The disciples not only struggled with preconceived ideas that kept them from understanding what Jesus taught them, they also shared national prejudices. One example of this is the story of the Samaritan woman from whom Jesus asked a drink of water. The disciples were surprised that He even spoke to the woman (John 4:27) . … Continue reading –>
It’s called a do-over – a second chance to redeem a failure. The greater the failure, the greater the significance of achievement the second time around. We celebrate those who make the most of their do-overs. To see someone who has failed miserably yet, when again faced with that same situation, triumphs, gives us much encouragement. The … Continue reading –>
The disciples weren’t the only ones to be confronted by the religious establishment during the earliest days of the church. Stephen, who was filled with “faith and power, [and] did great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8, NKJV), was brought before them. His witness was so compelling, in fact, that his opponents manufactured … Continue reading –>
Read Acts 4:1-30. How is the great-controversy theme being manifest here? In what ways is this just one example of how it has played out all through history? How do we see Satan working here, and how do we see the Lord working, as well?“The priests and rulers saw that Christ was extolled above them. … Continue reading –>
Meeting about the Beginning. Why couldn’t Jesus’ disciples–His most loyal followers–understand what God’s immediate purpose was after His resurrection? Are you ever surprised by people who are too stubborn to listen to what Jesus wants to tell them? Were the Romans so oppressing to the Jewish people that getting rid of them was the only thing … Continue reading –>
For ten days the followers of Jesus prayed, evaluated their experiences with Jesus in the light of Scripture, showed humility and acceptance to each other, and finally allowed the Holy Spirit to impress the truth upon them. Just as the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep at the beginning of the Creation process, … Continue reading –>
After His resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days meeting with the disciples to confirm the resurrection and to help them better to understand the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3, 1 Cor. 15:4-7). However, even as they assembled, just before Jesus departed into the heavens, the thing uppermost in their minds was whether or not this was … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 1:6-8, Acts 2:5-12, Gen. 11:1-9, Acts 4:1-30, Acts 7:54, Acts 10:12-29. Memory Text: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NIV). The greatest … Continue reading –>
When here in the flesh, Jesus cast out demons (Luke 6:18), gave hope to the hopeless (Luke 6:20-23), showed people how to live out God&rsqup;s agape love (Luke 6: 27-49), healed the centurion’s servant (Luke 7:2-10), raised a widow’s dead son(Luke 7:12-16), stilled a storm (Luke 8:22-25), freed the demoniac at Gadara of his demons … Continue reading –>
It was the third day after Jesus’ death. His followers were still numb with shock. They thought He would crush the Romans, but the Romans had, it seemed, crushed Him instead. Many disciples met together with the apostles after the crucifixion. A group of women from their midst visited the tomb early Sunday morning. Luke … Continue reading –>
