Moses obeys God - and everything seems to get worse. In this chapter we consider three questions, one each asked by Pharaoh, the Israelites and Moses. Like each of them we're often left asking, 'Why?'

God surprisingly sends Philip from Samaria - where there are new converts, the coming of the Holy Spirit and conflict with evil - to the desert. Yet there, in the desert, God had a single soul to whom Philip brought the gospel. God is sovereign over every single soul in salvation.

The death of Stephen, the first martyr, is a pivotal moment for the fledgling New Testament Church. it would have been a moment of heartache and concern - and yet, the mission Jesus had given his church must and does continue. In fact, through the death of Stephen, a new phase of the mission begins.

Stephen was the first New Testament believer to lose his life for preaching the gospel. What was it about his preaching that so infuriated his opponents? And what possible good does God bring about in the death of his saints?

What should we take away from the treatment Stephen received for his gospel witness? Even if we never find ourselves in his exact position, we ought to consider carefully his experience.

Stephen deserves our respect and admiration. Before giving us the record of what he said when on trial, Luke draws our attention to how Stephen was filled with the Spirit - and the impact it had on his character and witness.

Problems in the church don't have to finish the church; in God's providence, they might actually lead to pivotal progress.

Guest Preacher: Mr Raymond Gamble (student for gospel ministry)

Is it even possible? To suffer, and yet rejoice? Acts 5:41 tells us that it is. It's exactly how the apostles are described, and is something described elsewhere in the New Testament too. Here we consider how joyful suffering is possible.

We all like to know what we can expect in any undertaking or commitment, even those that we are excited for. Acts lays out what we can expect if we are Christians on the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ.