What a year it has been. Across the south, we’ve suffered both devastating hurricanes and ice storms, and now we’re plagued with biting gnats. Across America, we’ve endured mob violence and political acrimony. And across the globe, over three million people have died from COVID-19 – that’s more people that…

“God save me!” I suppose we’ve all prayed that way during times of desperation. But as many of us know all too well, and as today’s passage makes clear, God doesn’t always save us in the way we expect, or in the way we might think He should. After all,…

Maybe you know what it’s like to make a decision on impulse. Maybe you’ve even rejected the Word of God that has come to you in the Scriptures or from trusted Christian friends. And maybe your rebellious, impulsive decision has blown up in your face. That’s what happened to the…

“You are out of your mind.” That was Festus’ reaction when Paul insisted that Jesus had risen from the dead. And many people stand with Festus today – those who, like him, make worldly power and influence the focus of their lives. For if you are placing your faith in…

To say that Jesus changed Paul’s life is a bit of an understatement. When he was a young man, he had been a Pharisee, someone who tried to follow the Law of Moses with the greatest rigor (26:5). He not only rejected Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah, but he…

In the Ancient world, these really were somebodies. Porcius Festus was the procurator of the Roman province of Judaea, and as such he was appointed by and answered to Emperor Claudius. Festus commanded the Roman legions which occupied the area and kept order, and he had the option to use…

The tension between justice and politics is nothing new. Legislators often make compromises, agreeing to vote for one bill in order to gain support for another. Even judges sometimes render decisions with one eye on the headlines – the Supreme Court which routinely overturned Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation began…

Paul wasn’t the first Christian to be falsely accused by faithless leaders, and he certainly wasn’t the last. His accusers praised Felix for keeping the peace (24:2), even though Josephus tells us it was at the cost of ruthless suppression of any sign of insurgency. They thus hoped that simply…

“You must testify also in Rome.” That’s what God told Paul in verse 11, but how in the world could that possibly happen? The chief priests and elders wanted to kill him, and a group of assassins had volunteered to do just that (23:15). So great was their hatred of…

This has to be one of the most entertaining passages in the Book of Acts: Paul loses his temper, and gets smacked across the face. He then takes advantage of his opponents’ theological differences to get them squabbling with one another so they would forget about their common hatred of…