That’s enough for now! …

"That's enough for now!" (Acts 24:25) - This is what Felix said to Paul when Paul's words were getting too close for comfort. Felix didn't like what he was hearing, but he kept on talking to Paul - "At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent …

Let God speak – through you!

Acts 21:15-22:16 Here, we focus on two brief phrases - 'the things that God had done' (19) and you will be a witness for Him' (22:15). In the work of God we must learn to hold these two things together - divine power and human witness. Without the power of God, no one will come to faith in Christ: 'It …

Heaven came down …

"Building a tower and making a name for ourselves" (Genesis 11:4) There is no salvation in ourselves. Salvation is in Christ alone (Acts 4:12). The Lord is our "strong tower" (Proverbs 18:10). Salvation doesn't begin with ourselves. It comes to us from Christ: "Who came down from heaven to earth? - Jesus Christ,our Saviour." Here's a …

Moving forward with God …

"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42). "We preach Christ crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:23). Some things that were important - and are still important! Make sure that you're devoted to the right things - and preaching the right message! Have we outgrown the priorities, …

Raised From The Dead!

“God raised Jesus Christ from the dead” (Acts 2:24). Did this become true only because a lot of people said that it was true? Has it become false because many people refuse to believe that it’s true? No! It’s God’s great miracle. Death has been defeated. There is hope. Death will not triumph over us. …

The Name of Jesus Christ is the Name of our salvation …

More notes can be found at my One Year Bible blog. 2 Samuel 11:1-12:31; Acts 4:1-22; Psalm 71:1-8 “David pleaded with God for the child”, born of his adultery with Bathsheba, but “the child died” (2 Samuel 12:18). David prayed that “the Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live” (2 Samuel 12:22). The …

How are we to die? … Dying in shame … dying in glory …

2 Samuel 16:15-18:18; Acts 7:20-43; Psalm 72:1-20 How are we to die? This is an important question. There’s a difference between dying in shame and dying in glory. The death of Absalom (2 Samuel 18) is a shameful death. The death of Stephen (Acts 7) is a glorious triumph. Stephen’s death is preceded by a …

Human comfort helps us so much – but it can only take us so far …

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God" (Isaiah 40:1). We are comforted by the words and actions of good friends. We know the truth of the saying, "A friend in need is a friend indeed." Human comfort helps us so much - but it can only take us so far. We need more than human …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Acts

Acts

Waiting on the Lord, we renew our strength … (Preaching God’s Word: Acts).

Luke 11:13, 24:49, Acts 1:1–14, Ephesians 5:18 Waiting On The Lord, We Renew Our Strength. Jesus tells His apostles, ‘the Holy Spirit’ will ‘come upon you’ (Acts 1:11, 8). He gives them His Word of promise: ‘I send the promise of my Father upon you’. He gives them His Word of command: ‘stay in the …

Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith … Let’s be like Barnabas … (Acts 11:19-12:25).

Barnabas 'was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord' (11:24). Let's be like Barnabas, giving ourselves to the Lord and asking Him to make us more useful in His service. Great things can happen when 'earnest prayer' is 'made to God …

The Kingdom Of God: Acts

Jesus preached the kingdom of God. His apostles preached the kingdom of God. In moving from Jesus' preaching in the Gospels to the apostles' preaching in Acts, we're not really moving away from Jesus at all. Luke, the author of Acts, describes his Gospel as an account of "all that Jesus began to do and …

At every stage of our life’s journey, the Lord is there – with us and for us …

How did the world begin? How will the world end? Who was there when the world began? Who will be there when the world ends? How and Who - these are quite different questions. The How question wonders about the beginning and the end. What happened? What will happen? The Who question takes us beyond …

God’s Answer comes to us in the Name of Jesus Christ.

