Our passage in the context of Acts

• Saul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and experienced his conversion of faith and was baptized by Ananias. 
• Saul then spent time with the Apostles before being prayed over and sent out on mission with Barnabas. 
• Saul, now named Paul, went out with Barnabas to many different cities preaching the Gospel as God performed miracles through their acts of faith to the hurting, marginalized, and oppressed. 
• The ministry of Paul and Barnabas began to look similar in many ways to the ministry of Jesus. 
  

Helpful literary and cultural context:

•  Paul and Barnabas arrive, they go from Iconium into Lystra, which is a nearby city, both are located in modern-day Turkey. 
• After healing a paralytic,  the people of Iconium begin to worship Paul and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes, Greek gods.
• In a nearby region of Turkey, a neighboring region called Phrygia, there was a myth that Zeus and Hermes had actually appeared to the people there in human form and were not received well. As a result there was a massive flood that killed everybody except for two people who had received Zeus and Hermes well. And so these people living in Lystra would have known this story. 
• The Jews who we see at the end of this passage are actually coming from Antioch and Iconium. Iconium was just a day's walk away or so. Antioch was much further, but it's possible that they were already in town. It's possible this scene kind of took place over multiple days. This is an escalation of persecution that had been following Paul and Barnabas from town to town. 
  

Application Themes:

• Temptation to Worship Influential People | We see the temptation to follow the person who God worked mightily through instead of following the God who empowered the person. We should also acknowledge the temptation to accept people’s praise and worship when we've done something through the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has worked through us. How does Paul and Barnabas’ response to the people of Lystra have to say about our culture of influencers and celebrities (within and outside of the church) 
• Seeing the vulnerable, Responding with compassion | This whole story began with Paul seeing the paralytic, recognizing faith, and acting with compassion in a way that brought healing. What does this tell us about how our Gospel ministry is or should be oriented, and what type of response we can have when God moves mightily. 
• Commitment and faithfulness amidst persecution | Paul and Barnabas continued their ministry through Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra knowing there were groups of people set on their ruin. Notice how Paul and Barnabus responded to this agitation and persecution. What stands out to you and how might this instruct your commitment and faithfulness to Gospel ministry in the places God has sent you and placed you? 

Our passage in the context of Acts

• Saul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and experienced his conversion of faith and was baptized by Ananias. 
• Saul then spent time with the Apostles before being prayed over and sent out on mission with Barnabas. 
• Saul, now named Paul, went out with Barnabas to many different cities preaching the Gospel as God performed miracles through their acts of faith to the hurting, marginalized, and oppressed. 
• The ministry of Paul and Barnabas began to look similar in many ways to the ministry of Jesus. 
  

Helpful literary and cultural context:

•  Paul and Barnabas arrive, they go from Iconium into Lystra, which is a nearby city, both are located in modern-day Turkey. 
• After healing a paralytic,  the people of Iconium begin to worship Paul and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes, Greek gods.
• In a nearby region of Turkey, a neighboring region called Phrygia, there was a myth that Zeus and Hermes had actually appeared to the people there in human form and were not received well. As a result there was a massive flood that killed everybody except for two people who had received Zeus and Hermes well. And so these people living in Lystra would have known this story. 
• The Jews who we see at the end of this passage are actually coming from Antioch and Iconium. Iconium was just a day's walk away or so. Antioch was much further, but it's possible that they were already in town. It's possible this scene kind of took place over multiple days. This is an escalation of persecution that had been following Paul and Barnabas from town to town. 
  

Application Themes:

• Temptation to Worship Influential People | We see the temptation to follow the person who God worked mightily through instead of following the God who empowered the person. We should also acknowledge the temptation to accept people’s praise and worship when we've done something through the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has worked through us. How does Paul and Barnabas’ response to the people of Lystra have to say about our culture of influencers and celebrities (within and outside of the church) 
• Seeing the vulnerable, Responding with compassion | This whole story began with Paul seeing the paralytic, recognizing faith, and acting with compassion in a way that brought healing. What does this tell us about how our Gospel ministry is or should be oriented, and what type of response we can have when God moves mightily. 
• Commitment and faithfulness amidst persecution | Paul and Barnabas continued their ministry through Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra knowing there were groups of people set on their ruin. Notice how Paul and Barnabus responded to this agitation and persecution. What stands out to you and how might this instruct your commitment and faithfulness to Gospel ministry in the places God has sent you and placed you? 

