Have you ever thought about the Christian rationale for why Christians are trying to invite other people to become followers of Jesus as well? Some Christians seem to be rather lax about it, almost to the point where you wonder if they don’t care about whether or not other people become followers of Jesus. OtherContinue reading “You don’t need a dramatic life story to be a true follower of Jesus – Acts 22-23, Part 4”
Tag Archives: christians
What my old sofa taught me about story-telling – Acts 22-23, Part 1
Last week our family got a new sofa for our living room. So Michelle and I carried the old sofa out to our front lawn and put a “Free” sign on it. We were hoping someone could use it, and also save us the trouble and expense of discarding it. We watched what appeared toContinue reading “What my old sofa taught me about story-telling – Acts 22-23, Part 1”
How to be an encouragement – Current Events Q3 2020, Part 4
Our study of the “One Another” passages in the New Testament continues. If you haven’t read the previous posts, I encourage to start at the first one here. There are more than 50 “One Another” passages, and put together they form a powerful teaching about the identity and practice of the church. This week IContinue reading “How to be an encouragement – Current Events Q3 2020, Part 4”
Let your freedom be ruled by love – Acts 21, Part 5
A man and his family went to church recently. This man and his family are healthy people, and believed that they do not need to wear masks. I’m writing this in July 2020 as coronavirus cases in the USA just exceeded 4 million, and many states are requiring the wearing of masks in public placesContinue reading “Let your freedom be ruled by love – Acts 21, Part 5”
How should Christians respond when our world falls apart? – Acts 16, Part 1
It’s been quite a year already, hasn’t it? And we’re not even halfway through! We started the year in political turmoil with a presidential impeachment hearing and the normal increased intensity of election year debates. Then Covid-19 hit, and we were in quarantine, including a near total shutdown of the country, for months. Then multipleContinue reading “How should Christians respond when our world falls apart? – Acts 16, Part 1”
What disagreement led to the first church council? – Acts 15, Part 1
Editor’s Note: This series of posts on Acts 15 is written by guest teacher David Hundert. Thanks, David! What is doctrine? Is it a hard and fast rule? Is it something that has to be written in Scripture? Did it come off the mountain, written by the finger of God? I’d like to answer allContinue reading “What disagreement led to the first church council? – Acts 15, Part 1”
“Christians must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Really?) – Acts 14, Part 4
How do you like the quote in the title? Agree? Disagree? Let’s talk about it. In the previous post we looked at the question of whether or not Jesus is okay with various levels of commitment to him. As we study Acts, it seems that a guy like the Apostle Paul was radically committed toContinue reading ““Christians must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Really?) – Acts 14, Part 4″
Christians, are we seeing the needs? Are we listening? – Acts 14, Part 2
Christian people, I have a question for you: when people think of you do they think, “there is a person who listens, who sees, who has empathy, who cares”? Or do they think, “there is a person who won’t stop talking, who is so focused on themselves”? What kind of Christian should we be? We’veContinue reading “Christians, are we seeing the needs? Are we listening? – Acts 14, Part 2”
Are you counting your blessings the right way? (or the wrong way?) – Acts 12, Part 2
Have you ever been around a child learning to count? My kids, at that very early stage, would often skip numbers in the teens, “11, 12, 13…15, 16, 17…” It was humorous, but we would stop them and say, “You missed 14…let’s try it again.” After practice, they learned. In the previous post, I suggestedContinue reading “Are you counting your blessings the right way? (or the wrong way?) – Acts 12, Part 2”
Simon the Sorcerer vs the Holy Spirit – Acts 8:4-40, Part 3
There was a powerful man in Samaria. Simon the Sorcerer. All week long we’ve been studying Acts 8:4-40, learning about how Christians should get woke like the early church. One of those earliest Christians, Philip, had traveled to Samaria and started demonstrating the power of the Holy Spirit. But there was already a man withContinue reading “Simon the Sorcerer vs the Holy Spirit – Acts 8:4-40, Part 3”
Engaging Scripture 