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...

This week we looked at Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost. In this Spirit-empowered teaching, Peter explained to the crowd that the Holy Spirit was being poured out, as promised, upon all believers. He then invited the huge crowd to repent ...

Acts 2 tells of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Jewish festival of Shavuot, more commonly known as Pentecost. While it is easy to gloss over the Spirit’s arrival to “get on to the exciting parts of the book,” it is vital to understand that...

This week we learned about what the disciples, family, and closest followers of Jesus were up to in between His ascension and Pentecost. This was a timeof great anticipation! They spent much of their time praying together, and had to reckon...

This week we took a closer look at Jesus’ ascension. Frequently, our perspective of the ascension is limited to the fact that Jesus left the earth. Like His disciples, we are saddened by this fact. However, the ascension is among the greatest

This week we continued to lay the foundation of the book of Acts. Continuing in Acts 1:1-11, we took a closer look at Jesus’ promise to the disciples - that the power and person of the Holy Spirit could come upon them, empowering them to be His...

In this week’s teaching we explored what the scriptures say about the kingdom. Acts 1:3 tells us that Jesus spent the 40 days between His resurrection andascension speaking about the kingdom of God. Acts 1:6 tells us that Jesus’ disciples a...

Written by Luke the physician to a certain “Theophilus,” (a name meaning “God-lover”) the book of Acts chronicles the growth of the early church. While Acts is undeniably exhilarating and inspiring, it is important to recognize that the purpose...

This week, one of our elders, Pat Himenes, shared about the purpose of the Church. Unfortunately, many individuals and congregations have strayedfrom God’s vision of His church. It is imperative that we allow God and His Word to define thes...

The book of Ecclesiastes ended as it began, with the Preacher exclaiming, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity.” In Solomon’s strictly “under the sun” mentality, this was a wise and correct conclusion. Although it was completel...

In this week’s study, we reexamined 1 Kings 11, which details King Solomon’s downfall. In 1 Kings 11:38, the Lord specifically states that He expects the king of Israel to walk in His ways, and to do what is right in His eyes by keeping His...

This week’s passage is both confusing and frustrating. How do these seemingly random proverbs fit in with the larger context of Solomon’s search for the meaning of life? What point is he trying to make? The entire chapter seems as superfluous

This week’s installment of Ecclesiastes focuses on the certainty of death and the uncertainty of life. In Ecclesiastes 9, Solomon used the term “under the sun” six times, more than any other chapter in this highly encouraging book. Since Solomo...

In this week’s passage in Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s overall focus seems to be on authority. Beginning with strong admonition that people ought to obey their king and respect his authority, Solomon then turns to his perceived lack of justice in th...

One of our elders, Jake Rider, shared this week’s message out of Ecclesiastes 7. This is another chapter where Solomon primarily communicates through numerous proverbs. Many of these elevate death over life, sorrow over joy. In contrast to Solo...

This week’s passage is challenging. Solomon continues to fall deeper into the darkness of a life lived strictly under the sun. In these verses Solomon bitterly complains that worldly things fail to bring real and lasting satisfaction to his sou...