Throughout church history there have been many church councils that met to decide critical issues facing the church. The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD wrestled with the issue of the true nature of Christ. The Council of Constantinople in 381 AD was one of several councils that addressed which books should be part of the Canon… Continue reading The Great Council
The Adventure
First, to all my Jewish friends, I hope you have had a meaningful Yom Kippur. For my non-Jewish friends, Yom Kippur is Hebrew for “the Day of Atonement”. It is considered the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar. This was the day in Jewish history when the High Priest of Israel annually entered into the Holy of… Continue reading The Adventure
Divine Intervention
In this session of our study of the book of Acts, we are going to look at the event that transitions the main character in the book from Peter to Paul. I will be taking you through Ch. 12 of Acts. The chapter begins with Herod Agrippa I putting James, the brother of John to death by… Continue reading Divine Intervention
Peter and the Centurion
In this session of our study of the book of Acts, we are going to look at one of the most important events in the life of the early church. To this point, the message of Jesus has been given by Jews to Jews. It also has primarily been limited to the province of Judea. You might remember… Continue reading Peter and the Centurion
The Road to Damascus
There are a lot of great stories of men and women having significant experiences on the road. Jack Kerouac’s On the Road was a manifesto of the beat generation. Easy Rider was an attempt to capture the spirit of the 60’s. Ken Kesey and his psychedelic bus trip with his band of Merry Pranksters was captured by Tom Wolfe in… Continue reading The Road to Damascus
Christian Persecution
It was not easy being a believer in the first few centuries of the church. Many men and women were put to death for their faith in Jesus. Thus far in the book of Acts we have already seen a bit of conflict between the Jewish authorities and the apostolic believers. Peter and John have spent a few… Continue reading Christian Persecution
Whatever Happened to the Church
Jesus once said he would build his church, and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. In the Greek text, the word church is “ekklesia”. It simply means to call together an assembly or gathering. The tricky part in understanding what Jesus meant is that he didn’t speak Greek. “Ekklesia” is the translation out of the Aramaic,… Continue reading Whatever Happened to the Church
Understanding God
In our second session of studying the book of Acts, we looked at a day that changed the world. It is called Pentecost. It was on this day, 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead, that God poured out the Holy Spirit. It was a day that changed the world. In session #3 of our study, I… Continue reading Understanding God
The Day that Changed the World
In our second session of studying the book of Acts, we will look at the day that changed the world. It is called Pentecost and its roots were in the major festivals of the Old Testament. The Hebrew name of the day is Shavout, which literally means “weeks”. It was a harvest festival celebrating the first fruits of the… Continue reading The Day that Changed the World
Act Three; Scene One: Jesus Ascends
The Acts of the Apostles. Most of us simply refer to it as the book of Acts. Written about 30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, it is the only historical record we have of the early years of the Christian Church. In this session, we begin a study of this fascinating book. My approach will… Continue reading Act Three; Scene One: Jesus Ascends
