Church

I don’t know about you, but I like stories that have endings. I like it when the mystery gets solved and the loose ends get tied up. The Book of Acts does not really do that. We have spent months following Paul’s story. He has been beaten, arrested, shipwrecked, and dragged from courtroom to courtroom. Finally, he reaches Rome. Naturally, we want to know what happens to him. Luke never tells us. Instead, he ends the book with one remarkable word: unhindered. Nothing can stop God’s mission, and He invites us to be part of it. The Gospel Keeps Moving To understand Acts 28, we need to go back to Acts 1, where Jesus gives His disciples their marching orders: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of…

Some prayers are easy to pray the first time. “God, would You fix this problem?” “God, would You heal this disease?” What is harder is praying the same prayer for the fiftieth time. I have had some of those prayers, and I am guessing you have too. At some point, the question changes. It starts as, “God, will You change this?” Eventually it becomes, “God, can I trust You if You don’t?” That is what makes Acts 27 so compelling. Paul is caught in a hurricane, and God does not immediately stop it. The question is: Why does Paul have hope when everyone else has lost theirs? Our hope is found in knowing God can be trusted. When Everything Falls Apart Paul is a prisoner on a ship headed for Rome, where he will stand trial before Caesar. The journey has already been difficult, with strong winds and dangerous conditions.…

If I asked you where to get your favorite pizza, you could probably name two or three places without thinking very hard. You would not need to do research. The answer would come naturally because it is part of your experience. But if someone asked, “Why are you a Christian?” many of us would freeze. Even pastors can make that question more complicated than it needs to be. Where do I start? How much theology do I need to explain? What if sharing your faith begins with something you already know—your own story? That is exactly what we see in Acts 26. Our story isn’t ultimately about us. It’s about what Jesus has done for us. Our Story Begins With Our Past For much of the second half of Acts, Paul travels throughout the Roman world telling people about Jesus. Eventually he returns to Jerusalem, where he is falsely accused…

Have you noticed how much easier it is to do something difficult when you are not doing it alone? A child walking into a dark room feels differently when a parent is holding their hand. A college freshman walking onto an unfamiliar campus feels differently when one familiar face is waiting there. What makes the difference? Often, it is simply knowing who is with you. That is what Paul experiences in Acts 23. His circumstances are not about to get easier. In fact, they are about to get worse. But in the middle of the chaos, Jesus gives Paul exactly what he needs. The presence of Jesus gives us the courage to take our next step of obedience. Obedience Does Not Always Make Life Easier Paul had returned to Jerusalem after years away, knowing the trip would be difficult. He was falsely accused, surrounded by an angry crowd, and rescued…

Faith does not require knowing how the story ends. It requires knowing the One who holds the story.