While Paul is in the city of Athens, he spends time in the marketplace, the center of ancient life. He starts debating with some philosophers there and they invite him to the Areopagus to share his ideas. The speech that he gives there is one of his most famous and most studied in the book […]

In Acts chapter 17, Paul and the believers in the city of Thessalonica encounter an angry mob. Driven by jealousy, the Jews in that town partner with “the rabble” to riot against the Christians. They accuse them of supporting a king other than Caesar and demand justice to be done. Though their methods were unfair […]

Almost 100 years ago, the famous British philosopher, Bertrand Russell, wrote an essay entitled Why I Am Not a Christian. He presented the essay to his academic peers as substantial evidence for why he did not embrace Christianity. In this week’s sermon, Pastor Brad presents reasons why he is a Christian, as they appear in […]

In Acts 15, the church faces a major dispute. Some of the Jewish Christians have been telling the Gentile Christians that in order to actually be saved they need to also become Jews, get circumcised, and follow all the Jewish purity laws. Paul and Barnabas debated with these Jewish Christians, and eventually, the church in […]

In our modern, rational world, we are often convinced that what we see is what we get. It’s hard for our minds to make sense of the supernatural or even believe there is something beyond the physical. However, Acts 13 gives us two reminders that we do live in a world that intersects with spiritual […]

In Acts chapter 11, we are first introduced to the church in the city of Antioch. Antioch was a large metropolitan area in the ancient world. People from all over the world lived there because it was a bustling trade hub. Jewish Christians who were scattered because of the persecution that broke out in Jerusalem […]

After Peter’s encounter with Cornelius and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles, the Jewish believers have some serious questions. At first, they were skeptical of what Peter has done. They question him. He doesn’t get defensive. He just tells them about what God has done. Through hearing his story and the way […]

In this passage, Peter goes to Cornelius’ home. Cornelius understands the significance of the religious and cultural barriers that Peter is crossing to come to his home, and tries to honor Peter, but Peter tells Cornelius what God has revealed to him: no person is common or unclean to God. Peter then asks Cornelius why […]

In this part of Acts chapter 10, God does two unexpected things. First he speaks to Cornelius, a man who fears God but is not a Jew. Until this point in the church, everyone who has encountered Jesus has been Jewish, or closely related to the Jews, like the Samaritans. God speaking to someone outside […]

In this second section of Acts chapter 9, God appears to a man named Anainas and sends him to Saul. Ananias is hesitant. He’s heard about Saul and what he’s been doing to Christians. However, Ananias goes to Saul because God asks him to do so.