Our passage in the context of Acts

• Chapter 11 is a retelling of Peter’s experience in Acts chapter 10. 
• In Acts 10, after experiencing the same vision three different times, God tells Peter to not call unclean what God has made clean.
• Peter discovers a God-fearing Gentile, named Cornelius, has invited Peter to his home and upon arrival at Cornelius' home, the Holy Spirit falls upon Cornelius' family.
• In response, Peter baptizes Cornelius and his family and stayed with Cornelius for a few days.

Helpful literary and cultural context for Acts 11:

• Jewish purity laws and understanding of cultural distinction are at the center of this story. 
• Going back to laws God gave Moses which are found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, there are restrictions for whom Jews were allowed to share fellowship with as well as what food Israelites were permitted to eat. Jews were not permitted to enter the home of Gentiles or share in brotherly fellowship with Gentiles. They were also not allowed to eat any food that was considered unclean. 
• Food laws associated with food were also closely connected with Gentiles, as these restrictions were often bound together. You can see an example of this in Leviticus 20:22–26. 
• When Peter returns, the apostles and disciples in Jerusalem hear that he not only visited Cornelius but ate with him — a line they consider completely unprecedented.
• When Peter talks about entering “the man’s house” in verse 12, he’s speaking of Cornelius, a Roman centurion. It’s worth noting this because along with Cornelius being a Gentile, he also represents the “other” and the “enemy” is many ways as a Roman centurion. These elements add to the degree of wonder and the unexpected nature of the Holy Spirit’s movement in Peter’s encounter. 
  

Application Themes:

• When you look at this story, who are the people being saved? There is a lot happening in this story as the Holy Spirit moves and leads people to dare to change how they think and live in relation to God and others. Think about who is being invited to make those changes and the impact those changes have on their lives and the Church. 
• How do you notice the movement of the Holy Spirit? — Drawing on the theme throughout Acts of the Spirit moving in surprising ways, what do we look for, how do we recognize the Spirit, and How do we respond when God seems to be doing something we don't expect?
• How does Peter's experience reflect Jesus? —  Reflect on the ways Peter's radical crossing of social and religious boundaries mirrors what Jesus himself did throughout his ministry — engaging with Gentiles, eating with the "wrong" people, dismantling purity boundaries in favor of grace.

Review:

• Last week we saw the Jewish leaders threatening Peter and John, and ordering them not to proclaim the name of Jesus anymore.
• In response, we saw the disciples praying and worshipping God!
• We saw a beautiful picture of Christian community characterized by generosity and selflessness.

Our passage in the context of Acts

• Between Acts 4 and Acts 7, we see an escalation in the conflict between the Jewish leaders and the disciples.
• There are more arrests and confrontations, until false witnesses accuse Stephen of blasphemy.
• Stephen makes a long speech against the Jewish leaders in Acts 7. He details how God's people have always strayed away from God, and how they had rejected the prophets God sent them.
• At the end of this speech, the Jewish leaders take Stephen out to be stoned.

Helpful literary and cultural context:

• Acts 7:56 is a reference to Daniel 7:13 (Dan 7:9-28 more broadly). The "Son of Man" in Daniel was a messianic figure who would vindicate God's people in the presence of their enemies. When Stephen declares that he sees this "Son of Man," he is proclaiming that God would vindicate him in the presence of the corrupt Jewish leaders. As you might imagine, the Jewish leaders don't take kindly to being declared enemies of God!
• In these days, people would strip a guilty person naked before stoning them as an act of humiliation. Surprisingly, it is the people stoning Stephen who take off their coats and lay them at the feet of Saul (Acts 7:58). It seems Luke is making a statement about who the guilty part really is in this scenario.
• Stephen's death has some interesting parallels to the death of Jesus! Check out Luke 23:32-49.

Other notable things:

• We see the introduction of Saul, who would later become known as the Apostle Paul.
• In Acts 8:1 we see the beginnings of the diaspora foretold in Acts 1:8. The Holy Spirit is working, even in the midst of difficult circumstances!

