The worst place to be caught in a storm is the open sea — and that is exactly where Paul ends up, a prisoner on a grain ship the experts insisted was safe to sail. Continuing the study of Acts at Quentin Road Baptist Church, Pastor Jim Scudder walks through Acts 27 and the fourteen days of hurricane-force wind that stripped a ship of everything but the promise of God. You'll follow Luke's remarkably detailed account from Caesarea to Malta, see why the centurion trusted the sailors over the apostle, and watch a prisoner in chains become the calmest man on board — breaking bread and giving thanks while 276 souls brace for the end. Four lessons come out of the wreckage: storms sometimes come when we disobey the will of God, storms have a way of revealing character, even the worst storms cannot prevent the purposes of God, and storms can give us opportunities to serve others and witness for Jesus Christ. Whatever you are sailing through, there is an anchor for your soul. Scripture referenced: Acts 27:1-3; Philippians 4:3; Acts 27:5-44

A Pharaoh orders every Hebrew baby boy thrown into the Nile — and one family decides that life is worth protecting no matter what the law says. In this message from the series "Is The Old Testament Obsolete?", Pastor Jim Scudder walks through Exodus 2 and the astonishing chain of events God used to preserve the child who would become Israel's deliverer: a mother who hid him three months, a little ark of bulrushes, a sister's bold idea, and a princess at the river's edge. Along the way you'll see why Hebrews 11 calls this an act of faith, what Egyptian history may suggest about the woman who drew Moses out of the water, and how 40 years in Pharaoh's palace and 40 years watching sheep in the desert were both exactly what God intended. The God who protected one baby in a basket still calls His people to stand up for innocent life — and still offers the ark of salvation to anyone who will step into it. Scripture referenced: Isaiah 40:8; Hebrews 11:23; Exodus 2:1-10; Hebrews 11:24-27; Exodus 2:11-15

Peter had just given the right answer — "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" — and moments later Jesus turned and said, "Get thee behind me, Satan." What happened in between? Pastor Mark Julian opens Matthew 16 at Quentin Road Baptist Church to expose the "whatabouts" that surface the moment God calls us to something: What about this? What about that? How is God going to fix that? Peter's whatabouts would have skipped Jerusalem, skipped the cross, and left every one of us without hope. Find out why doing the will of the Father outweighs comfort, status quo, and even life itself — and why joy is never found wrestling God over His will. Scripture referenced: Matthew 16:12-23; Galatians 1:3-4

Has God cast away His people? Dr. Phil Stringer answers the replacement theology question head-on, walking through Romans 11 to show that Israel has not been abandoned and that the church has been grafted into promises God never revoked. A direct, timely look at what the Bible actually says about Israel — and why it matters for how we live and pray right now. Scripture referenced: Romans 11:1,17

Sarah waited ten years for the promise God gave her — then took matters into her own hands. Her scheme with Hagar worked exactly as planned, and it wrecked her marriage, her household, and her walk with God. Pastor CJ Armstrong traces the downstream cost of trying to force God's timetable, and what it looks like instead to commit our way to the Lord while we wait. Scripture referenced: Genesis 16:1-5; Genesis 11:29-30; Genesis 12:1-4; Psalm 37:3-5; James 1:3-4; Genesis 1:27-28; Matthew 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 11:28,31; Genesis 21:8-9

What will it take to hear the greatest words a life could earn — "Well done, thou good and faithful servant"? Continuing the Finish Strong message through the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, Pastor Jim Scudder looks past the finish line to the judgment seat of Christ, where believers give account not for their salvation but for how they invested what God entrusted to them. With his own father's example fresh in view, he calls every believer to trade wood, hay, and stubble for gold, silver, and precious stones — and to finish strong. Scripture referenced: Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; Ephesians 2:8-9

Standing in chains before King Agrippa, the Apostle Paul lays out his testimony so boldly that Festus cuts him off: "Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad." Call him crazy — but Paul answers with "words of truth and soberness," tracing the prophets and Moses straight to a risen Christ, until even a king admits, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." In this midweek study of Acts 26, Pastor Jim Scudder shows how one man's unshakable witness turned a courtroom into a pulpit — and asks just how close "almost" really is. Scripture referenced: Acts 26:1-32; Galatians 1:13; Galatians 3:24; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 23:5; Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Isaiah 53; Psalm 22; Zechariah 11:12-13; Zechariah 9:9; John 10:20

As Quentin Road concludes its America 250 series, Pastor Jim Scudder asks the question hiding behind a single punctuation mark: In God We Trust — or do we? Celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary, he weaves together the faith of America's founders and Abraham Lincoln with a searching look at where our own trust really rests. What does it mean for a nation — and for you — to still trust God? And when the good news breaks through, will you receive the one gift no country could ever give? Scripture referenced: 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Psalm 19:9; Matthew 22:21; Philippians 3:20-21

Have you ever been promised a "free" vacation—only to discover the fine print? Pastor Jim Scudder opens Acts 25 with an unlikely offer hidden right in Scripture: an all-inclusive, all-expenses-paid trip to Rome. Two years after his arrest, the Apostle Paul faces a brand-new Roman governor, Festus, while his accusers revive an old plot to have him killed. But with a few well-chosen words, Paul turns the tables and sets his course for the very heart of the empire—where kings and governors will have to hear the gospel. A corrupt court, a notorious royal family, and a reminder that from servants to rulers, no one who hears the good news is left without excuse. What are the "magic words" that change everything—and what free trip is offered to everyone who says yes to Christ? Scripture referenced: Acts 25:1-27; John 8:44; Acts 9:15.

As America marks its 250th birthday, Pastor Jim Scudder opens a two-part series with a pointed question: is "In God We Trust" still true of us? Part 1 celebrates the nation's biblical and Christian foundations—and pushes back on the popular narrative that America is simply a bad country—while sounding a clear caution against ever placing our ultimate trust in a nation rather than in God. From the convictions of the founders to where we stand today, it's a call to be grateful, clear-eyed Americans whose deepest hope is not in a flag but in the One who sits on heaven's throne. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Scripture referenced: Psalm 33:12; Romans 13:1; Judges 17:6; Proverbs 3:27; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; John 3:16.