The book of Acts shows us the public Paul—preaching, debating, attracting crowds, causing a stir. But it also shows us Paul the person—meeting with a few intimate friends, sharing his testimony with them, counseling them, saying an emotional goodbye.

How would you like to be remembered in scripture as the guy who fell asleep during one of Paul’s long talks? If only Eutychus hadn’t fallen out of the window he was sitting in, we’d never have heard of him. As it is, he’s a hero to every long-suffering pew sitter.

Fools just never seem to learn, do they? In Psalm 14, David is surrounded by fools who say, “There is no God.” Today on The Bible Study Hour with Dr. James Boice, we’ll listen to what David thinks about such fools and, more importantly, what God thinks of them.

Very few people have literally caused a riot. But the apostle Paul did just that as he preached and lectured in Ephesus. The locals who made their living making idols of the goddess Artemis didn’t like what they were hearing about a different kind of God. Keep listening, as Dr. James Boice tells what happened when Paul faced a shouting, furious mob.

Judging by the movies we watch, we’re drawn to big cities. More than a thousand movies have been filmed in New York alone. In Paul’s day, Ephesus was a big city, with a third of a million people. And it drew him—not only to visit but to linger. It was one of the cities where he honed his strategy for reaching people with the gospel.

“The book of Acts—starring the apostle Paul!” ... If Paul were here today, he’d never let us get away with saying that. The real star of Acts is the Holy Spirit, and he does his work through every believer. Keep listening as Dr. James Boice introduces us to a few of the ordinary believers God used to turn the first-century world upside-down.

It was a cosmopolitan city. It was a commercial city. And it was a corrupt city. In short, it was very much like many of our big cities today. It was Corinth, a melting pot of people, a center of trade, and home to ten thousand prostitutes serving at the temple of Aphrodite. It was also a turning point in Paul’s ministry.

Athens, the city of the Epicureans: “If it feels good, do it.” Athens, the city of the Stoics: “If it doesn’t feel good, grin and bear it.” Athens, the city of idols: “If it looks good, worship it.” And Athens, the city of Paul’s most famous sermon, a closely reasoned message about an unknown God who has made himself known in Jesus Christ.

How long? How long? Psalm 13 opens with David feeling abandoned by man and God, wondering when God will remember him, turn to him and rescue him. Today on The Bible Study Hour with Dr. James Boice, we’ll continue our study of the Psalms, learning how David moves beyond his circumstances to a quiet trust in God.

Long ago and far away, the apostle Paul and a few friends traveled from place to place for months at a time. Everywhere they went, they preached about Jesus, attracted attention, drew crowds, ... and eventually got kicked out of town. But they also left behind, in place after place, a new community of believers.