Acts 20:1-12 (NIV)

Have you ever felt stuck spiritually in a place? Have you ever had to return to that place later in life?

In today’s passage we journey with Paul and his companions as they return from their journey to Macedonia to Troas. Traps was the place were they arrived after being blocked by the spirit, they did not know what to do or where to go and they had to wait on God. Then Paul had a dream of a man calling him to come across the sea, and so they went.

But now after having experienced the faithfulness of God they are headed back through this place on their way back but now filled with faith. They are returning to the place where they experienced confusion and ambiguity but now with stories of God’s faithfulness.

Some of us are faced with returning home to the place where we were once stumped in our faith. We have to face people or situations from our past and bring our new increased faith to bear there. Today’s passage gives us an example of that. What would it look like for you to return to a previous context with renewed faith?

----------REFLECT----------

1. What moment in this passage stood out to you?

2. How might you relate to Paul and his companions in this story, how might you feel distant from their experience?

3. What would it look like for God to show up in spaces where you previously experienced spiritual ambiguity and hardship? What dead things would come to life?

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Acts 19:23-41 (NIV)

Do you think the Gospel you’ve heard or live out has the power to disrupt cultural and economic structures that don’t honor God?

Cities today are known for their architecture. Think of iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Empire State Building in New York City, or the Eiffel Tower in Paris. For Ephesus, the building that would have come to mind was the enormous temple to the Goddess Artemis. People from around the region would travel here to worship at her temple seeking fertility in their crops or their business or their families. And not totally unlike we do today, people would take a miniature version of whatever it is they came to ephesus to see home with them.

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1. As you listened, and imagined yourself there, what if any emotions came up for you?

2. The cultural and economic realities of Ephesus were disrupted because people started to follow Jesus. What cultural or economic realities do you think would rightly be disrupted if people began to follow Jesus in your context?

3. The Gospel Paul preached was indeed to blame for challenging the status quo, but was preached in a way that didn’t allow anyone to hold anything against them. This often isn’t true of us, we’re either not challenging what we say and do, or we say and do things in such a way that people rightly find fault in us. Ask Jesus to help you walk this tension out today.

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Acts 19:13-22 (NIV)

Have you ever found yourself trying to use the name and the power of Jesus for your own gain?

In today’s passage, Luke contrasts two groups of people and their response when they recognize the power of Jesus. One one hand we see the seven sons of Sceva, and on the other hand we have the people of Ephesus, particularly a number of people who practiced sorcery. The sons of Sceva are a group of Jewish men who try to cast out a demon by invoking the name of Jesus without actually knowing him or submitting to him. This does not end well for them.

The people in Ephesus and especially those practicing sorcery, were all too familiar with all kinds of magic incantations and pagan practices. As we’ll see in tomorrow’s passage Ephesus was a city that was known for its pagan worship. So, while it may sound strange to us, sorcery in that time was much more normal and less terrifying than it is today. Sorcerers would help people deal with things that they could not control and charge them to do so, albeit by means that did not honor the LORD. But when they recognize the power of Jesus, their reaction can actually teach us a lot about what it means to submit to Jesus.

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1. What moment in this passage surprised you? What did you not expect?

2. The sons of Sceva get whooped because they try to baptize actions that are not actually submitted or empowered by the LORD by saying “in the name of Jesus.” How are you tempted to do this? To associate something you’re doing with Jesus without actually following His leadership?

3. One drachma is equal to one day’s wages, 50,000 drachmas are equal to 137 years of wages. Those who saw Jesus' power not only confessed and repented, they abandoned that in which they had placed their hope and it cost them a lot. We may not have sorcery scrolls, but we absolutely have things that we place our hope in that pale in comparison to Jesus’ power. What is that for you?

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We'll be back Aug. 15 with the rest of Acts and Season 5!

We want to give you our best and care for the family, so we are taking a break! 

Acts 19:1-12 (NIV)

As followers of Jesus we were made to live lives that flourish in word, deed, and power.

Today’s episode features a passage from Acts that introduces us to Paul’s work in Ephesus. Now there's a lot that we could say about to open our understanding about the city of Ephesus, but suffice it to say that it was a city of influence both civically and spiritually.  Anyone approaching the city as Paul does in today’s reading would have seen the temple of the goddess Artimus, which was one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Divination and idol worship was a mainstay in Ephesus. And the first thing that Luke wants to tell us about this important city is that Paul finds disciples, but they have only received the baptism of John. These disciples haven’t even heard of the Holy Spirit. Imagine, trying to know and follow Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit working in you! Some of you might actually be able to imagine that, because we come from church traditions that don’t emphasize the Holy Spirit, and others can hardly imagine our church experiences without the Holy Spirit.

