Saturday 26 September: Acts 5:39b-42: V39b:  So they take Gamaliel’s advice – though only up to a point, for… V40:  …they have the Apostles beaten ( unlawfully, for they have faced no charges ), forbid them again to speak in the Name of Jesus ( which has proved a fruitless demand 3 times already ) and…

Friday 25 September :  Acts 5: 33-39a : V33:  Enraged by the Apostles’ teaching and testimony, we are told for the first time that the council seek to kill them, as their rage and malice grow. V34:  But a wise and highly regarded teacher of the law, a Pharisee named Gamaliel – we learn in…

Thursday 24 September: Acts chapter 5:25-32 V25:  They then hear how the men they have arrested and put in prison for preaching about Christ are back in the temple, doing the self-same thing. V26:  So, temple guards are sent again to bring them before the council – but they will not use force, for fear…

Wednesday 23 September: Acts chapter 5:17-24: V17:  The phenomenal growth of the church now stirs up the Jewish authorities to increasingly bitter response. We note again the dominance of the Sadducees – including the High Priest – in this. All that is taught offends their “liberal” or rational attitude, yet note they are also jealous of…

Tuesday 22nd September: Acts chapter 5: 12-16  V12:  Ongoing signs are still God’s seal upon the early church and the apostles’ ministry – the power is His, not theirs, of course. He is vindicating His Son’s Name and validating His gospel. V13:  Filled with awe and fear at what they see happening, people become afraid to…

Monday 21 September:  Acts chapter 5:1-11: ( NB: A longer passage than usual, but one that would be difficult to split.) V1-2:  Ananias and Sapphira seek to appear to be as sacrificially committed in the love of Christ as such as Barnabas, but sadly it is a sham.Their intention is to be admired and thought…

Saturday 19 September: Acts chapter 4 :32-37: V32:  We now get another glimpse of the oneness in love of the early church – now a considerable number, remember – put together ch 2 v 41 and 47, and ch 4 v4, all added to the original 120 of ch 1 v15. They were united in…

Friday 18 September:  Acts chapter 4:24-31: V24:  How will the believers respond in the face of the authorities’ threats? ( How would we have done? ) They come straight to prayer, acknowledging God’s sovereignty in creation… V25-26:  … and from the OT recognising how He has foretold and purposed all that is happening now, to…

Thursday 17 September:  Acts chapter 4: 19-23: V19:  Peter and John now answer boldly, with Holy Spirit given wisdom. Let these rulers judge for themselves, should the apostles listen to them rather than to God? Here surely is an abiding principle – though as Christians we should submit to the proper authorities God has ordained…

Wednesday 16 September: Acts chapter 4: 13-18: V13:  The council are amazed at the boldness with which Peter and John speak, all the more because they are ordinary ” uneducated” men – their voices would have identified them as ” working class ” Galileans. The source of their boldness is, of course, the Holy Spirit,…