Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
If I asked you, “What is the chief purpose of man?” how would you answer? The chief purpose of man is to glorify God. I Corinthians 10:31 – “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” That all we do...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
After years of investigation and $ billions, man does not yet know how many stars there are in the heavens. A nice round number that I have often heard is: a hundred million billion. On a clear winter’s night, when the sky isn’t disrupted with clouds or those...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Let me begin this morning by telling a story on my wife – a good story. Judy went into a store a couple weeks ago and bought several things, including six of one particular item. They were kind of delicate and the clerk had to individually wrap them so that they...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
September 11, 2001 has often been compared to December 7, 1941. Both were sneak attacks which brought the United States into war, and both were acts of terrorism. “Terrorism” is the word most often associated with 9/11, and it is certainly appropriate. But...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Do you remember when Peter was accosted by a young lady in the courtyard at the High Priest’s palace? This was not long after he took a sword and tried to cut off a man’s head. When this woman accused him of being a disciple of Christ, he lied and denied. That was the...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
When I was in Bible School there was a very popular Christian Trio visiting church after church. They came to the church where Judy and I were members, and the building was packed with more than 2,000 people. In those days, before they moved into the current...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Please turn to Matthew 21:12. “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, And overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Let’s picture an award-winning astronomer – He has wild hair, red eyes, disheveled lab coat; ten pens stuck in the plastic protector in his breast pocket. This man has discovered things that no man has ever seen before. He has a constellation named for him and three...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
When Peter refered to “the stone what was set at nought,” which had “become the head of the corner,” He may have been referring back to any number of different sources. Originally, this theme came from the Psalm which we read earlier. The Lord...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
In the world of higher education there has developed a numbering system used to identify levels of instruction within each subject. For example: There may be a requirement for freshmen to pass a first level Biology class. In the school catalogue that very first class...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Spurgeon, said that it was the reformer Melanchthon who first told the parable about a war between the wolves and the dogs. The wolves were greatly afraid of going to war with the dogs, because they were vastly outnumbered. The leader of the wolves (the alpha male???)...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
From what I read in the Bible, I think that Barnabas would be someone with whom I could really get along. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that he’d get along with me very well. Like computer dating services, just because there appears to be compatibility, that...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
As I was thinking about this passage of Scripture, it occurred to me that it is quite theologically significant. The story is interesting and should be well-known to every child of God. It’s a part of the history of the early church, and so it’s a part of our early...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Let’s say that you are observing the trial of a man accused of theft. The prosecutor has one of the employees of the accused on the witness stand. He strides up to the witness box and asks him, “Why do you think that your boss ordered you to deliberately...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
This scripture divides somewhat unnaturally into two sections. One is a positive statement and the other is a parenthesis in the midst of that statement. I’d like to use that division as the two points to our thoughts this evening. And those thoughts are basically...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
What do you think will be the likelihood of you ever meeting an angel in this life? I think, that although it is not impossible, it is not very likely. At least it’s not very likely that you would KNOW that you’ve met an angel. But did the Apostles know that there was...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
I pointed out a few weeks ago, that there is a parallel between Acts and the Book of Joshua. Both describe the conflict between the Jehovah and the god of this world. Both begin with a crossing of sorts, and a then a great and notable victory for the Lord. Not only...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
In Numbers 22, we read the story of Balak and Balaam: Israel was in the process of moving from Egypt to the Promised Land. They didn’t care about occupying the wilderness areas that they had to cross; They just wanted to get to their new home. So they politely asked...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
As you heard a few moments ago, Second Kings begins with a wonderful little anecdote about Elijah. The King of Samaria, a man named Ahaziah, had been injured in an household accident. (I’ve been told that the majority of fatal accidents occur in the home, so watch...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Imagine that you are on board a ship headed toward some specific destination. On this particular morning you awake to thick fog, so that you can’t see more than six feet over the side, But you are confident that your captain has all of the technology needed to keep...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Despite Gamaliel’s counsel for restraint, this passage marks the beginning of the persecution against the Lord’s churches. Of course the Lord Jesus had been hated and killed, but it was not so much an attack on Christianity as it was against the person of Christ. The...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Why do you suppose that we are studying the Book of Acts? It’s not in order to carve another notch on our the handle of our gun. It’s not so that some day we can day, “Hey, we studied that book too!” And we are not studying Acts in order to fill our minds...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
I knew a man 15 years ago, who had somehow worked himself into a dither about the condition of the world. Now, I know that there is plenty to be concerned about with what is going on in the world. But at the same time, the Lord is still sovereign. “All things...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
I expect that I will alienate everyone here tonight. Half of you will be angry, and the other half full of sympathy for the offended brethren. But then, hopefully, I’ll pull you all back in before we finish, And before the rotten vegetables start to fly in my...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
On Sunday, I was thinking that we were finished with verses 1-7, But as I have been trying to make this a thorough this study, I slowly re-read this paragraph one last time, asking the Lord whether or not there was anything that I was over-looking. Yesterday, as I...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
The Book of Acts is filled with some of the greatest of all God’s servants. And of course, at the top of the list are Peter and Paul. As we have already seen, Peter has preached some powerful and theological sermons, And we shall see that the preaching of Paul turned...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
It used to be that if a pastor asked one of his church members what the 6th commandment was, he would instantly get the correct answer. There once was a day when the children of our Baptist forefathers could quote and explain each of the ten commandments without...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
I try to show my wife a little kindness every once in a while, especially since she’s still recovering from her doctor-induced head wound. But, of course, when I do that, I make sure that I receive a benefit or two in the process. So Friday, about 12 hours before she...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Not more than 20 miles from Calgary are some wonderful wilderness areas for hiking, fishing and enjoying. For example, about 30 minutes from the city is something that we called the “Ice Cave.” After an easy mile hike from the car, you come to the foot of...
Jan 22, 2015 | Acts
Please excuse me for retelling this little anecdote, but it has a point: In my first year of Bible school, I was required to be in a speech class. It was a tradition that this freshman class ended in a speech contest with the best speeches being given before a plenary...
