Are you able to trust in the reliability, faithfulness, ability and goodness of God—even in difficult circumstances? In this message, Sarah tells the story of Paul and Silas’s songs of trust while they were in prison, and we imagine the community in Philippi in prayer, in humility, in joy—all for the glory of God the Father.

Through a special message brought by our guest and long-term friend, Vivien Hibbert, we reflected on the authority and power that our words hold. As heirs of Christ, we have the authority to speak life into the past, present, and future, just as God in Genesis spoke the universe into being. From Joshua and Gideon to King David, the Bible exemplifies and directly states that our praises are “warring weapons” that overthrow the enemies that go against us. From our mouths, God uses us to do great things (Psalms 149:7).

At the end of Acts 15, Paul and Silas leave Antioch on their second missionary journey. We explored Acts 16 and different facets of this journey, with an emphasis on waiting and persevering when we don’t have clear direction; receiving the voice of the Holy Spirit in new ways; owning our emotions and not letting our emotions own us; receiving outside input to bring new perspectives like Luke may have done for Paul; seeing the Holy Spirit do a new thing as a woman leads the way in Europe.

Change and conflict have become everyday life and it’s stressful—how are you holding up? We can relate to the early Christians who were tempted to rely on religious tradition or Roman power, when they needed Jesus. Seeing Jesus, we have hope that God is doing a new thing.

Are you facing challenges, hardships? Welcome to the kingdom! Paul and Barnabas returned again and again to visit new followers of Jesus with a message of hope—things may be difficult, but "we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."

A butterfly’s chrysalis stage is a radical phase of transformation. Likewise, joining the early church meant a radical departure from religion—both Jewish law and Roman idolatry—to grace. In our times of chrysalis and change, may we also embrace and declare a bold message of grace and hope.

We explored the story of John Mark, based upon what is recorded in Acts 13 regarding his “retreat” from journeying with Barnabas and Saul. We looked at how Mark represents a person who may have failed but continued to remain in his relationship with the Lord. The courage to continue in his relationship is something we can learn from. We explored how Mark eventually went on to write the first gospel account, he went back out on journeys with Barnabas, supported Peter and was reconciled with Paul.

When we are called, many of us will face resistance. Sarah shares the call and resistance experienced by Paul at the beginning of his first missionary journey. We then hear from Ryan about his modern-day experience with resistance against the gospel and the powerful encounter he had with God.

Sarah is joined by Ben with World Outreach Intl., and they explore Peter’s miraculous escape from prison just after James has been killed by Herod. While Peter’s friends are praying earnestly for God to show up, they don’t believe it when God does. Let’s believe for 2020 to be the year when we pray, rest, and obey knowing God can break chains and bring deliverance even in the midst of suffering.

Please note: often our overseas ministry partners use only their first names for security reasons.