Category: Uncategorized

RE Verse reading–Acts 16:25-34, Acts 17:1-34 (day four)  What was the response that Paul received in Thessalonica?  Chap. 17:4 tells us that some believed, but others were jealous and set the city in an uproar.  Paul and Silas moved on to Berea where they were more noble-minded and they received the word with eagerness (17:11).  It was not until the Jews from Thessalonica came to Berea and stirred up the crowds, that Paul and Silas had to leave the city.  Followers from each city…some believed, some rejected!  It is like that anytime the gospel is shared.  What were the long term results of these witnesses?  Timothy was later sent back to Thessalonica and gave testimony to a strong church thriving in the city.  More resistance, more persecution…but a strong church!  That is often the case…more persecution leads to strength of faith.  We don’t hear much about Berea after this experience, but Thessalonica is known to us all.

RE Verse reading–Acts 16:25-34, Acts 17:1-34 (day three) The Sunday School answer was always “Jesus” no matter what the question was.  At least that’s how the joke goes.  But in Acts, the answer to the questions that welled up in people’s hearts as they negotiated their existence with what seemed to be a harsh or legalistic universe really was “Jesus.”  The difference between a Sunday School answer and a real-time answer, though, is revelation.  A Sunday School answer doesn’t really reveal anything.  It’s a canned, planned, and sanitized response to a question.  The people we meet in Acts—the jailer who’d seen it all, the synagogue faithful who’d seen nothing outside their religious tradition, the philosophers trying to see the invisible—these people’s questions hammered away at their minds: Will God rescue me?  Will God hear me?  Will God know me?  And the answer each time is the revelation of a person:  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

RE Verse reading–Acts 16:25-34, Acts 17:1-34 (day two) “What is our only hope in life and death? That we are not our own but belong to God.” So goes question one of the newcitycatechism.com (adapted from the Heidelberg catechism, 1563). Where do you rest when life suddenly becomes unfair, uncertain, unbearable? Where do you stand when the emotional and spiritual earthquake of losing a job, a friend, a life upends your expectations? Paul and Silas found not only solace but strength as they rested their hope in what was to come. After being unjustly accosted, accused, beaten and bound, they sang and praised God. Perhaps this was the moment when Paul realized what he would later write, “whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8). If I belong to the Lord, then this world is not my home. My hope is in the “not yet.” Have you received the gift that the sting of pain, of loss brings as it reminds you that this is not your home? Have you found hope? I have.

RE Verse reading–Acts 16:25-34, Acts 17:1-34 (day one)  “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”  (16:31)  Dramatic story.  The Philippian jailer sees the power of God (in the prisoners’ joy as much as in the earthquake, I believe).  He asks for direction.  “What must I do to be saved (rescued)”?  Paul tells him 3 things.  They constitute a summary of God’s good news.  The action?  Believe!  People are saved by God as a free gift on the basis of FAITH.  The object?  The Lord Jesus!  Not just Jesus.  The LORD Jesus.  The one to whom every knee will eventually (and rightly) bow.  The movement?  INTO the Lord Jesus!  The greek word here is better translated “into”.  It is a word that describes movement from one location or state of being into another.  Only those who repent of their old life and move into Christ can be saved.  Great gospel!  Simple gospel.  May we be as ready to share it as Paul was.

RE Verse reading–Acts 15:1-29 (day seven)  “God. . .showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them. . .(He) showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself”  (vs 8, 14)  Our search is for God.  Our need.  Not comfort, wealth or popularity.  How will we know when we have found Him?  Peter points to the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It was God SHOWING that he had accepted Cornelius and his household.  Do you know anyone who struggles with the assurance that he/she is accepted by God?  The Spirit is the sign/seal of this much-needed approval.  Notice how James looks at the same story.  It was God SHOWING His concern.  Know anyone who struggles with being loved by God?  The Spirit is God’s proof and evidence.  “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us”  (Romans 5:5)  The Spirit is the sign of His acceptance and love.

