Don’t forget that there is no Wednesday Night Plug-In this week! This is not an April fools joke, I promise! We’re back next week at full strength as we start Gospel Journey Maui!

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Acts 23:1-35

We’re seeing a pattern here through the Book of Acts. Paul (and/or the other believers) get arrested, get the crud kicked out of ‘em and have death threats all the time! Yet God always steps in just in time to save them. In this chapter there are 40 people who have taken an oath to kill Paul. But just like before, God rescues him. 

This brings a few thoughts to mind. First, the Christian life isn’t always easy. Its going to be a struggle at times. But God is more powerful then our struggles. He is more powerful then anything we might come up against. So if your feeling beaten down by life right now, don’t worry. You have someone more powerful in your corner.

Tomorrow – Acts 24:1-27

Acts 22:1-30

In chapter 22 Paul has to defend his faith. He tells everyone about how Jesus Christ himself converted Paul from a Christian killer to a Christ follower. He doesn’t pull any punches and he tells it like it is. Even in the face of possible execution.

What’s your story? When did Christ change you? It doesn’t have to be this tragic and crazy story. But we all have a story. Are you ready to tell it?

Tomorrow – Acts 23:1-35

Acts 21:26-40

Paul gets mobbed and then arrested. The people were so upset because they couldn’t let go of their traditions and laws. They were still denying the fact that Jesus was who He said He was. And because Paul was preaching about Jesus as the Messiah, they wanted to kill him too. In fact, the soldiers had to hold Paul up on their shoulders so that the mob couldn’t get him!

I wonder how many times I shy away from speaking to someone about Jesus because I’m afraid I might get made fun of, or that I’ll feel stupid. I’ve never been in a situation where my life was threatened if I mentioned Jesus. We’ve got it easy, yet we’re still afraid and we still shy away. Why? We have the creator of the universe on our side! We have the Holy Spirit to guide us! What’s the worst that could happen? Next time your afraid of a reaction from someone because your talking about Jesus, think about Paul.

Tomorrow – Acts 22:1-30

 

Pool Noodle Hockey, Stepping Stones & Box of Doom! We had a great night!
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Acts 21:1-25

As we talked about yesterday, Paul is looking into the eye of a storm and he knows that he has to go into it. All of the believers are begging him not to go to Jerusalem, but he presses on. 

When he gets to Jerusalem the other believers welcome him, but the persecution starts almost instantly. Some start questioning his teaching and questioning his integrity. But Paul sticks to his guns and he knows that the truth of Jesus will never come back to bite him. It will never come back void.

None of us want to face hard times and problems, but sometimes obedience to God involves suffering. Paul knew that and he was willing to do whatever God asked him and make whatever sacrifice he had to. Can you say the same?

Tomorrow – Acts 21:26 – 40

Acts 20:7 – 38

Paul is basically saying his goodbyes to the believers in Troas. He has been told by the Holy Spirit that he needs to get going to Jerusalem and that it isn’t going to be a fun trip. The Holy Spirit tells him that jail time and suffering are coming during this trip. But even so, he has no regrets and he isn’t running and hiding from this. He’s going head first into it. He knows that he has been faithful and that he needs to continue to be until his time is up.

Would you we be able to say that? Can we look back and say that we’ve used the time God gave us to do His work and we didn’t shy away from it? If we knew that pain and suffering were ahead of us, and we had to go through it to follow God, would we?

Tomorrow – Acts 21: 1-25

Acts 19:25 – 20:6

The riot in Ephesus. One man, because of his greed and ignorance, started a riot that almost killed people! And the funny thing is, half of the people  that joined the riot had no idea why they were rioting! They were just following the crowd because everyone else was doing it. God protected His followers though, and the government officials finally got a hold of things.

How often do we, even as Christians, act just like the rioting people of Ephesus! One person complains, which turns into 4 people complaining, which turns into a crowd of people complaining and half of them don’t even know why they’re there or what’s really going on! As the church, we have to stick together. We have to all be on the same page. We can’t let the petty complaints and dumb little arguments pull us away from our real purpose. If we loose site of our purpose (telling others about Jesus), then why are we doing this whole “church” thing anyway?

Tomorrow – Acts 20:7 – 38