The Back Porch

In Acts 15 there was much debate about certain customs within Jewish traditions, such as circumcision. The Bible says these men had a long debate over this topic, certain people believed in order to enter into heave they must first be circumcised. There are times we need to be prepared to give an account for what we believe and why believe it (we call this apologetics), and the Apostles set a grea...

Acts 14 reveals how Paul continues to preach the gospel, except he begins to experience for the first time, "how much he must suffer for the sake of my name," as God prophesied in Acts 9. Paul is a great example to the believer that not everyone will respectfully and peacefully listen to the gospel, but he also reveals that we shouldn't be scared or ashamed to entertain those convers...

In this next chapter, we see Paul beginning his ministry as Jesus called him to. Not only does he boldly proclaim the gospel, but he speaks and acts as the spirit commands. This is not an easy task to do, as sometimes anger and jealousy fills our human flesh causing us to lash out irrationally. Paul was on a bigger mission and he wasn't willing to let anyone compromise God's plans. The sam...

Acts 12, we see government persecute the church - James is killed and Peter is imprisoned. All the while the church was praying that God would somehow free Peter, and when He does Rhoda, a servant girl, is shocked at seeing his appearance and the apostles didn't believe that he was set free. God is our way maker, He's always answering prayers, it's okay to be excited when He answers yo...

Peter is faced with explaining to the church why he spent time with non-believing gentiles. This was the first time the gospel was shared with non-Jews, what excitement, yet it Pete knew he would still need to explain himself to the church, as it was against jewish tradition to speak with gentiles. There are times when God may reveal something to you and you might not understand the message, just...

Many times Christians think they have arrived, but in Acts 10 we see a great preacher like Peter, who for the first time, God reveals that Jesus death and resurrection was even for the gentiles. Peter was perplexed at his vision in chapter 10, but when God told him to go scripture says he immediately went. The same is told for every believer - when God gives you a vision, a plan, a word to share,...

Chapter 9 is very interesting, as this is the famous chapter when Saul meets Jesus face to face. There's another similar encounter in Numbers 22, when Balaam is confronted by "The Angel of the Lord," which people speculate to be Jesus, and is basically tested while on his way to meet the king Balak. Acts chapter 9 speaks to many Christians, because it reveals that God can choose anyo...

Cam and I briefly cover chapter 7 before jumping into chapter 8, simply because Acts 7:44-53 talks about worshiping God and to the Temple. Jesus said it himself, "the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when...

God has made many promises, and many of them have been fulfilled. Steven reminds the Pharisees of God's promise to Abraham, His promise to Moses, and now Steven is trying to catch them up on the promise of the coming Messiah. At this point the Messiah has already come and when he came Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit - we see God fulfill that promise in Acts 2. Ultimately, Acts chapter 7...

Acts 6 is an amazing introduction to Stephen. This was an ordinary man, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, that God used to share the name of Jesus. Stephens purpose was to relieve the apostles of servitude, because they were becoming busier every day. Yet in Stephens service he still found time to evangelize, and in doing so this angered certain religious leaders. The key takeaway from todays m...

God sets the standard in Acts 5. Ananias and Sapphire are used as an example for the Christian standard, as they tried to lift themselves up seeking praise from the church yet lying to God about the land they sold - a double No No!! But Peter said it best, "we must obey God," and if there is no punishment for disobedience then Christianity would be filled with hypocrites. God expects per...

In the book of Acts chapter 4, Peter and John face persecution from the exact same religious leaders who murdered their Messiah. And with no hesitation and being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter speaks boldly about the events that occurred the day of Christ crucifixion. The purpose of the believer is to speak boldly about Christ, regardless if you face persecution, and the second is too love oth...

In Acts chapter 3, we see Peter and John, fulfilling their mission by taking the torch that Jesus passed to them to perform healings and preach repentance and salvation. This wasn't the first time healing and teaching was done in the same day, as we see many times in previous books where Jesus heals the sick and lame just to teach the people of Israel a new lesson. Join us as Matthew and I bre...

Acts 2 is considered one of the greatest sermons of all time, and if you really think about it Peter does a great job sharing the gospel of Jesus. He not only talks about the resurrection, but he even references Joel and David, which are prophesies about Jesus. In this chapter we see the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit come, and we see many people added to the church. If you ever have questions abo...

The book of Acts is probably one of the biggest turning points for the church. This is where Jesus not only gives the apostles a plan and purpose, but power to fulfill that purpose! We don't see the Holy Spirit come till chapter 2, but what great anticipation and planning there is just in chapter one. This is where we see the church first gather together and receives the power of God! If I cou...

In the last chapter of 1 Timothy, Paul really closes in on two things: False knowledge and finding contentment. We live in a generation where we have access to almost anything, if you want to do a quick Google search it takes 10 seconds, if you want to fly to another state or country you can board a plane and be there within a day or two. Because we have such easy access to everything it can be ea...

As the body of Christ it can seem like most things tend to be the church's responsibility such as, providing child care, visiting widows, feeding and clothing local families in need. The list goes on, but in most cases resources are always limited whether it's, people, clothing, food, etc. Paul addresses instructions for the church and gives logical yet spiritual reasoning of how to go abo...

We live in a time where we have access to so much knowledge and wisdom, but sometimes the things we learn are not beneficial to our faith. Paul addresses these same concerns in the church and even cautions Timothy to keep a close eye on himself and his teachings, as it can have an impact on his salvation and the salvation of others. The same still applies today, we need to be careful on what we be...

Timothy, is a young pastor who was appointed by Paul, to take his place while he was in prison. Even though he was young, Timothy still possessed traits to be a great leader in the church it's why there was so much trust placed in him to lead the church of Ephesus, but Paul knew Timothy was not quite ready to do everything alone, it's why there are letters addressed to Timothy, to assist h...

Most Christians know the importance of prayer, but Paul gets very specific about his prayer life. He states that we should pray for the leaders in our country and in our towns, even if those leaders are not worthy of prayer. I think we can all agree that we don't love hostility but rather peace, that we can live a "quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." This is what Paul envi...

We all struggle at times with reading our bible on a consistent basis, and sometimes when we're in the groove of reading our bible Satan finds a way to distract us pulling us away from our alone time with God. In 1 Timothy Chapter 1, Paul is writing to Timothy, encouraging him to remain in Ephesus so that he can keep certain people from teaching false doctrine and their strange devotions to my...

Most people in our world avoid confrontation at all cost, even if we know someone we love is making a big mistake. Because we would rather keep our mouths shut than to speak up. In the letter to Philemon, Paul does the complete opposite because he knows the importance of holding each other accountable, and that it takes courage, love, and the right words, when addressing the issue. This letter is...

Most people in our world live by a moral code and usually these people stand by their word. Paul was a man who stood by his word stating that he would indeed repay another mans debt. We live in a selfish time where most people are would never think to pay off another person's debt, but the truth is because of the sin in our lives we owe God much more than we could ever repay, which is why He s...

All throughout the Bible God has appointed many people to accomplish his will. Most of the time these were unlikely people who would not stand out among a crowd, but God raises these men and women up to do might things to reveal how powerful He actually is. In Jeremiah 38:1-13, there is a man names Embed-melech, who God appointed to save Jeremiah, the prophet, from a cistern he was thrown into. Je...

One of the greatest joys I receive in ministry are the people that I meet. I love how God brings together amazing people from all over the world, and lucky for me I've had the privilege to serve along side some of the most amazing people, whom by God's divine will brought us all together. Our lives are designed to fellowship with one another, serve with one another, and help each other in...