Breakthrough.This is the word that comes to mind when I read Acts 12.  If you haven't read Acts 12:1-11, you are in for a treat. It is a story about a man named Peter, who is in prison.  One day an angel of the lord appeared to him. And when the angel of the Lord appeared to peter, he said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me...” Ac...  Read More

Chances are that you have a handful of deeply rooted beliefs and world views. These types of beliefs don't just pop up overnight or come from one experience, they develop over time. If you ask my one-year-old, he might tell you that experience is a critical component of his current journey through working out his opinions on gravity. He is experimenting with when and where gravity exists (We all k...  Read More

While I was in college I took a job leading worship for a young adult service on Sundays at a church not far from where I lived. During one of our weekly staff meetings, my friend Paul and I started talking about the quirks of our respective faith traditions. In the course of our conversation, he mentioned that most of the Adventists he knew were vegetarian, and he wondered aloud whether that was ...  Read More

EncountersHave you ever questioned or been unsure of something?Acts 9 recounts the conversion of Saul on the way to Damascus. As Saul faced and spoke with Jesus, the companions with him could not see what was happening. However, they could hear. As Saul is not able to see, they continued with and guided him as he followed the words of God (Acts 9:7-8).Then came the conversation between Ananias and...  Read More

Murderers and sorcerers and eunuchs, oh my! Acts 8 is an interesting chapter to stumble upon as the new body of Christ, the church, continues to grow.It begins with the murderer, Saul, who not only oversaw the stoning of Stephen, but was so convicted of his cause and defending how he and the other Jewish leaders interpreted the Scriptures that he was willing to throw men and women into prison to s...  Read More

Sermons come in every shape and size and are as individual as the preachers who preach them. The discourse in Acts 7 is the longest and most famous in scripture. It comes from Stephen and is long, 51 verses to be exact. And if the effect of a public speech is to move people from one place to another, then this talk had that effect in spades. However, it wasn’t a great outcome. No hearts changed; i...  Read More