The kingdom of God was the central theme of Jesus’ ministry. So why does the book of Acts appear to neglect it? The term “kingdom” occurs forty-two times in Luke’s Gospel, but just eight times in his book of Acts. How could such an important theme to Jesus appear to almost vanish for the early [...]
Category Archives: Early church
Why Acts?
13 July, 2010 – 12:18 AM
Howard Marshall asks: Q. What’s the significance of Luke combining the story of Jesus and the story of the church in one account? A. He’s telling us the two stories are really one. “Luke: Historian & Theologian (Gospel Profiles, 3)” (I. Howard Marshall)
How Jesus gets the job done
30 June, 2010 – 2:25 AM
The main theme of Acts may be the spread of the word, but Jesus is the key player. Jesus is risen and he reigns. His primary agents in forming and growing his church are the word and the Spirit (David Peterson). The risen Lord sends the Spirit (2:33), inspires preachers (7:55-56), calls and commissions his [...]
How the word conquers the world
28 June, 2010 – 11:03 PM
I read a denominational report recently. The assumption of it’s planning into the future was that of continued decline. Such a far cry from the experience of the church Jesus founded in Acts. Too much of our missional thinking assumes God is absent from the planet and it’s all up to us. We provide the [...]
On the road with Paul
16 June, 2010 – 9:55 PM
By the time Alexander had conquered from Greece to India he had traveled around 32,000 kms or 25,000 miles. Most of it on horseback. The apostle Paul didn’t quite match Alexander but by the end of his ministry he had traveled around 25,000 kms or 15,000 miles. I doubt he had a horse. Here’s Schnabel’s [...]
Paul among the Nabateans
14 June, 2010 – 4:54 PM
According to conventional wisdom, Paul spent three years in the solitude of Arabia between his conversion and visiting Jerusalem. It’s assumed he spent the time in prayer and study preparing for his future ministry. There’s no evidence Paul spent the three years in quiet contemplation. We just assume he did. Here’s what we do know, [...]
Paul’s lost years
11 June, 2010 – 9:54 PM
Go to the back of your bible and thumb through the maps. Eventually you’ll find a map like this one, that shows each of Paul’s three missionary journeys. There’s a problem. The first of the journeys (Acts 13-14) began in AD45 when Paul and Barnabas set off for Cyprus and Galatia. That’s about 15 years [...]
What Paul did
9 June, 2010 – 11:11 PM
I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done– by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed [...]
Surprised by Acts
24 May, 2010 – 8:48 PM
I’ve been in the book of Acts lately and there have been some surprises—those “ah ha” moments when you see something for the first time that was always there. Here’s a few . . . Acts is the second half of one story. Luke wrote his Gospel to tell the story of what Jesus began [...]
Looking for trouble?
3 May, 2010 – 10:54 AM
Glenn Townend asks a good follow up question to my post on the link between church planting movements, suffering and persecution: HI Steve Thought provoking! So we need suffering to see a movement happen in Western Australia? What kind do you think we should expect? Glenn Here’s my response: Hi Glenn I think the best [...]