“What are we to do?” – Before we think of what we are to do, we must think about what Jesus Christ has done for us. This is the Good News. Jesus Christ has taken our sins upon Himself. He has died for us so that we might be forgiven by Him. We must never …

Jesus, working in us; Jesus, working through us …

"I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). These words of Jesus call us to think about what we're doing. Is there too much of ourselves, and not enough of Jesus? There is work for us to do - but there's something that's more important than our working for Jesus. It's Jesus, working in us, and …

God has spoken … and he’s still speaking …

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians 2:8). On the one side, there is philosophy.On the other side, there is Christ. The two are very different. Philosophy begins with man - "after the tradition of men." When …

A second chance …

A second chance - and a third chance, and ... How marvellous is the grace of God! When Peter denied his Lord, once, was he written off? When it happened again, was that the last straw? When he denied the Lord the Lord for a third time, was it all over? No! No! No! To …

Let us bring Christ to the nations …

Baptism of the Lord (First Sunday in Ordinary Time): Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17 Let us bring Christ to the nations. Let us serve the Lord in the power of the Spirit. ‘Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, my Chosen One in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him, and …

People can be changed by the love of God.

In Acts 19:23, we read about a riot in Ephesus - "a serious disturbance concerning the way of Christ broke out in the city of Ephesus." Thank God for Ephesians 2:1-5 - "You were once dead because of your failures and sins. You followed the ways of this present world and its spiritual ruler. This …

Authority and power …

"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, …

The Most Important Question

Many people have a vast amount of knowledge and a great deal of understanding, but they don't have the wisdom which leads to salvation, because they refuse to open their hearts to Jesus Christ, the Saviour. Many people learn a lot about a wide range of subjects, but they don't learn what life is all …

God is doing a new thing … (Search The Scriptures: Acts).

ACTS "The Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:2,5,8,16) - This was the time for the fulfilment of promises made by Jesus during His earthly ministry (John 14:16,25; John 16:12). "The Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4,17-18,33,38) - God is doing a new thing. This far surpasses all that happened in the Old Testament. What had been promised is now …

Learning from Stephen – a man, filled with the Holy Spirit

Immediately before he was stoned, Stephen preached the Gospel of Christ. After he had finished speaking, we see Stephen - about to be stoned - facing death as a man, full of the Holy Spirit, a man looking to Jesus Christ - "Now when they heard these things they were enraged and they ground their …

A Wonderful Story – But Not The Greatest Story

Acts 9:1-22 This was the great turning-point - for both Saul's salvation and the Gospel mission. Saul's life was transformed by Christ's love. The persecutor became the preacher. "It is no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). This was a personal call - "Saul, Saul" (Acts 9:4). It was …

The Real Thing – And The Counterfeit

"But the evil spirit answered them, I know Jesus, and I’m acquainted with Paul, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). There will always be a difference between the real thing and the counterfeit. There's no doubt about that. The question is: Can we tell the difference between the two? May God give us wisdom to …

Human Situation, Divine Guidance

"During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them" (Acts 16:9-10). Paul's guidance came through …

Peter – preaching on the Day of Pentecost

Peter preached Jesus as the way of salvation, the way of joy and the way of victory. To those who are needing to hear the Word of the Lord, the true messenger of the Gospel of Christ still says this: "Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2:21). To …

Give all the glory to God.

Herod ‘did not give God the glory’. He accepted the praise of the people - ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man’. Herod’s sudden death - ‘an angel of the Lord struck him down’ - is a warning (Acts 12:22-23; Proverbs 29:1). ‘Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for …

Jesus is taken up into heaven. The Holy Spirit is given to us ….

Ascension of the Lord: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 or 93 or Daniel 7:9-14; Psalm 24:7-10; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53 Jesus is taken up into heaven. The Holy Spirit is given to us. We read, in John 7:39, that ‘the Spirit’ would not be ‘given’ until Jesus was ‘glorified.’ Now, as Jesus was about to be ‘taken …

Jesus is the way of salvation, joy and victory.

John 16:33, Acts 4:10–12, 1 Cor 15:57 Jesus is the way of salvation - Concerning "the Name of Jesus Christ", Peter tells us that "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:10, 12). Jesus is the way …

Jesus loves us much more than we love Him.

Jesus loves us so much more than we love Him. In love, He comes to us to draw out from us a greater love for Him. I find great encouragement in the story of the restoration of Peter in John 21. Peter had denied the Lord three times. For each denial, Jesus came to Peter …

We Ask Our Question. God Gives His Answer.

