One of these apostles, Philip, finds himself in Samaria, a region historically at odds with the Jews. Against all odds, his preaching and miracles resonate faith within the hearts of many. Simon the Magician, renowned for his own sorcery and influence, is amongst the many converts. But his subsequent actions reveal a misconstrued understanding of the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Acts takes us back to the earliest days of Christianity, unveiling the incredible acts of the apostles and the growth of the early church. Acts offers a firsthand account how the Apostles and Jesus’ disciples respond to his death and resurrection. It makes us witnesses to the beginning of fulfilling Jesus’s command to spread the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. We encounter miracles and wonders, we see the church struggling to organize itself in the absence of Jesus, and we learn of the trials and tribulations the early Christians faced in a world that rejected them.