Acts 9

"Dear Beloved, What is the greatest obstacle that you face? What seemingly insurmountable forces are at work against you? Keep these two questions....."

"Dear Child of God, A large part of the history of faith is written by people who are not considered the greatest servants of faith. However, the..."

"Dear Disciple, Even after I ascended back to the Father, the work of My apostles reminded people that My power and presence were still at work. I was..."

"[Saul] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" "Who are you, lord?" Saul asked. And the..."

"Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord!" he replied. The Lord...."

"Meanwhile, Peter traveled from place to place, and he came down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda. There he met a man named Aeneas, who had..."

"[Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek, had died.] But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, "Please come as..."

"[After he was baptized,] Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues,..."

"So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some..."

"After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill [Saul because he was proclaiming Jesus as Messiah]. They were watching for him day and night...."

"As [Saul] was approaching Damascus on this mission [to arrest and kill Christians], a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to..."

"[After the Lord told Ananias to go to Saul because Saul was his chosen instrument,] Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said,....."

Jesus has the power to change everything about us if we will let him! Max Lucado reminds us of the importance of Jesus' power to change us and make us new and give us a new name -- he points to the apostle Paul, who was once Saul, the persecutor.

"He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"   "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.   "I am Jesus, whom you are..."

"The news [of Tabitha's being raised from the dead] spread through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord. And Peter stayed a long time in..."

"[Since Saul was persecuting Christians, Ananias was concerned that God wanted him to go share the message of Jesus with Saul.] But the Lord said,..."

"But the Lord said [to Ananias], "Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of..."

"When the believers heard about [the attempts to murder Saul], they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown. The church....."

"There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. About this...."

"Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters..."

"When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a..."

"When [Paul's] friends learned of the plot [to kill him], they got him out of [Jerusalem], took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus. Things..."

Inspirational illustration of Acts 9:4-5 -- He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

In the ups and downs of church life, is it good to be on a plateau? Tim Woodroof continues his series on change in the book of Acts and the changes facing the church today.

"So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord."

"When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a..."

"The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the...."

"So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, "Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He..."

"Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. The moment Saul began to pray the Lord heard him. Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul...."

"There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor."

I can actually get better? Phil Ware continues his series on Better Broken reminding us that God can make us better after we have been broken and use us to do his work in the Kingdom because of two things: forgiveness we receive in Jesus through baptism and the power of the Holy Sp

Can I actually be better? Phil Ware reminds us that God can make us better after we have been broken and use us to do his work in the Kingdom because of two things: forgiveness we receive in Jesus through baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit.

So why do we discount what the Lord does through us? Phil Ware reminds us that nothing we do in the Lord's name is insignificant, unimportant, or forgotten by God who loves us and remembers and rewards us for what we do.

What are you willing to sacrifice to achieve or find? Patrick Odum reminds us that to grow we have to stretch, reach, and sacrifice but that is more than worth the effort because Jesus gives us back far more than we can ever give.

Christmas isn't over; it has only just begun if we recognize that it is our job, together, to be Jesus to the world! Phil Ware finishes his series on "Give Me Jesus" focusing on our role as his people to be his presence to the world.

"Dear Precious Believer, You were saved by grace when you fully trusted Me and participated in what I did to save you. This truth was the message that..."

"Dear Follower of The Way, Paul's path to Rome was difficult. First, he faced a series of legal hearings before he even left for Rome. Then, he faced...."

Christmas isn't over; it has only just begun if we recognize that it is our job, together, to be Jesus to the world! Phil Ware reminds us that Christmas isn't over, but now our role is to be Jesus' people, his presence, in our world.

What are you connected to the most? We are connected to our iPhones, iPads, iTouch, iTunes, iMac, iChat, but have we lost the connection to the I AM?

What lesson can an old abandoned clock teach us? Too many people are put on the back shelf of life and we need to find them and reclaim them just as Baranabas once did.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, James Nored and Phil Ware share the significance of Jesus' Triumphal Entry as they begin a special Holy Week series.

Will I run in faith to follow the Jesus of the empty tomb even if it means I have to follow him to a cross of my own? James Nored and Phil Ware share in video, words, and images some of the many reasons Christians have to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and is Lord, Christ, Jesus, and Son of God, and how his love defined the way of Jesus through the cross to

Where are our greater things? Phil Ware continues his series on greater things focusing on 'the name of the Lord' and the power and presence of Jesus that fed the expectation that God would surprise his people with greater things.

We must always remember that God's love for broken people and our call to his mission must matter most. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the deadly consequences of a religion that forgets the love of God for broken people and the mission Jesus has for us to the lost world and helped define the way of Jesus through the cross to the empty tomb.

Jesus' trials focused on his true identity, although those who tried him didn't really want to know the truth. James Nored and Phil Ware share in word and video the meaning of Jesus' trials before Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish Ruling Council and how they helped define the way of Jesus through the cross to the empty tomb.

Jesus had many opportunities to walk away from the shame and pain of the cross, but he chose the Father's will and our need over his comfort. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the dark night that began the long, painful, and lonely journey of Jesus through his Passion to bring us to God and helped define the way of Jesus through the cross to the empty tomb.

Jesus died. He was buried. He was raised from the dead. Each one of those facts reminds us that Jesus was not some antiseptic hero from a distance. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that Jesus died and was buried and that his burial has special significance for us and how they helped define the way of Jesus through the cross to the empty tomb.