Acts 18:12-23 I want to write a book today (along with the other dozen ones in my head) called Silent Saints. It will be a book about people like John Keble who went about the trivial round and common tasks of their lives with great faith, perseverance, and joy, and yet aren’t remembered because they are overshadowed by flashier saints with their miracles and miters. Did you notice Sosthenes in the corner of today’s painting? We’re so used to focusing... Read more
Acts 18:1-11 I can’t believe it! Another amazing success story for the apostle Paul! How did he get so lucky as to be able to swoop into a city, convert a lot of people in spite of persecution, and then leave to the next city to do it all over again? That’s the way it feels, anyway, reading the book of Acts. But is that the way it really happened? We have a tendency in our culture to do everything... Read more
Acts 17:16-34 TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. That was where Paul chose to begin his discourse with the Athenians. TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Now why in the world did Paul begin here? It raises two important issues for the day. First, we are to be in the world but not of it. Second, when bringing Christ to others, begin where they are. First, Paul was a man who was clearly in the world but also clearly not of it. Only someone... Read more
Acts 17:1-15 “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). We had our fair share of arguments in the Erlandson household growing up. I remember there were a lot in particular with my twin brother, Danny. These were particularly galling because he would usually win the argument, even if he was wrong and he knew it. ... Read more
Acts 16:25-40 I want to know something. I have one question I’d like to ask St. Paul today. I demand an answer. “How were you able to be singing hymns to God at midnight, having been falsely accused, thrown into a Roman jail, and having your feet fastened in the stocks? I want to know how you got from “Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks” to “But... Read more
Acts 16:16-24 Never forget that you are in a spiritual battle and that a formidable array of evil allies is camped around you, standing at attention for the moment of battle when they will pounce on you as their prey. There I was, come into the important city of Philippi, come to bring the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the Greeks. We went on the Sabbath to the place of prayer by the river and there... Read more
Acts 16:6-15 Have you ever had the feeling of déjà vu? That feeling that you’ve experienced something before? Here, again, in the book of Acts, I’m struck by the fact that I want to treat every word and phrase of God’s Word as the food of God. I want to take it, chew it, savor it, swallow, digest, until it becomes a part of me and I am made healthy and whole. Have you ever had the feeling of déjà... Read more
Acts 15:36-16:5 Quick – what’s the #1 task of the Church? Many Christians and many churches would say, without missing a beat, “Evangelism” or “winning souls.” Who can argue with that? I remember my oldest brother having a conversation with a young man about evangelism. This young man argued that evangelism was the most important thing we could do because it was the one thing we could do on earth but not in heaven. My brother thought a moment, turned... Read more
Acts 15:22-35 How do you behave when problems occur, especially with difficult people? Though the Acts of the Apostles wasn’t written to be a textbook on sociology or a self-help book on how to win friends and influence people, we can learn a lot by observing how the early church behaved. I, for one, am glad they weren’t perfect. Not only would that be intimidating, but being a woefully imperfect person, it would also be harder for me to learn... Read more
Acts 15:13-21 When the time came for a decision to be made about what to do with Gentile Christians, to whom did the early church turn? Not to Peter, and not to Paul. Perhaps surprisingly, to James. Who is this James, and why was he worthy of such respect? Interestingly enough, he started out as one to whom much had been given but who did not use it. I mean that this James was the brother of Jesus Christ Himself,... Read more
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