“Worth It!” Acts 7:54-60

Even as the Sanhedrin gnashed their teeth murderously at him, Stephen was “full of the Holy Spirit”.  Stephen chose to enter into the fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings, and in doing that experienced the full power of the Spirit.  Although he had done miracles in his life, it was in his death that Stephen looked and sounded most like [...]

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“Just Like Your Father” Acts 7:39-53

Fathers and sons share a unique relationship.  Oh, but doesn’t a father’s chest swell as folks tell him how much his son reminds them of him.  “He has your walk, or your intellect, or your athletic ability,” they might say to compliment both father and son.  As a father, though, I know that my past [...]

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“History Repeats Itself” Acts 7:1-38

Did you ever wonder why Stephen gives the religious leaders, of all people, a lesson in their own history?  It’s not like they needed a review or anything. 

Stephen is being quite selective in his retelling of Israelite history in order to emphasize a couple themes.  One theme is Israel’s habit of rejecting God’s representatives. 

They rejected Joseph:  “Because the patriarchs were [...]

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“Old Schemes” Acts 6:8-15

Deja vu.  Where have I read all of this before? 
Oh, yeah.  These are the very same charges (maybe even the very same false witnesses) that the Sanhedrin employed against Jesus.  I must say, the leaders of the Jews lacked creativity in their schemes against Christ and his followers.  They just recycled the same strategies over and over [...]

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“The First Business Meeting” Acts 6:1-7

This may have been the church’s first ever business meeting. 
I find it mildly annoying that life so often comes down to organizational and managerial issues.  But that’s the way it’s always been.  Even the apostles couldn’t avoid it.  As someone once said, “No matter what, someone always has to do the dishes.”  
This little story reminds me that how we handle [...]

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“Worthy of Suffering” Acts 5:27-42

“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
This sentence always amazes me.  This is not a normal response to a beating.  It is a Spirit-induced, heavenly response. 
 I can just picture the apostles limping from the temple, backs bruised and bleeding, all the while trying to supress smiles, [...]

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“Beware Jealousy” Acts 5:17-26

A few years ago while participating in a speaking rotation journeying through the book of Mark, I marveled at how frequently I wound up with a passage dealing with a negative response from religious leaders. Soon I began to realize that I had something to learn from them. Well, here we go again!
Let’s be honest [...]

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“13No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”
These verses seem like a contradiction.  How can people be added when no one dared join them?  Verse 13 could be taken two ways: 
1)  [...]

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“Getting Real” Acts 5:1-11

This story reminds us of a couple realities that we tend to downplay to our own detriment.
The first is the spiritual reality.  Peter asks Ananias, “How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit?”  It’s not often that Satan and the Holy Spirit are mentioned in one [...]

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“One in heart and mind” Acts 4:32-37

In the first few giddy days after the birth of the church, the members, Luke tells us, were “one in heart and mind.”  This phrase describes an incredible unity which pervaded the church at that time. 
I’ll be honest, as appealing as unity sounds, when I read what went along with it, I sometimes think, [...]

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