What will find increasing dissonance with our surrounding culture is actually the key to everything we think and say: Jesus is real; Jesus is alive; Jesus has been raised from the dead.

Acts 15 stands out as one of the most important chapters in the Book of Acts because it’s the only place where we see the church come to a theological crossroads.

Paul goes on three missionary journeys in the book of Acts. Chapter 14 shows us the the ending of that first journey, and a relevant theme emerges.

We want to train our minds to run in biblical ruts, to have God’s acts in history shape our understanding of ourselves and our own day.

The gospel and the community it creates, called the church, are on the move, beginning at Ground Zero in Jerusalem, but not staying there.

One of our goals in reading the Bible is to train our minds to run in biblical ruts. We want to learn to read the story we’re in by immersing ourselves in the stories God likes to tell.

Acts 8 is a transitional chapter in the book of Acts. We move away from a Jerusalem-focus to a wider vision of the church’s growth.

The point of Stephen’s sermon is the repeated rejection of God’s will by God’s people; he cashes it all in (verses 51–53) with their rejection of the Messiah.

The task in this sermon is to look at the first part of Stephen’s speech and ask the question: “What is Stephen getting at with these Old Testament examples?”

As the word of God grows, and the church increases, the practical dynamics of church life inevitably change.