logo

The Attempt: Day 19

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told
Read More

The Attempt: Day 18

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. Paul is working 6 da
Read More

The Attempt: Day 17

I’m on the road, folks. I don’t want to short change you, but how about we keep this simple, because this is one of the most simple chapters to outline in three parts, and those parts being the three cities that Paul and his team preach to: I. Thessalonica II. Berea III. Athens. See? You remember those three towns and you’re well on your way to memorizing a chapter of the bible. When Paul and his co
Read More

The Attempt: Day 16

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra… These are called Laconian cities: wolf land cities. Now, remember what we’ve already read; where we’ve already been. Lystra is where Paul was stoned; home to Lois and her daughter Eunice and grandson Timothy. … where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium s
Read More

The Attempt: Day 15

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch… Judea is at a higher altitude than Antioch. Judea is hill country, Antioch is near the coast of the Mediterranean. We read ‘go down’ and we think ‘south’ because of how we read maps. Again, an example of how we can read the bible with a western mind and misunderstand even some of the simplest of notions. …and were teaching the believe
Read More

The Attempt: Day 14

A short, simple reading today, ok guys? At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of h
Read More

The Attempt: Day 13

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Remember the men From Cyprus and Cyrene who first went to Antioch? These could be those guys. The first guys who fled Jerusalem and headed north past Samaria through Syria to Antioch; these men might specifically be the ones mentioned who spoke to the Greeks. Simeon is quite possibly the same Simon of Cyren
Read More

The Attempt: Day 12

In our show, Acts 12 is where we start building towards the climax of the story of Peter and Abbie and the disciples who turned their world upside down. It’s got sad parts to it.  There’s another martyr for the Lord, James son of Zebedee; and two best friends, John and Peter, have to part company. Yeah, some sad stuff. It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intend
Read More

The Attempt: Day 11

The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Alert: today I’m going to talk a bit more about our show than the immediate context of these passages. When Sherwin and I wrote this show nearly 30 ye
Read More

The Attempt: Day 10.

Sometimes it’s easier to see the connection between the past and present. At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “C
Read More