To better understand this week’s Advent theme, which is receiving, we looked at John 1. In this poetic introduction to his gospel, John declares that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14a). Sadly, His own people did not receive...

This week’s Advent theme is Preparation. God used John the Baptist to prepare God’s people for the arrival of their Messiah. John’s message was clear and simple - he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins as the key elem...

This week we began our 2025 Advent series. As we collectively prepare our hearts, minds, and homes for the Christmas season, it is our hope to keep our focus on Jesus. This week’s focus will be on anticipation and hope.

This week’s passage in Acts highlights the Lord (through Peter) healing a man who was paralyzed for 8 years, as well as raising a well-loved disciple from the dead. We discussed these miracles and how they led to the spread of the gospel, along...

In Galatians 1, Paul/Saul states that right after his astounding conversion he went away to Arabia. Although nothing is known about this period, the Lord clearly used this time in the wilderness to drastically transform Saul of Tarsus into the<...

We are going on a journey of Saul’s post-conversion experience on the road to Damascus. The radical transformation that Saul experienced was not received well by the leaders of the day, nor by those who were once persecuted by Saul. However, th...

Long before he was known as the Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus was an ardent enemy of the early church. This week’s exciting passage details the miraculous events surrounding his conversion. Originally headed to Damascus to hunt downand arres...

This week’s passage in Acts details a wonderful interaction between Philip and a high-ranking Ethiopian. Sometime after Philip saw great success in sharing the Gospel among the Samaritans, the Lord directed him to go deep into the unpopulated d...

In this week’s passage, the Samaritans believe and are baptized (including a curious figure named Simon the Magician). When the apostles in Jerusalem heard this wonderful news, they sent Peter and John to validate and bless this newwork of ...

The murder of Stephen was just the beginning of a much larger wave of persecution that the early church was forced to endure. (One of the ring leadersof this backlash was a man named Saul of Tarsus who we will cover extensively later on in ...

Last week we covered Stephen’s Spirit-empowered sermon. This week we examined the Sanhedrin’s quick and violent response. Rather than feeling conviction that led to repentance, the Jewish leaders were filled with rage and stoned Stephen to deat...

This week we find ourselves in the middle of Stephen’s saga. Last week set the stage for Stephen’s detainment and outlined the trumped-up charges that were brought against him. This week covers his Spirit-led defense, which happens to be the lo...

This week we continued to look at the account of Stephen who began ministry as one of the seven men who were appointed to oversee the distribution of food to widows. This week’s text shows us that the Lord had greater plans for Stephen, such as...

This week’s passage centers on growing pains that the early church experienced. The issue was that favoritism seemed to be shown toward Hebrew widows while the Greek speaking Hellenist widows were treated as second-class citizens.Rather tha...

This week we resumed our study through the book of Acts. Acts 5 covers the growing threats to the church, coming from both inside (Ananias and Sapphira) and outside of the church (the religious leaders). In this week’s passage, Peter and the ot...

This week’s passage begins by painting a beautiful picture of the early church’s unity and generosity. Despite the growing opposition and persecution, theearly church continued to flourish and grow. Their priorities seem clear: God came fir...

In response to the growing opposition to Jesus and His gospel, Peter, John, and the other believers lifted their voices to God in prayer. Instead of askingfor safety and protection against persecution, they asked the Lord for boldness so th...

This week we looked at the results of the miracle that was performed on the lame man. The response to the miracle was not unanimous. We explored the impact that witnessing a miracle has on people. We also see that this was the first  ti...

Last week we covered the account of the Holy Spirit healing a lame man (through Peter). This week's passage begins to detail the aftermath of that miraculous healing. Once the healed man began to walk, leap, and praise the Lord inside the templ...

This week’s passage tells of the miraculous healing of a man born unable to walk. Once, Jesus’ disciples had heartlessly judged a disabled person in a similar situation. This time, however, Peter and John see past the poor beggar’s physical...

Immediately after Luke tells us that approximately 3,000 souls were saved on the day of Pentecost, he then goes on to describe what the earliest church looked like. It is a beautiful and inspiring depiction! However, we must be careful to remem...