Wake Up Call on Evangelism

I am starting to see a parallel between the last 100+ years of evangelism and Acts 1:8. In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells his disciples that they will be witnesses in Jerusalem - Judea - Samaria - and the ends of the earth. The last 100 or so years of church growth has been a lot [...]

Small Group Curriculum - Acts of the Apostles

This is a series of lessons that we just finished up last month in our LIFE groups. Again, feel free to use these in any way that is helpful to you and your ministry. I only ask that these not be published for profit.
Introducing Acts (Acts 1)
Cut to the Heart (Acts 2:1-41)
The First Church (Acts [...]

Ripening Issues in the Church of Christ - Alienated Older People

This is the last of the Ripening Issues in the CofC series. This is one that I am most worried about because the other issues all load into this one. There is pretty close biblical parallel that can help us handle this issue. For many years people thought Paul wrote Romans as a general layout [...]

Why Did the NIV “delete” verses in the New Testament?

This website calls out the NIV based on the fact that various verses are no longer present. The claim is that the NIV deleted these verses with the conclusion that the NIV is not to be trusted. I appreciate their appeal to want a complete Bible, to not tamper with God’s word, and an understanding [...]

Celebrating God’s Deliverance (Acts 12)

Word came back to the disciples that James had been killed and Peter was arrested. With a political system in flux and a need to find favor with the Jewish constituents, Peter’s life hung in the balance. The Christians began to pray. I wonder what it is they prayed for. I think if I were [...]

Ananias & Sapphira - A Closer Look (Acts 5)

After the earlier post on The Providence of God in Acts 1-10 I received the following email that I thought was interesting and I wanted to address it here to see if anyone had any other thoughts on the matter…
Good Morning Matthew …
As a “New Garment” Christian, I don’t allow myself to fall for many [...]

God’s Providence in Acts 1-10

The more experience I have as a child of God the more I come to the conclusion that there are few accidents in the world. I am not saying that God gives us that first parking spot at Wal-Mart, unless of course you get out of the car and have an encounter with someone that [...]

F.R.O.G. - Fully Rely on God (Acts 9)

In Acts 9 we find the Commission/Conversion of Saul of Tarsus. On his way to Damascus, the light flashes, the voice booms, and Saul falls to the ground. He asks, “Who are you, Lord?” Jesus answers, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting…now get up and go into the city and you will be told [...]

The Simplicity of the Gospel (Acts 8:26ff)

I love the story of Philip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8. There is so much we can learn about God’s willingness to prepare people for the gospel of Christ. Philip follows the direction of the angel. The Ethiopian had been worshiping in Jerusalem and is now reading from Isaiah 53 when Philip walks up [...]

Holy Spirit Part 1: Why We Don’t Discuss It

1. Doctrinal Whiplash
In the Church of Christ we tend to have what I think of as “doctrinal whiplash.” The Baptists talk about witnessing so we don’t like that term any more. The Pentecostals emphasize the Holy Spirit so we shy away from it. And so on. That can be very detrimental to our own understanding [...]