You get some pretty good stories when you’ve spent enough time with certain people. This coming May, it will be 20 years since LeeAnn and I started dating. Now, I know most of you have us beat by 10, 20, 30, 40+ years, but sharing life with someone for 20 years gives you plenty of good stories. In fact, we don’t even have to tell the whole story to one another. We will be in a place or see something, turn to one another, and say, “You remember that time?” The other one of us

Because of how quickly we can read through Acts, we imagine that Paul is running from place to place and never in one place for a long time. We think of Paul hosting revival services over a weekend and moving on. That is not what happens. As we read in Acts 19:10, he stayed in Ephesus for two years. That’s not a revival service with an evangelist. That’s a church with a pastor. Paul truly had a pastoral relationship with many of the churches he started, especially in Ephesus.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204%3A34-35&version=NASB

Paul was 100% committed to getting the Jerusalem Collection to Jerusalem. His friends and co-workers in Christ begged him not to go. They knew the chances were high he’d be arrested in Jerusalem. But Paul was unpersuaded. Paul also knew the chances, but he was committed to the cause of delivering the collection himself, no matter what. Are you committed to giving everything for the cause of Christ? Giving money is usually the easiest thing to give. Time, energy, mental power

Nobody from First Baptist Gonzales will ever make you give money to the church. That is not the type of church or organization we are. I am not the type of pastor who is looking at how much people give; I don’t know anyone’s tithes and offerings. You don’t have to give anything to be part of FBCG. But you should want to give. You should be excited to give toward what is happening at FBCG. The Kingdom of God is growing and active because of the work of our church. And we canno

I mentioned on Monday that part of the plan for the Jerusalem Collection was to show unity among all the churches, Jews, and Gentiles alike. These verses encourage the Corinthians to give not so that Jerusalem can have more than they do, but so that there is equality. This collection will set a precedent that the churches help one another. When Corinth is in trouble, the churches will rally to help them. As they are all part of the Kingdom of God under the lordship of Jesus C

What is a sacrifice for others might be easy for you. Most churches teach the necessity of giving a tithe, 10%. The Old Testament Law specified giving a tithe of the crops and livestock to the tabernacle or Temple for different projects throughout the year. In addition, Malachi 3:10 says to “bring your whole tithe into the storehouse.” This concept has carried over to the New Testament world in which we live, even though the New Testament and Jesus never mention a tithe. Jesu

The Bible has a lot to say about money and what we should do with it. In sum, the teaching is that the money that is in our possession is not a possession of ours, but all resources are God’s resources. Because of this, we should be willing to give to others as they have need. Throughout this week, we are going to read passages from the New Testament that discuss what is known as the Jerusalem Collection. The Jerusalem Collection is mentioned in several of Paul’s letters. Thi

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028%3A18-20&version=NASB

Was Paul’s message a success? Not very many people became believers. It wasn’t like when Peter preached at Pentecost, and 3000 people were added to the church. So, was Paul’s message a success or a failure? Obviously, Luke thought it was a success. Luke wrote the sermon in the book of Acts. There are not many sermons written down in Acts. This is one of them. That makes me think that Luke thought it was successful. And who am I to argue with Luke? This is a moment where we mu

You can have compassion and curiosity (see Monday’s and Tuesday’s devotions). You can start where they are (see yesterday). But if you don’t get around to sharing the gospel and the need for repentance, you have not done evangelism. At best, you’ve done a self-help talk, and nobody can help themselves to salvation. Only God can give people salvation. You must present the gospel and let the people respond. If you do not do that, you are not doing evangelism. You must leave it

Imagine someone walking up to you to tell you that everything you think about the world is wrong. How would you react? Now, imagine that same person telling you that because of what you think about the world, you will spend forever sentenced to punishment. This is how non-Christians see Christians when they jump straight to you are living the wrong way and will go to hell. Is what the believer is saying wrong? No. Are they saying it in the wrong way? YES! As Christians, we ne

Be curious. Probably one of the more famous scenes in the TV show Ted Lasso is a scene with the title character being challenged to a game of darts by one of the show’s antagonists. The antagonist thinks very little of Ted because of his Midwestern demeanor. The antagonist is also arrogant about his dart playing. As they are competing in a round of darts, Ted begins to monologue about the need to be curious before committing to something. Ted explains that if the other guy we

Paul’s time in Athens is a masterclass in how to do evangelism. From the time of his arrival to the time he leaves, his actions are an example for each of us as we seek to share the gospel with all people. The first thing that we can notice about Paul is that he cared about the Athenians. Acts 17:16 tells us that Paul is “greatly distressed” that the city was overrun with idols. The picture that the original language gives is a pasture that is overrun with weeds. The distress

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%206%3A4-9&version=NASB

2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us what Scripture is good for. These 2 verses tell us about the perfect Word of God and then go further by telling us how we use Scripture. We don’t read God’s Word for the sake of reading God’s Word. We read God’s Word to know the perfect will of God, so that we can be ready to go and do the work of the Kingdom of God. That type of application is difficult in the world today. A few verses earlier, 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “all who want to live in a godly

Has there ever been a time you’ve stayed up all night with friends? What did you stay up talking about? On the night before Paul left Troas, he stayed up all night with the church and taught about the things of God. They came to church on Sunday and stayed throughout the night until Monday morning, talking about God. Even when a man fell out the window, died, and was brought back to life, they continued meeting and studying the Scriptures together. That’s what I call commitme

The difference between Thessalonica and Berea is striking. In Acts 17:4, we read that “some of them were persuaded,” meaning that some Thessalonian Jews became followers of Jesus. In Acts 17:12, we read that “many of them believed,” meaning that many Berean Jews became followers of Jesus. With only some Jews following Jesus in Thessalonica, the rest of the Jews ran Paul and Silas out of town. But with many of the Jews following Jesus in Berea, Paul and Silas were safe…until t

The Bereans were people devoted to study and thought. They received the message that Paul spoke and considered that message to discern whether it was true or not. After examining his words, they believed in Jesus. The Bereans should be examples for all Bible studies. Hear, examine, believe. It is hard to live like the Bereans when you are not part of a group that studies the Bible together. Yes, God can speak to you on an individual level just by reading the Bible. But the op

Acts 17:2 says that Paul “reasoned with them from the Scriptures…” Would you be able to do this with someone else? Do you have a strong enough grasp on the Truth of the Gospel to reason with someone who had questions? This is why Bible Study is one of the core values of First Baptist. We must always be ready to give a defense of the hope that is within us as 1 Peter 3:15 states. How can we do that unless we have taken the time to study the Bible individually and as a church?