RE Verse reading–Acts 15:1-29 (day six)  “Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.”  (vs 22)  There is a great story in Luke 7.  The Lord meets a Roman Centurian whose faith has been clarified and strengthened by his experience with leadership.  He is self-described as a man “under authority”.  He also wields it as a leader of men.  He both receives orders and gives them.  Two sides of the same God-given ability.  The leaders of the church in Antioch are learning the same lesson.  Having been led by the Spirit, (various ways) they are qualified and willing to lead others.  One after another, first Peter, then Paul and Barnabas, then James, stand and influence the church in a definite direction.  When the people follow their lead, it is in keeping with the plan of God.  “There is no authority except from God”  (Romans 13:1)

RE Verse passage:  Acts 15:1-29 (day five) It’s an old saying that many have come to appreciate.  It’s a truth that has been proven to be full of wisdom.  “Experience is the best teacher”.  When I read the Re:Verse passage this week, I couldn’t help but be drawn to Peter’s words, “God, who knows the heart” (verse 8).  Who better than Peter to utter these words.  Remember the confronting “restoration” conversation with Jesus in John 21?  Peter confesses with humility, passion, and certainty, “Lord, You know all things”.   Peter came to know the reality of God’s power, sovereignty, and omniscience.  It made an indelible mark in his soul that day and taught him a lifelong lesson. God continued to use that experience to encourage him as a leader and servant of the church.  Thank You Lord, for the many lessons You teach through ALL our experiences!!

Guest Blogger: Scott Lane – Associate Pastor, Education, Students & Venture

RE Verse passage:  Acts 15:1-29 (day four)   The final word is what most of us want to have.  We want to be able to make the decision that ultimately stands.  The early church leaders had their own version of a ‘chat’ going on…they did not have technology, but they did have conversation trying to make a decision on the subject of what should be required of the Gentile believers.  Verse 7 says, “After there had been much debate”…Paul and Barnabas weighed in, the Pharisees weighed in, Peter testified, and everyone at the council worked to process all of the information for a decision.  It was James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, who gave us the model to follow.  In verse 15, he takes the statements of all who had testified and took them back to scripture.  Only scripture can illuminate the truth in all of our best discussions.  God’s Word is truth…it should be our standard and plumb line.

Guest Blogger: Larry Soape – Associate Pastor, Education, Adults & Missions

RE Verse reading–Acts 15:1-29 (day three)  The Jerusalem Council certainly produced one of the defining statements of the early Christian movement.  Of necessity, this local church had to work out its own theology.  They couldn’t consult with New Testament theologians.  They couldn’t buy the latest tome on Christian doctrine.  They were living these things out in real time.  In our day, we navigate a flood of authors who help us strengthen our Christian understanding.  This is as it should be.  We face the temptation, though, to outsource our thinking to the latest thought leader.  Let us remember that we have a responsibility—as these early believers did—to wrestle with weighty matters, and to do it together. No one produces better theology than the local church under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and committed to the scriptures.  Where two or more are gathered, the Lord is there, and he will help us think.

Guest Blogger: Bryan Richardson – Associate Pastor, Singles, Small Groups, & Pastoral Ministries

RE Verse reading–Acts 15:1-29 (day two)Election day. Tonight, some will be winners. Some will be losers. Where will we find humility? Hope? In Acts 15, both the winners and losers walked away “unanimously” or with “one mind” (15:25). How? They were convinced by sound reason (15:7-11), testimony (15:12) and Scripture (15:13-21) that there were two priorities worth uniting for. Number 1 – the gospel. “We are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (15:11). Peter reminds them that the gospel has always been about what Jesus did, not what we do. Number 2 – relationships. James’ request would allowing Jews and Gentiles to eat supper together. There were definitely winners and losers in this conflict, but everyone agreed that these two priorities united them. Tonight, whether you find yourself a winner or a loser will you remember the two priorities, the gospel and relationships? Jesus put it this way, “love God and love others” (Mark 12:30-31).

Guest Blogger: Josh Vaughan – Minister to Young Marrieds & Yes, Lord! Community Ministries