God brings a miraculous sign of his faithfulness through a virgin birth that would heal a dark world. From Isaiah 7:1-17 we find that we can in fact place our trust in God’s miraculous power in times of trouble and doubt.

James 1:12–18 reminds us that we can praise God because he does not change, even though our circumstances do. We can be confident that God will bring us through our difficulty knowing that He will finish the work in us that He started.

Something that we don’t really like, but find to be true according to Scripture and our experience, is that suffering is an inevitable reality in our lives. In Romans 8:18-30, we find three promises that give us hope no matter our circumstances.

In Genesis 3:14–21 we find that even in the upending of God’s good plan for the world and in the most dire circumstances, God provides His grace and makes a way for our hope and for us to be thankful.

The mission of Acts comes to a completion at the end of the book… or does it? The Holy Spirit has succeeded in bringing witnesses of Jesus to the ends of the known world. Luke doesn’t see this as an end, however, because the churches who will read Luke’s account must take up the mantle of the mission to be witnesses until the return of the resurrected king.

“You are out of your mind!” If you heard these words from someone who held your fate in their hands, you might be frightened. Paul is emboldened in his proclamation of the gospel, desiring that his captors come to know the resurrected king in the same way Paul does, except for the chains.

How do you proclaim the Word of God to a people who assume they are their own gods? When Paul found himself in a city overwhelmed by idol worship, his heart burned to see them come to know the resurrected king. See how Paul took their known world and filled it with the good news of Jesus.

Have you ever asked someone to share something, only to realize you wish you hadn’t? The synagogue rulers of Antioch know how you feel. When Paul and his companions start their first missionary journey, they are given the opportunity to share in a synagogue, and the aftermath is a city in chaos and a new group of disciples.

A devout Jew would never eat anything that was not kosher, and the early church was made up of such men and women. These barriers prevented the gospel from spreading to people dwelling right next to the former Jews. What is the Holy Spirit’s solution? To offer Peter bunnies, bears, and bacon.

How does the Holy Spirit respond to the world’s opposition? When Christians are forced to flee Jerusalem, the end result is the gospel reaching Judea and Samaria. Come see how the Holy Spirit carries out the mission of Jesus in the face of opposition.