Application Themes:

• Like the Jewish leaders, we often assume ourselves to be on the right side of things. How can we protect ourselves from this tendency? How do we soften our hearts to be receptive to what God is doing?
• In this text we see the Holy Spirit at work, even through horrible events. How do we find the balance of remaining open to the work of the Holy Spirit in challenging circumstances, without dismissing or excusing evil?
• Stephen was the first martyr of the church. Martyrdom probably feels far off for most of us, but there are still plenty of people around the world suffering for their faith. I think it raises the question of whether we are willing to suffer for our faith, and whether our discipleship is adequately preparing us for this possibility.

We begin a new scripture study looking at the Spirit-filled Church in the book of Acts and understanding the role of the Holy Spirit in believers' lives. The conversation delves into Acts chapter 4, highlighting Peter and John's trial before the Sanhedrin, their prayer, and the theme of radical generosity. It also explores the themes of boldness, community, and reimagining worship and sacrifice, all in response to the Holy Spirit's influence.

Scripture References

• Acts 4:23-37
• Psalm 146:5-7
• Psalm 2:1-3

Application Themes

• Reflect on how and why Peter and John found themselves being questioned by the same group of people who had come against Jesus on the night he was crucified.
• What stands out to you about the way the believers came together to pray for boldness, recognizing boldness is a result of the Holy Spirit, not merely an internal disposition.
• Take time to consider what aspects of the new type of community described in Acts 4:32-37 feel most natural to you as well as those that feel most uncomfortable. Honestly consider what it would look like to take the next faithful step into living in the way of radical dependency, generosity, and unity.
• Explore the connection between the types of gifts that were brought to the alter in the Temple and the gifts that Jesus followers were now bringing to the Apostles for the benefit of those in need.

This week we look continue our look at the last week of Jesus life in the Gospel of Mark. In our passage (Mark 12:38-44) Jesus observes the worship and giving of the religious leaders in the temple in juxtaposition with the presence and generosity of the widows among them. We take time to see how Jesus' attention to the motives and goals of our worship is not a new idea but rather one that can be found as far back as God's commands back in Deuteronomy.

This short passage has a lot to say to us as Jesus continues to move closer to the center of our worship (quite literally in the story) as he highlights the hypocrisy and disordered motives in our worship and practices of community.

How do we best partner with God in the work He entrusts to us?

This week Jesus has another powerful interaction with the religious leaders as Jesus confronts how the leaders started to believe that influence God gave them was for their own good rather than God's glory. Mark 12:1-12 has a lot to teach us as Jesus pulls references from Isaiah 5, Psalm 118, and taps into themes from Genesis 1. We talk about what it means for us to partner with God in his work and the tension we often feel about keeping control of the gifts that He's given us.

We you have been following along with us in this study and encourage you to join a Community Group here at Lakeview Covenant to join the conversation with others in our community or even take time to discuss these passages with close friends.

Does Jesus have an anger problem, is he having a bad day, or is something deeper going on when he curses a fig tree and turns tables in the temple?

Pastor Evan and Bennett Pope begin a new Lenten Scripture Study series exploring the final week of Jesus’ life in the Gospel of Mark. In this episode, they examine Mark 11:12–26—two strange and often misunderstood moments: Jesus cursing a fig tree and overturning tables in the temple.

Together they explore how these two stories are connected, what they reveal about Jesus’ commitment to God's prophetic vision of an expansive and diverse expression of communal worship, authentic and genuine life in community, and why this moment matters for people seeking to follow him today and live faithfully within Christian community.

Pastor Evan and Bennett conclude their scripture study of the book of Habakkuk. They take time to consider the journey Habakkuk has been on in his wrestling and waiting with God and the changes they notice in Habakkuk here at the end of the book. They conclude the conversation focuses on what we do with the lessons learned from this prophet's journey. They discuss how waiting shapes our perspective, how praise can also be our protest, and how to recognize where we are at in our journey - even when it feels like nothing is changing.

In this conversation, Evan and Bennett delve into Habakkuk Chapter Two, exploring its themes of faithfulness, righteousness, and justice. They discuss the complexities of interpreting the text, particularly the meaning of the 'righteous' and their faithfulness. The conversation highlights the prophetic woes against injustice and the assurance of God's ultimate glory filling the earth. They emphasize the importance of silence before the Lord in the face of overwhelming evil and injustice, encouraging listeners to trust in God's faithfulness and the redemptive purpose behind His judgments.