Text: Acts 23:33-Acts 24 Theme: While imprisoned Paul was in a long waiting pattern for no apparently good reason. Key verses: “When they arrived in Caesarea, they presented Paul and the letter to Governor Felix….Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod’s headquarters” (chapter 23, v. 33, 35). “Five days later Ananias, ...
Text: Acts 23:11-35 Theme: God’s unseen hand led and protected Paul. Key verses: “That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, ‘Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.’ The next morning a group of Jews got ...
Text: Acts 23:6-10 Theme: Paul was perceptive and not afraid to frame the truth in defensive ways. Key verses: “Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is ...
Text: Acts 23:1-5Theme: Paul acted and reacted boldly, humbly and smartly. Key verses: “Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: ‘Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!” Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth. But Paul said to him, ‘God will ...
Text: Acts 22:24-30 Theme: Paul withheld information until it was the right time to share. Key verses: “The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious. When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul ...
Text: Acts 22:1-23 Theme: Paul didn’t back down from telling the truth, the needed truth, and nothing but the truth. Key verses: “‘Brothers and esteemed fathers,’ Paul said, ‘listen to me as I offer my defense.’ When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater. Then Paul said, ‘I am ...
Text: Acts 21:37-40 Theme: Paul thought quickly on his feet to find a solution. Key verses: “As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, ‘May I have a word with you?’ ‘Do you know Greek?’ the commander asked, surprised. ‘Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago ...
Text: Acts 21:26-36 Theme: Paul was both unsecured and secure as he went forward in God’s plan for him. Key verses: “So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would ...
Text: Acts 21:15-26 Theme: Paul was unusually quiet and accepting of the Jewish leaders’ plans for him. Key verses: “When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly. The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. After greeting them, Paul ...
Text: Acts 21:1-14 Theme: The Spirit gets blamed (and misinterpreted) for a lot of things. Key verses: “We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem. When we returned to the shop at the end of ...