WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH,                             Joshua 4:21-23 As a former history teacher, I was surprised to discover that the Old Testament has no word for history. The penny dropped when I learned that Judaism didn’t focus on ‘history’ so much as ‘memory’. That is helpful. As the former Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks has pointed out, […]

THINK ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE THINK ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE. (Samuel 12:24, Psalm 105:1-5)  But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. (v24) Thank God for what He has done. “When we take time to thank God for what He has done, the […]

THINK ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE. (Samuel 12:24, Psalm 105:1-5)  But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. (v24) Thank God for what He has done. “When we take time to thank God for what He has done, the event becomes even more real to […]

STEP SIX IN CRISIS: HUMBLY CONFESS YOUR SIN TO GOD       Daniel 9:5-6 “We have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all […]

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED                                Acts 14:21–28 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch (v21) When Paul returned to places he had been before, there were no regrets. The end of Acts 14 chronicles the return trip Paul and Barnabas made back to home base, Antioch. En […]

THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY                    Acts 16:1–10; 17:1–11 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. (v2) A man from Macedonia had said, “Come over and help us.” God had in mind a seller of purple, an exploited slave girl, and a rugged, brutal Roman jailer. When you travel as God would have you travel, like Paul, you’re […]

AN ATTITUDE OF STRONG DETERMINATION Acts 16:16–40; Philippians 2:1–18  for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (v13) Paul commands believers to possess the attitude of strong determination. He confesses, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one […]

AN ATTITUDE OF GENUINE THANKSGIVING  Acts 16:16–40; Philippians 2:1–18 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: (v5) Paul had an attitude of genuine thanksgiving: “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open […]

BRINGING IT HOME                       Acts 17: 1–9; 1 Thessalonians 2:1–6 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. (1 Thessalonians 2:3) What is it going to take to convince us that the last will be first and the first will be last? For some it will […]

POWERFUL PREACHING                                             Acts 17:10–34 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (11) If you are responsible for communicating biblical truth, consider yourself a preacher (at least for the […]