Category: Acts
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Bound for Jerusalem
Acts 21:1-16 In the living room of Philip the Evangelist in Caesarea, the gathered saints pled with Paul, even with tears, not to go to Jerusalem out of a deep concern for his personal safety. Instead of listening to tears, Paul chose his determinations over his emotions and went to Jerusalem where he was arrested […]
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Beware of Wolves
The image of the wolf has long been a literary image which invokes not only thoughts of cunning and stealth but also of fear and and danger. When Paul warned the Ephesian elders about the rise of wolves within the church, he spoke of coming spiritual attack. In view of that warning, this message explores […]
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A Model Ministry
Acts 20:13-27 With just several weeks to go before Pentecost, Paul takes a pit stop in Miletus on his way to Jerusalem. After calling for the elders from Ephesus, he took opportunity to admonish them to duty based upon his model of ministry. Two parts of Paul’s ministry stand out as exemplary: his service to […]
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A Mature Mission
Acts 20:1-12 A season of fruitful ministry in Ephesus eventually came to an end as Paul desired to visit the churches of Macedonia and Greece before returning to Antioch and then Jerusalem. However, on the way to Macedonia Paul stopped at Troas to plant a church. The season of ministry there was brief but Paul […]
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Artemis Dethroned By the Gospel
Acts 19:21-41 The idolatry business was going so badly in Ephesus after 2 1/2 years of Paul’s ministry that Demetrius gathered the trade unions together to protest the gospel. Spiritual transformation rather than civic uproar is the real story in Acts 19. Paul’s preaching had been so effectual that it was causing economic, social, and […]