Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
So here was Paul defending himself before Felix, the Roman Governor. As we should expect from a genuine Christian, he offered no flattery, deceit or exaggeration. He admitted to the charges which were true, but explained them logically, truthfully, and even...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
It’s my intention to try to preach the gospel using this scripture next Sunday morning. But in the mean time, this evening I’d like to think about the preaching of the gospel. And not just the preaching of the gospel, but the hearing and mishearing of the gospel....
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
If you want to accuse me of satisfying my personal curiosity tonight, I will forgive you, because that is basically what my studying thus far this week has been all about. Interwoven throughout the Book of Acts and the four Gospels has been the family of Herod, and...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
Have you ever been so frightened, so nervous, or so excited that your body shook? I’m not thinking about watching or hearing a scarey story, but the real thing: You had to make a speech in front of a large, unfriendly crowd. You were taking a loved one to talk to a...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
There are a few interesting things hidden within and behind this verse. If we were to translate it literally, it would read: “But when two years were fulfilled, Festus was received as successor to Felix; and Felix, with a desire to gain favour with the Jews,...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
At the end of the Lewis and Clark trail, between Seaside and Canon Beach, Oregon is the Tillamook Light House. It was built in 1880 and was one of the great engineering feats of its day. It stands on a tiny island about a mile off the edge of Ecola State Park; both...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
This last baseball season, the Montreal Expos franchise moved from Quebec to the United States and became the “Washington Nationals.” They had a reasonably good year – at least when compared to some of the preceding seasons. They won 12 more games than the...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
In the course of my message this morning I said, “Let’s say for the sake of argument, that this Governor had a sincere desire to be best leader of Judea since Solomon. Let’s interpret his almost immediate departure from Caesarea to Jerusalem as an illustration...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
What so often happens when a wealthy man loses a court case? Doesn’t he usually appeal to a higher court? Sometimes that means a new trial, and sometimes it means that a new court reviews the initial decision. Good or bad, that is one of the characteristics of...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
I am going to take three words out of this scripture but give you a message which is almost totally unrelated to this scripture. That doesn’t mean that it will not be Biblical; it will just not be directly related to Paul and Festus. I have mentioned a couple of times...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
Think about some of the people to whom Paul had been privileged to preach the Gospel: There were the learned elders of Athens – the pseudo-intellectuals of Greece. There were one or two of Israel’s High Priests and the Sanhedrins which hung on to their coat-tails....
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
It seems that every few months there arises a new phrase or term that begins to permeate our speech. For example, a year or so ago, I started hearing people talk about so-and-so’s “world view.” It took me a while to figure out what exactly that means, and...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
One of the most troublesome aspects of current “War on Terror,” as far as I see, is the detaining of suspects. I don’t profess to have inside information, or even very good information at all, but it appears to me that there are multitudes of people being...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
Have you ever asked yourself why it is that God has told us so much about the ministry of the Apostle Paul? Yes, he was the Apostle to the Gentiles; and yes he was key to the evangelism of the ancient world. But what if the Book of Acts was never included in the canon...
Jan 19, 2015 | Acts
A month or six-weeks ago, we had a Wednesday-night lesson on Felix and Drusilla. When we were done I was afraid that I had confused you more than I helped anyone in understanding the interwoven family of Herod. When we started I said that would be our last lesson on...