This passage can cause a lot of debates, but today as you listen I want to ask you to consider the ways in which you are living without the full power of the Spirit. Perhaps you are heavy in word, that is scripture and proclamation of truth, or maybe you’re strong in deed, serving others and fighting for Justice. But what about power?

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1. What phrase stuck with you as you heard the passage?

2. The disciples had never even heard of the Holy Spirit, yet they were baptised as people who were trying to follow Jesus. As you think about the ways that you have learned to follow Jesus, are there any areas where you’ve missed large sections of fundamental teaching? Things that you've never heard of?

3. What areas of your life do you need the power of the Holy Spirit to round out the word and deed portions of your life? How can you make space for God’s spirit to come in and bring life to areas that have not moved? Ask Jesus to lead you in this time.

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Acts 18:18-28 (NIV)

When you think about the people who mentored you in the faith, who comes to mind?

One person who I think of, when I think of my early days of following Jesus, is a man by the name of Ken McIntosh. I worked at a law firm while I was taking classes at a community college and serving the church as a fairly new chirstian. Ken was one of the founding partners of the firm and from time to time, even though he was retired, would work out of the office. And he would sit there with me listening mostly, and telling me stories about his life.

Every once in a while, when I was talking about some aspect of faith, he would begin to stand up, which took some time for a person with two knee replacements…. He would literally begin to walk out of the room we were sitting in and drop some questions like, are you sure what that passage means? Or, have you thought about that situation in this way? And he would just leave! I didn’t know it at the time but he was slowly and carefully loosening the misconceptions I had about Jesus and God’s story. He knew where I was coming from and carefully picked at the vanier that would keep me from seeing God clearly. He didn’t finish the job, but he did just enough to make it bother me in the best way.

Today’s episode of Daily read features Pracilla and Aquilla’s discipleship of Apollos. Notice there is a woman who seems to be equally responsible for giving understanding to a leading church planter in the early church.

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1. What part of this passage stood out to you the most?

2. The text says that Apollos was teaching accurately about Jesus, but that Pracilla and Aquilla explained the way more adequately to him. Consider the difference between accuracy and adequacy. Who in your life has helped you come to know and communicate about Jesus more adequately?

3. Is there someone that you know who you might be called to care for in the way that Pracilla and Aquilla cared for Apollos, to help them understand more adequately the way of Jesus?    Take a moment to think of and perhaps pray for that person.

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Acts 18:1-17 (NIV)

Sometimes God calls us to leave a place, sometimes he calls us to stay, the key is learning to discern the difference.

Today’s passage in Acts brings us to Paul’s time in Corinth. Now, Corinth was the capital of a Roman province and was extremely steeped in it’s Roman identity if you will. Some said it was more Roman than Rome itself. As notorious as port cities were and are today, ancient Corinth had 2 ports which today are a canal connecting two important bodies of water. And unlike other cities that Paul preaches in, he’s called to stay in Corinth for about 18 months.

Like Paul received a vision to go from Troas to Macedonia, he receives a vision to stay because the LORD has many of his people in this place. A couple of key people are Pricilla and Aquila, two jews who were expelled from Rome by the emperor Claudius. Ancient historians say that Claudius ordered this expulsion because there were riots among the Jews about a man named Christus.  Pricilla and Aquila are mentioned fondly in both Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and the Romans. Paul begins to work as a tentmaker along with them as a way of supporting himself, which he likely did before now, but without as much consistency because of how often he was moving from place to place.

Today’s passage also highlights a concession made by the proconsul Gallio who basically decided to not make a decision for the Jews who were angered by Paul. This ends up extending the same rights that the Jews enjoyed from Rome to the followers of Jesus.

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1. What struck you about today’s passage?

2. The LORD obviously cares about Paul, about Corinth, about the Jews who were expelled, the Jews in Corinth, along with the gentile in Corinth all the way to Gallio. What strikes you about God’s character towards each party in this passage?

3. Have you ever been in need of the LORD’s guidance in terms of when to leave or when to stay in a situation? For Paul to hear that the LORD’s people were in this place would have come as a huge encouragement to him. Perhaps you can take a moment to ask the LORD for encouragement in regards to the decision you have to make or perhaps the decisions you’re walking out.

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Acts 17:16-34 (NIV)

Do you know anyone who believes there might be a God but we probably can’t know him, or who thinks of the world as spiritual>

On today’s episode of Daily Read, Paul finds himself invited before two groups of greek philosophers that might fall into similar camps. He is waiting in Athens and is shocked at how many idols there are everywhere. So he begins to confront them and goes to the marketplace to do so. And there he runs into a group of epicurean philosophers and the stoic philosophers. And understanding who these folks are is a key to understanding today’s passage and what it means for us today.

