Before turning his attention to the church's missionary efforts, Luke returns to give us another story from Jerusalem. Under renewed persecution, Peter had been imprisoned by Herod. But once again, Peter would find a miraculous escape while Herod would meet his fall from pride and vanity. 

Jance Mosley shares how God has been faithful to his promises over time and through faithful obedience. 

Ella Braunberger shares how God has been faithful to her both in her sermon and special music. 

Shane Logan begins our Christmas Immanuel series by sharing a testimony of God's faithfulness through his life. 

Over the last few weeks, we've been discussing the need for an imagination, led by the Spirit for recognizing all that God is at work doing. In this passage, we get a closer look at Barnabas and how he models the kind of faith that allows him to recognize the genuine work of God. 

When word spread that Peter had entered the home of gentile, it lead to criticism. Peter was called in to answer questions in Jersualem. But as Peter gave an explanation, his critics were moved. By the end of the passage, there was a new unity and a move of worship. We explore how Peter's message can help us find a similar unity and worship.

Having arrived at the home of Cornelius, Peter began to speak. But before he could reach the end of his sermon, the Spirit fell on the household of Gentiles. They were filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues just as the Jewish believers had at Pentecost. We take a closer look at the importance of this event and how the Spirit and worship as responses to the word. 

Peter had not planned to share the gospel in Caesarea. He had not planned to enter a Gentile home. But God was at work in ways Peter and the early church had not anticipated. God was making a way for all people into his presence, and Peter would play a critical role in that new opportunity. 

Recorded between the dramatic scenes of Saul's conversion and Peter's calling to Cornelius are two unexpected miracles and a small detail about Peter's accommodations in Joppa. These stories play no major role in the plot of Acts, so why has Luke decided to place them between such major turning points?

As we continue to examine the conversion of Saul, we see his early ministry and the unique challenges he faced. In spite of new threats, the church continued to grow, and Saul found himself embraced by this new community. Luke records that a new peace came upon the church, a peace formed by their fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.