Acts 21

What can we learn from Acts about the traits of a declining church? Tim Woodroof continues his six part series on life and growth and stages of churches, especially churches in decline.

"The next day [after arriving in Jerusalem] Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. After..."

"Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. He came over, took Paul's belt, and bound his own feet...."

"Dear Disciple, Paul's long anticipated return to Jerusalem finally happened. He arrived in Jerusalem accompanied by Christians from the churches in....."

"After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, [Paul and his companions] sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then..."

"[After stopping the mob that was trying to beat Paul to death, the Roman] commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the...."

"The whole city [of Jerusalem] was rocked by these accusations [that Paul had taken a Gentile into the Temple], and a great riot followed. Paul was..."

"The seven days [for vow-related trips to the Temple for Paul and the other four men] were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw....."

"After this we [Paul and his companions] packed our things and left for Jerusalem. Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to..."

"[Paul and his companions] went ashore [in Tyre], found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy...."

"As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, "May I have a word with you?" "Do you know Greek?" the commander asked,..."

"The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where [Paul and his companions] greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day. The next day..."

"The next day [after arriving in Jerusalem,] Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. After..."

"After several days of visiting [in Caesarea], a prophet from Judea by the name of Agabus came down to see [Paul and his traveling companions and hosts]. He went..."

What happens when culture passes us by? Tim Woodroof continues his series on the ways we need to freshen our approach to church if we are going to connect with people in today's world and how we react to our own church issues.

"[Paul and his companions] went ashore [in Tyre], found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy...."

"[After being instructed by the leaders of the Jerusalem church to join in the Jewish purification ceremony of four men,] Paul went to the Temple the...."

"[Paul and his traveling companions] looked up the local disciples [in Tyre] and stayed with them seven days. Their message to Paul, from insight given by the..."

"The [Roman] commander agreed [that Paul was no threat and could address the crowd], so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be..."

"[Peter spoke to the crowds,] "No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit....."

So we are supposed to give thanks for this? Phil Ware continues his 4 part series on Thanksgiving and how important it is for churches to leverage change and growth in in their church families.

This trek of discovery was our great joy in a year of deep sorrow. In the process, each of us discovered treasures old and new. Phil Ware continues his series on how the Bible and how God values women and their role in ministry.

"Dear Precious One, The events that led to Paul's journey to Rome and his shipwreck and other problems along the way began in Jerusalem. Some Jews..."