Category Archives: On the way to Sunday’s sermon

Americans express their aspirations through their celebrities, and attempt to live vicariously through them. Our religious tribes works similarly. Dalai Lama and Richard Gere? Do you Tebow? Is it Cat Stevens/Yusaf Islam? Do the new atheists turn you on? This happens … Continue reading →

I’ve read through the book of Acts a number of times and one of the most puzzling things about the story of Paul are his actions toward the end of the book. After Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem at the riot … Continue reading →

Follow the Frog This is one of those commercials that strikes the keys just right that you almost imagine it couldn’t be more perfect. The video is actually about two outcomes, a futile one and an asserted fruitful one. We … Continue reading →

There are some weeks when the sermon illustrations jump up and slap you in the face. This was one of those weeks. I’ve been leading my congregation through the book of Acts for a couple of years now, and the … Continue reading →

As members of my congregation know I’ve been working through Acts. Partially for that reason this animated motion picture caught my eye. I really hadn’t thought of the Paul story and the Jerusalem collection from this perspective before. I was … Continue reading →

After the story of Paul in Corinth in Acts 18 we have an interesting section from 18:18-19:20 where there is evidence of a lot of things happening. What we see in this section is that far more is happening than … Continue reading →

Paul in the book of Acts through chapter 17 reminds me of Ironman. Paul was the Tony Stark of the Pharisees and in his conversion he becomes a missionary Ironman. He goes into city after city in the Eastern Roman … Continue reading →

Conflict in Naming the Good The Apostle Paul is many times a persona non grata in the cities of his first and second missionary journey. Luke’s telling of his story often highlights the trouble he perpetually found himself in. He … Continue reading →

A pattern has developed in the book of Acts of getting rid of Paul. Paul is not a zealot knifing Roman solders and officials. Paul is not a revolutionary leader, gathering together men willing to bring commotion in the street. … Continue reading →