Our Question And God’s Answer (Acts 2:37-38) The question is our question: “Brothers, what shall we do?” The answer is God’s answer: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Where Does …

Words Of Encouragement

"Paul ... spoke many words of encouragement to the people" (Acts 20:1-2). Encouragement - What an important ministry this is! We are to encourage one another in the Lord. Our  words are to be upliftings words - words that say, 'Lift up your eyes. Look to Jesus. See how great He is. See how much …

When the Holy Spirit comes on you …

‘When the Holy Spirit comes on you… you will be My witnesses… to the ends of the earth’(Acts 1:8). This great advance of the Gospel - Salvation reaches ‘the Gentiles’(Acts 10:45; Acts 11:1,18) - is a movement of ‘the Spirit’(Acts 11:12). The Spirit speaks through the Word (10:44; 11:15). In God’s Word, we read of …

The Conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch: The Spirit, the Scriptures, the Saviour

* The conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch begins with the call of the Spirit - "The Spirit told Philip, 'Go to that chariot, and stay near it" (Acts 8:29). * It continues with the reading of the Scriptures - The Ethiopian was reading Isaiah the prophet (Acts 8:30) - and  the explaining of the Scriptures - …

Waiting On The Lord, We Renew Our Strength.

Luke 11:13, 24:49, Acts 1:1–14, Eph 5:18 Waiting On The Lord, We Renew Our Strength. Jesus tells His apostles, ‘the Holy Spirit’ will ‘come upon you’ (Acts 1:11, 8). He gives them His Word of promise: ‘I send the promise of my Father upon you’. He gives them His Word of command: ‘stay in the …

Jesus, Paul … and you (What will your future be?)

"I am Jesus, whom you (Saul of Tarsus) are persecuting ... I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith …

The grace of God was poured out on me abundantly …

Acts 9:1-43 Saul the persecutor become Paul the Apostle (13:9). What a great turning-point this was in the life of the early Church! When we read of Paul's missionary journeys (13:1-28:31). we may be tempted to think, 'What a great man Paul must have been'. In his letters, Paul insists that we must not think …

The Importance Of Prayer In The Advance Of The Gospel

Notice the importance of prayer in the advance of the Gospel. They were looking for a prayer meeting when Lydia was saved (Acts 16:13-14). They were going to a prayer meeting when the girl was saved (Acts 16:16-18). They were having a prayer meeting when the jailer was saved (Acts 16:25-34). They had gone to …

Journey though the New Testament: Acts

Acts 1-4 ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you“ (1:8). We cannot fill ourselves with the Spirit. We can only ‘be filled with the Spirit’ (Ephesians 5:18). Waiting for the Spirit, the apostles ‘devote themselves to prayer’ (1:14). They do not earn the Holy Spirit as a reward for spending much time …

What must I do to be saved? …

1 Kings 14:21-16:7; Acts 16:16-40; Proverbs 15:21-30 The history of the kings was, for the most part, a history of rebellion against God. So few were asking the question: "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). God has given His answer to this question: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be …

Make sure that it’s real!

Simon the magician was impressed by the ‘signs and great miracles’, but his ‘heart’ was ‘not right before God’(Acts 8:13,19). The Ethiopian’s conversion was real. Searching the Scriptures, he found the Saviour (Acts 8:30-35). From the Ethiopian’s conversion, we learn of Jesus’ promise: ‘Seek and you will find’. From Simon’s tragedy, we hear Jesus’ warning: …

God’s Gift …

Before His ascension to heaven, Jesus told His disciples that they were to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit  - "wait for the gift My Father promised" (Acts 1:4). The Holy Spirit is God's gift. He is not a reward that was given to the disciples because they waited on the Lord. Waiting …

God’s Answer to our question

Acts 2:37-38 The question is our question. The answer must always be God’s answer. We ask the question. We cannot give the answer. In ourselves, there is no answer. We are “far off” (Acts 2:39). We know about our sin, but we cannot give to ourselves the forgiveness of sin. We know about the emptiness …

The God Of Love Is Reaching Out To Us.