First we have to understand that philosophers were much more religious than how we might think of philosophers today. Epicurean philosophers believed that the world and whatever gods exist are very far apart from each other and they don’t really interact. So, we should just get on with our lives in a way that maximizes pleasure from a quiet existence. Today this shows up in what we call the pursuit of happiness. Then the Stoics believed that divinity lay within the present world and within each human being. So, we should pursue virtue as a way of unlocking this inner divine reality. Today this might show up in how people think about being spiritual or listening to their inner voice.

Both of these philosophies are easy to mistake with orthodox Christian faith, but are in fact very much opposed to it. We see this in what could be read as encouragement and curiosity. They call him a babbler, which in a culture of high rhetoric is a slap in the face, and to say that he’s preaching foriegn divinities is what Socrates was accused of before he was killed generations before. So, Paul appeals to the resurrection of Jesus.

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1. How does Paul describe the difference between the LORD and the idols of Athens?

2. Have you ever been ridiculed for having faith in Jesus? Recall one of those moments. How did you respond, did you get defensive, did you disengage, do you lean in, or something else?

3. Is there anyone that you know who might think there is a god, but thinks that it’s probably a long way off and unknowable, or who is looking for connection to the divine in the world apart from the Holy Spirit? Take a moment to pray for them and consider today how you might share bravely about the risen Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Acts 17:1-15 (NIV)

When we say that Jesus is LORD we by implication say that other things are not.

Today on Daily Read, we see that from the very beginning, followers of Jesus have, in giving their allegiance to Jesus, had to withhold their allegiance to other kings and kingdoms. It’s not as obvious to us as we read the text in English, but in Greek the word for Christ is Christos, which literally means anointed one. And in the ancient world, to be called anointed is to either be thought of as a priest or a King. Jesus was fine with both, but Caesar, who referred to himself as the anointed one, was not fond of competition for the title. Therefore, when each person began to follow Jesus and say that Jesus is LORD, they were also saying that Caesar is not.

In our modern world there are ways to grasp how monumental this would have been, but it can’t be understood as denying allegiance to a single leader, that’s all too common in our day. Rather it would be more comprehensive than that. Caesar controlled virtually everything, to deny allegiance to him was to cut against the grain of society itself. It would be like saying today that Jesus is LORD and prosperity is not, or Jesus is LORD and comfort is not, or Jesus is LORD and America or democracy even is not.

This kind of singularity allegiance caused issues then and it causes issues today.

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1.  What stood out to you in this passage?

2. What is different about this interaction with the Thessolonians verses the cities and villages that Paul has visited before?

3. Would the same charge be brought against you, that you are defying a Caesar-like decree and calling another one King and LORD? Or are you sharing your allegiance with the ruling forces of the day that draw us to comfort, greed, hatred, lust, or and the rest?

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Acts 16:16-39 (NIV)

When the Spirit of God shows up in a place, what do you expect to be transformed?

Today’s story from Acts helps us see the kinds of things that get flipped upside down and inside out when God moves in power. And what we expect to be transformed by Jesus says a lot about how we view Jesus and his Kingdom, and the authority that he has. When they Spirit of God shows up in a place, transformation begins to take place on at least 3 levels.

One level is at the individual level, lives are transformed, individuals are set free, people are healed, and someone new walks out the otherside. Another  is at a group level. Not only do individuals transform and experience restoration, but groups of individuals that belong to one another begin to be transformed. Families are redeemed, households are saved, communities are restored, and a new group is created. And then there is transformation at a systems level, this kind of transformation can be a bit more tricky to spot but if you listen carefully you’ll hear it. This kind of change upends the normal order of things and creates more just, more whole, more righteous ways of doing and being as a society. Systems of oppression are broken, economic bondage is loosed, the old ways of doing things are replaced by a way that is more closely aligned with God’s heart.

In today’s passage we see these three levels being transformed as Paul and Silas cast out spirits, are arrested, and see an entire household rescued by Jesus through an earthquake. In each of these levels, human and spiritual forces that work against Jesus succumb to the authority of Jesus. So as you listen, pay attention to where you see these levels being transformed.  

1. What levels did you notice in this passage, was there one example that stood out to you?

2. The woman who had the spirit cast out of her was individually transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it also transformed the group level in that the dynamic of control and profit that her owners had was gone. And it quickly got raised to a systems level as they went to the authorities complaining that Paul and Silas were causing an uproar. Are there issues today that you can think of that need God’s transformation at all three levels?

3. In the same way that the evil one can hold individuals and groups and systems captive, the LORD can use individuals, groups and systems to bring about his Goodness, like he did with the Jailer, the Jailers household and the magistrate, and the system of Roman citizenship. How might you pray for God to work in all these levels considering the issues that came to mind from the previous question.

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