If you are anything like me, the details of most sermons you hear in life tend to fade away. I’ve gained great benefit from thousands of sermons throughout the years, but I can recall relatively few specifics. That’s why the following somewhat obscure section of Scripture always sticks out to […]

“You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.” Acts 19:37 Paul had obviously upset the order of things in Ephesus. He was proclaiming a message that caused people to turn from their twisted worship, and the ministry was so successful that many […]

“Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he […]

“Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the […]

“When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.” Acts 18:5 There are a multitude of ministries in the church, and they are all vital to the Kingdom. Silas and Timothy served in a different way than […]

In Acts 6 the Apostles had to focus on what they were called to do and call others to do what needed to be done. There was literally a bottleneck of leadership happening. The church was growing explosively. Everyone was complaining. It wasn’t good. So they had the congregation chose […]

When my wife and I planted a church in Seattle in the 90’s we occasionally had some good-natured person suggest something along the lines of, “if you could just get Bill Gates saved and tithing to your church, you’d be set”. It was the same in Youth Ministry. When discussing […]

“Don’t you know anything? Can’t you see that it’s to our advantage that one man dies for the people rather than the whole nation be destroyed?” He didn’t say this of his own accord, but as Chief Priest that year he unwittingly prophesied that Jesus was about to die sacrificially for […]

The other day I had a conversation with a man who, as a part of his job description, regularly has to place—and sometimes remove—pastors. It was interesting to talk to this leader of shepherds and realize the challenge involved in helping to discern a ministry fit or misfit. Most of […]