Last week, we finished with Paul and Barnabas in Asia Minor on a missionary journey. Today, we continue to learn about the second half of that missionary trip. At Iconium Iconium was the capitol of Lycaonia. In a 2nd-century account, Acts of Paul, an Onesiphorus described what Paul looked like when he met him in […]
The Difference Between Infant and Adult Faith
September 14, 2014 by
What is faith? It’s important to understand what faith is–and what faith isn’t. If we don’t know what faith is, then we can misunderstand who may or may not have it. Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Within this verse, what does it […]
Sermon for Holy Cross Day
September 14, 2014 by
The great event took place in 326 AD. Helen, the mother of Constantine, the emperor of the eastern half of the Roman Empire, found the “true” cross of Christ. After her son had made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, Helen went searching the religious sites in the Holy Land. During an excavation, […]
Acts, Lesson 14: Paul’s First Missionary Journey, Pt. 1
September 10, 2014 by
Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch after they had delivered aid for the mother Church at Jerusalem. At Antioch, we find out what the Lord has planned for Saul and Barnabas. The Church calls and commissions Saul and Barnabas to be missionaries There’s a lot going on in the first few verses of this […]
Romans 13:1-10: The Gift of Government
September 7, 2014 by
The Europeans have an expression: “All roads lead to Rome.” That expression came about because, for many centuries, Rome was the world’s main center of power. And back then, many of the major roads did lead to Rome. That’s what connected Rome to its Empire–its massive set of roadways, many of which still exist to […]
Prayers for the Dead: A Scriptural and Lutheran Worldview
September 6, 2014 by
Introduction The Scriptures teach us that a when a person dies, he immediately begins to experience eternity in one of two states: heaven or hell. The Christian experiences eternity as one filled with joy (heaven), although his body and soul are separated until his soul is reunited with a sinless, perfect, incorruptible body on the […]
Acts, Lesson 13: Persecution Begins From the State
September 4, 2014 by
Last week, we had a look into the church at Antioch, the first place where Christians were labelled with the disparaging term, “Christian,” one belonging to Christ. Today, we find such disparaging words grow into an even greater persecution. Martyrdom and Imprisonment Read Acts 12:1-5 Herod and his descendants, also called “Herod” ruled Judea […]
Matthew 16:21-28: Jesus Must Go Forth to Die
August 31, 2014 by
Whenever Jesus says that He must or has to do something, we should stop and take notice. In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus said, “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer a great deal from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that he must be killed and raised on the third day.” When […]
Acts, Lesson 12: Gentiles in the Church; the Gift of Prophecy
August 28, 2014 by
Peter and the Jewish Christians with him saw God giving the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. That means that they were full-fledged members of Christ’s Church, the same as the ethnic Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. But growth and change do not always take place smoothly and without incident, which our study […]
