“It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and my job to love.”
—Billy Graham
Upside Down or Right Side Up? (Acts 17:1-15)
“They said the Apostles turned the world upside down. They meant by that, that they were disturbers of the peace. But they said a great true thing; for Christ’s gospel does turn the world upside down. It was the wrong way upwards before, and now that the gospel is preached, and when it shall prevail, it will just set the world right by turning it upside down.”
—Charles Spurgeon
King Jesus against the Roman Empire (Acts 16:16-40)
“Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night; thine eye diffused a quickening ray; I woke the dungeon flames with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed thee.”
—Charles Wesley, And Can It Be
Christ Acting through the Church (Acts 15:36-16:15)
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
— The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church in Ephesus.
The Church in Expansion (Acts 15:1-35)
“God-given prayer and praise have as their essence a waiting on God, a willingness to be wrought upon by the hammer and the fire of the Almighty, until the chains of self-centered desires fall away from the personality, and the love of Christ become the deepest hunger of the inner life.”
—Jack Miller, Heart of A Servant Leader
Jesus Shares! (Acts 14)
“Go, then, earthly fame and treasure, come disaster, scorn and pain.
In Thy services, pain is pleasure, with They favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee Abba Father, I have stayed my heart on Thee.
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather; All must work for good to me.”
—Henry Lyte, Jesus I My Cross Have Taken
Paul's Words of Encouragement (Acts 13:13-52)
“The highest of all of God’s commands is this: that we ever hold up before our eyes the image of his dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He must daily be to our hearts the perfect mirror, in which we behold how much God loves us and how well, in his infinite goodness, as a faithful God, he has grandly cared for us in that he gave his dear Son for us. Do not let this mirror and throne of grace be torn away from before your eyes.”
—Martin Luther, Letters of Spiritual Counsel
Synthesis: Intelligence, Discernment, Understanding (Acts 13:1-12)
“Jesus, with Thy Church abide; Be her Savior, Lord, and Guide. While on earth her faith is tried...Keep her life and doctrine pure; Grant her patience to endure, trusting in Thy promise sure...May she one in doctrine be, one in truth and charity, winning all to faith in Thee...May she guide the poor and blind, seek the lost until she find, and the broken hearted bind: We beseech Thee, hear us.”
— Thomas Pollock, Jesus With Thy Church Abide
Psalm 4
John, Jesus, and Us (Luke 1:57-79)
“As always, the people of God must decide what reading of their experiences they will live by. Are they to look at the darkness, the hopelessness, the dreams shattered and conclude that God has forgotten them? Or are they to recall his past mercies, to remember his present promises and to make great affirmations of faith?... Hope is the present reality, part of the constitution of the ‘now.’ The darkness is true, but it is not the whole truth, and certainly not the fundamental truth.”
— Alec Motyer, Commentary on Isaiah