Big Ideas

1. Debating doctrine
Some people assume that doctrinal debates are useless or even harmful. Yet in this text, we see the importance of coming together to consider what the Bible says and working to pursue doctrinal accuracy and clarity. This is not at odds with peace. Rather, it is through doctrinal clarity that peace is cultivated, extended, and protected.

2. Moses and the mission of the Church
The issue of circumcision comes up over and over again throughout Acts. In many ways, it is the doctrinal debate of the 1st century Church. Must Gentiles who come to faith in Jesus also become Jews by adopting Jewish practices such as circumcision? Or, is faith in Jesus sufficient to save? The Jerusalem council is a key moment in Acts and the life of the early Church. As a result of the council, three decisions were made. First, faith in Jesus is sufficient to save and circumcision is not necessary. That is a Gospel issue. Second, the Gentile believers should respect their Jewish friends by not eating meat sacrificed to idols. That is a love issue. Third, Gentile believers were to avoid sexual immorality. That is a moral issue. Through this decree, the council
clarified what was necessary for salvation, how peace could be protected among the Jewish and Gentile believers, and reaffirmed the Old Testament sexual ethic as binding for all believers.

3. Disagreement among key leaders
Disagreement among key church leaders is not common, but it does happen. And when it does, this text almost always comes up. This debate, unlike the Jerusalem council, was not doctrinal nor was it binding for others. This disagreement between Paul and Barnabas was personal and pragmatic. Barnabas wanted to take Mark on the next journey. Paul did not. In the end, they went their separate ways, each doing important mission work.

Study Questions

1. How do you feel about doctrinal debates? Do you tend to have an unhealthy aversion or attraction to them? Why do they matter?

2. In many ways, the Jerusalem council’s goal was to maintain doctrinal clarity and practical unity within the Church. How are doctrine and unity related to one another?

3. To maintain unity, the Gentile converts were asked not to eat certain foods for the sake of their Jewish brothers. This was not a forever binding decision, but a temporary way to protect the unity of the early Church. What preferences have you had to give up to protect the unity of the Church? How can preferences destroy the unity of the Church?

King Herod killed James and continued to persecute Christians because it was politically advantageous. God later strikes him down. Shortly after this, we see the conversion of Sergius Paulus, the Roman governor of Cyprus. Why does Acts emphasize kings and rulers? How is Sergius supposed to rule now that he is a Christian? In this Episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten consider these questions, and share some general thoughts on various versions of Two Kingdom Theology.

In this episode of Doxological, Pastor Ryan James and Brynn James explore the first movement of Coram Deo's worship liturgy: the Call to Worship. The call orients us around God our creator and sustainer.

Big Ideas

1. A divided city
A cycle of controversy seems to continually follow the missionary work of the Church in Acts. Missionaries are sent. The Gospel is preached. The city erupts in conflict and division. Christians are beat up and/or threatened. Repeat. These stories in Acts question many of the assumptions we have regarding mission, evangelism, and Church life. We must remember that Jesus himself told us that he did not come to bring peace but division on earth (Luke 12:51). This is because the peace that Jesus offers is a peace the world does not want.

2. Holy Fear
When Paul and Barnabas preach the Gospel and perform miracles, the people of Lystra confuse them for mythological gods and offer them worship. Imagine the power and financial gain Paul and Barnabas would have possessed had they not corrected the people of Lystra. Rather than taking advantage of the people, Paul and Barnabas cried out, corrected the people, and continued to teach the Gospel and point them to Jesus. Only a holy fear of God can protect our hearts from such temptations.

3. The mission must go on
Paul was stoned and left for dead outside the city gates. The preacher lay there lifeless, bloodied, and abandoned. This is how the crowds responded to Paul’s Gospel preaching. But Paul wasn’t dead, and he certainly wasn’t done. Instead of abandoning the mission, Paul got up and went back to work preaching and teaching the Gospel. The world can’t stop beating up preachers, and preachers can’t stop preaching the Gospel.

Study Questions

1. How do you tend to respond to conflict with others over issues of the Gospel? Are you intimidated and filled with fear? What expectations do you have? In what ways does this text encourage or challenge you?

2. In one city, the people wanted to worship Paul. In the next, they wanted to kill him. How can we avoid the temptation to accept false peace and the temptation to avoid righteous suffering?

3. In what ways has false peace or righteous suffering kept you from sharing your faith with others?

Fathers have a uniquely weighty job as they are called by God to lead their families and raise their children in the fear and admonition of the LORD. In this training, Elder Candidate Kim Highfield looks at how fathers ought to discipline their children by making and executing a plan to train them in righteousness.

Jew and Gentile. Circumcision, food laws, and the ceremonial law. The Holy Spirit and the conversion of the Gentile centurion Cornelius and his household. Ethnic identity and covenant identity. "Ordinances" and the "elementary principles of the world." Why does the Old Testament have laws that Christians don't observe anymore, while it has other laws that they do? In this episode of Sermon B-Sides, Pastor Jon and Pastor Rusten consider questions that seem like foreign concepts to us, but were very prevalent and monumental in the New Testament. Considering these questions will help you understand major themes of the New Covenant and the Gospel.

The church in Corinth was a mess! Divisions, incest, and drunkenness at the Lord's Supper are a few of the problems we learn are going on there. Yet Paul expresses his gratitude to God for them, and even says he is confident Jesus will sustain and be faithful to them. In this episode of Bible Thoughts, Pastor Rusten considers the reality of God's grace and the messiness of Church.

Big Ideas

1. Stephen’s seminary
This text is primarily made up of a sermon that Paul delivered on the Sabbath. He began with the calling of Abraham and followed the story of God through Egypt, King David, and the prophets, claiming that the entire story was about Jesus. Where did Paul learn to preach Christ from the Old Testament in this way? Paul heard a very similar sermon from the lips of Stephen whose death Paul condoned (Acts 7). It is impossible not to hear Stephen’s voice in Paul’s sermon. Though Paul approved of Stephen’s death, Stephen’s sermon would continue to bear Gospel fruit in the ministry of a radically changed Paul.

2. Getting the Gospel right
Gospel confusion is not uncommon, but Gospel clarity is everywhere in Acts. Whenever the Gospel is preached, it always entails the announcement that Jesus is Lord over all and that there is forgiveness of sins in his name alone. You won’t find much about how Jesus meets and fulfills all of our felt psychological and emotional needs. You won’t find anything about how Jesus will take away all of your sadness. But you will find plenty about the need for repentance, the coming judgment, and the salvation that Jesus offers to all.

3. Conflict and conversion
Nobody is indifferent to the announcement that Jesus is Lord. Neutrality is a myth. When the Gospel is proclaimed, some respond in repentance and faith to the good news that Jesus is Lord. Others respond with anger, hatred, and judgment because the Gospel threatens their sense of autonomy. The Gospel always produces conflict and conversion.

Study Questions

1. Stephen’s teaching clearly had a profound impact on Paul. What Christian teachers or pastors have had a profound impact on your understanding of the Gospel?

2. Take a moment to go back and read the sermons in Acts 2:14-36, 7:1-53, 13:16-41. How would you summarize these sermons? What is the Gospel according to them? Is it different from what you tend to think the Gospel is?

3. Conflict and rejection are normal responses to the Gospel in Acts. How might this encourage or challenge you in personal evangelism?