Acts 8:26-40 We are in a "desert", but the God of love is reaching out to us (Acts 8:26). Even when we are in a desert, we can prepare ourselves for God's blessing. We can keep on reading God's Word (Acts 8:28). God sends someone to guide us (Acts 8:30-31). What does Philip do? He …

Peace, Power, Purpose

Acts 3:1-4:4 Contrast the Peter we see at the time of Christ's death and the Peter we see here. There was failure, frustration and fear. Now, there is peace, power and purpose. (a) Failure - Peter denied his Lord. (b) Frustration - Things could have been so different, if only I had confessed my Lord. …

Great things can happen …

Great things can happen when ‘earnest prayer’ is ‘made to God by the church’ - God ‘is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think’ (Acts 12:5-7; Ephesians 3:20).

There is no god who can compare with the Lord.

2 Kings 16:1-17:41; Acts 26:24-27:12; Psalm 81:8-16 “They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless” (2 Kings 17:15). There is no god who can compare with the Lord (Psalm 81:9-10). He alone is worthy of praise. He alone gives value to our lives by bringing fulfilment to them: “Open wide your mouth and I will …

Praying Through God’s Word: Acts

Acts 1:1-26 We thank You, Lord, for Your gift of the Holy Spirit. We are not called to serve You in our own strength. We come to You in our weakness. You give to us Your strength. This is the strength that we need – the strength that comes from You. Acts 2:1-47 We thank …

"His dominion shall be … to the ends of the earth" (Zechariah 9:10).

God's purpose was moving on. He had begun with Israel. Their deliverance from bondage in Egypt was a mighty demonstration of His saving power. This was only the beginning. God was moving on to Jesus - "the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). In Jesus Christ, crucified for us, God was reaching out, in love, …

Jesus prays for us – and his prayer will be answered.

"I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). These words were spoken by Jesus to Simon, also known as Peter. What a great answer to prayer there was on the Day of Pentecost - "When the people heard this, they were cut to the …

Christlike in life … Christlike in death

Acts 6:8-8:3 In life and death, Stephen was Christlike. In life and death, he made a great impact. In life, we see him, 'full of grace and power', doing 'great wonders and signs among the people'. People noticed that 'his face was like the face of an angel'. Even his enemies took notice of him. …

Send Your blessing, Lord …

Acts 5:12-6:7 There was great blessing: 'More than ever believers were added to the Lord' (14). There was persecution (17-18). This did not hinder the advance of the Gospel (42). Satan was not going to give up easily. He came right back at the apostles (1). Satan was defeated. Through the Spirit of God and …

The Holy Spirit – God’s gift … not His reward …

Acts 1:1-26 We read, in John 7:39, that 'the Spirit' would not be 'given' until Jesus was 'glorified'. Now, as Jesus was about to be 'taken up...into heaven', He tells His apostles, 'the Holy Spirit' will 'come upon you' (11,8). He gives them His Word of promise: 'I send the promise of my Father upon …

No ordinary day …

Acts 3:1-26 'Laid daily at the gate of the temple', the 'man lame from birth' had seen plenty of 'ordinary' days (2). This was no 'ordinary' day. This was a day for 'walking, and leaping, and praising God' (9). Jesus Christ can do for us what 'silver and gold' cannot do (6). He is 'the …

The start of something great …

Acts 4:1-5:11 Peter preached Christ with great boldness: 'There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved' (12). This boldness came from the Holy Spirit. Peter was 'filled with the Holy Spirit' (4:8). Don't say, 'I'm no Peter'. Peter failed …

Up on the mountaintop, down in the valley …

Sometimes, we're up on the mountaintop. Sometimes, we're down in the valley. Sometimes, we're really rejoicing in the Lord - on fire for the Lord. Sometimes, our heads go down - and we've lost the joy of the Lord. What are we to make of the turmoil of confused and confusing emotions that we experience …

They devoted themselves …

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). "They devoted themselves ... " This is what they did. This is what we are called to do. Let's think about something else - not about what they did, not about what we are called to do. Let's …

The Lord bless you and keep you …

"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven" (Psalm 32:1). The forgiveness of sins - this is such a great blessing. The forgiveness of sins - it's just the beginning of so much great blessing which will continue throughout our life on earth and for all eternity. "Create in me a clean heart, O God,    and renew a right spirit …

The Day Of Pentecost – What A Day That Was!

Acts 2:37-38 At the heart of the Gospel, there is the love of God. This is the story told by Peter on the Day of Pentecost – the story of God’s love for us. In love, God offers to us the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 38). These blessings …