There are two very different examples of church debate in Acts 15. One debate was theological, and therefore necessary ... and came to a peaceful conclusion. The other seems to have been more personal, and sadly avoidable ... and ended in a split between two of the New Testament's greatest men. But in both cases, there are important lessons to be learned (especially about the nature of the Christian gospel). And in both cases, God worked the difficulties for good. Listen in as we mull them over together.

Follow Paul and Barnabas as they encounter all sorts of ups and downs, successes and setbacks, on their missionary travels. Learn from their response to such triumphs and trials. And consider whether such trials actually constitute true setbacks, when seen from God's perspective.

Listen in as we continue following Paul and Barnabas on Paul's first missionary journey ... this time as Paul preaches a powerful sermon, and God brings about amazing results in the city of Pisidian Antioch. For the initial portion of the sermon, a map of Paul's first missionary journey may be helpful to have in front of you as we follow Paul and Barnabas along on their travels.

Listen in as we consider several lessons from the way in which the church in Antioch selected and sent out their missionaries ... and the kind of ministry those missionaries were engaged in once they got on the field.

Labor Day is a wonderful holiday - a whole day given to the relief and rest of those who labor! But God has been even more generous with us than we are with ourselves! He has actually granted to us 52 such days every year - days of total rest from our labor, and opportunity to fix our thoughts on Him. Listen in as we consider both the command and the blessing of the sabbath day.

Some practical tips on how to make use of God's word, based on the example of the psalmist in Psalm 119.9-16.

Persection, and opposition, and being in the minority are not to be considered the rare exception in the life of the Christian church ... but, rather, are to be expected. Acts 12 reminds us that, in the midst of these trials, our God is with us; and is able to help us; and will continue spreading the news about Jesus, no matter what! Listen in as we consider these encouragements together.

Follow us along through the end of Acts 11 as the gospel continues to expand across geographic, cultural, and religious barriers ... just as the Lord planned that it would do!

In recent chapters of the book of Acts, the gospel has begun to expand its influence, geographically: spreading from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria ... and already beginning to make at least one inroad into "the remotest part of the earth." But, in chapters 10-11, we are reminded that gospel must also spread across ethnic, social, and religious boundaries as well ... to "the Gentiles also." Listen in as we consider how the early church learned this lesson ... and how we ought to apply it today.

Following the conversion of Saul, there was a period of peace and growth in the churches of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Listen in as we consider, from the sampling that Luke gives us in the towns of Lydda and Joppa, how the gospel advanced in those days ... and how it can do the same in our own.