Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / September 11 - Acts 18

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September 11 - Acts 18 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

• 0:11
  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday.
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  It is the 11th of September and unfortunately this date is kind
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  of marred in our history. 911 is not a happy association.
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  I know someone whose birthday is today and he was just so
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  devastated that his birthday would forever be marred as this
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  day. So I thought, what are some
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  other less unhappy things that have happened on the 11th of
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  September? And way back in 1297, our hero,
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  William Wallace, he won a decisive victory at the Battle
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  of Sterling Bridge, which really kind of pushed momentum toward
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  the Scottish independence movement, which means they
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  ultimately, a number of years later, were able to win their
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  own independence. But that's still a little bit
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  worry. How about Harry Connick junior?
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  Any of you like a little bit of swing?
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  It's his birthday today, Harry. Happy birthday.
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  And if all of that's just a little bit not interesting to
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  you, it's National Make Your Bed Day.
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  So if you've made your bed today, you have achieved
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  something good for the day and set yourself up on the right
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  path. And if you're still in bed, wow,
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  well, you are at a distinct advantage because you can hop
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  up, make your bed, and have participated in something that
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  people all around the world are doing today, making their beds.
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  There you go. It is a day filled with hope and
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  possibility, and we are going to live it today and see what
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  amazing things we can do. And our Bible reading is equally
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  amazing as we continue to read this, this amazing story of
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  God's Spirit just convincing people of the truth of the
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  gospel message and communities being changed, people forming
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  righteous mobs to push back against change.
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  Ah, so much going on. Let's dive in and read the
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  story, shall we? Let's continue reading as we
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  read Acts chapter 18. Then Paul left Athens and went
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  to Corinth. There he became acquainted with
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  a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived
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  from Italy with his wife Priscilla.
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  They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all
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  Jews from Rome. Paul lived and worked with them,
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  for they were tent makers just as he was.
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  Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue trying to convince the
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  Jews and Greeks alike. And after Silas and Timothy came
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  down from Macedonia, Paul spent all of his time preaching the
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  word. He testified to the Jews that
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  Jesus was the Messiah and when they opposed and insulted him,
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  Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, Your blood is
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  upon your own heads. I am innocent.
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  From now on I will go to preach to the Gentiles.
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  Then he left and went to the home of Titus Justice, a Gentile
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  who worshipped God and lived next door to the synagogue.
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  Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his
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  household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also
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  heard Paul became believers and were baptised.
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  One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him don't
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  be afraid, speak out, don't be silent, for I am with you and no
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  one will attack and harm you, for many people in the city
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  belong to me. So Paul stayed there for the
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  next year and a half, teaching the word of God.
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  But when Gallio became governor of Ikaya, some Jews rose up
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  together against Paul and brought him before the governor
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  for judgement. They accused Paul of persuading
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  people to worship God in ways that are contrary to our law.
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  But just as Paul started to make his defence, Gallia turned to
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  Paul's accusers and said, Listen, you Jews, if this were a
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  case involving some wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have
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  a reason to accept your case. But since it is merely a
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  question of words and names and your Jewish law, take care of it
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  yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.
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  And he threw them out of the courtroom.
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  The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the
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  synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom.
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  But Gallio paid no attention. Paul stayed in Corinth for some
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  time after that, then said goodbye to the brothers and
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  sisters and went to nearby St Crea.
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  There he shaved his head according to Jewish custom,
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  marking the end of a vow. Then he set sail for Syria,
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  taking Priscilla and Aquila with him.
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  They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the
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  others behind. While he was there, he went to
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  the synagogue to reason with the Jews.
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  They asked him to stay longer, but he declined.
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  As he left, however, he said, I will come back later, God
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  willing. Then he set sail from Ephesus.
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  The next stop was at the port of Say, Saria.
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  From there he went up and visited the church at Jerusalem
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  and then went back to Antioch. After spending some time in
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  Antioch, Paul went back through Galatia and Phrygia, visiting
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  and strengthening all the believers.
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  Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the
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  Scriptures well, had arrived at Ephesus from Alexandria in
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  Egypt. He had been taught the way of
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  the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic
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  spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about
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  John's baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard
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  him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside
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  and explained the way of God even more accurately.
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  Apollos had been thinking about going to a Caia, and the
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  brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to go.
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  They wrote to the believers in Akaiya asking them to welcome
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  him when he arrived there. He proved to be of great benefit
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  to those who, by God's grace, had believed.
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  He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public
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  debate. Using the Scriptures, he
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  explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah.
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  Our Jesus, we thank you for the lives that you give us, these
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  rich and wonderful lives where each day we can walk and talk
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  and share and love and be loved. A lot of pray that today as we
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  go about our daily lives, that you inspire us, that you move us
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  into the places where your Kingdom needs to be shared.
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  And that you equip us with an extra measure of Your grace,
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  Your love, Your kindness, your patience so that we can disrupt
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  the selfish ways of this world and that we can share You boldly
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  and accurately like our mate Apollos.
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  And Lord, I pray for our governments and our leaders that
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  you would bless them, that you would mould them, and that you
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  would prompt and guide them in the decisions they make so that
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  your Kingdom can be a reality here.
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  We lift up ourselves, our communities, our leaders and our
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  days into your precious hands. We pray this all in your loving
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  present name, Jesus, Amen.