Herod Agrippa and his sister Bernice arrive in order to pay their respects to the new Roman governor. Here was a man who understood the ways of the Jews which Festus could not begin to understand during these early days of his governance. He explains to Agrippa that Paul talked about a dead man named Jesus who he claimed was alive.

The brilliant and bold defense of the Gospel by Paul in chapter 26 belongs to the next author. However there is nothing in that speech that we have not heard previously. Whether the audience has been the Sanhedrin Council or the officials of the Roman Empire, Paul talks about his credentials as a Pharisee.

Society often places a high value on people being nice. That’s certainly true in Canadian culture. We try hard to get along with one another, be kind, show goodwill, be tolerant, and do good deeds. But when being nice is equated with being liked and being liked is at the expense of not telling others about the need for repentance …

When we receive the light of Christ we must share it with others (Matthew 5:15-16). Paul, having told the story of his own conversion (vv.1-18), wanted to see the conversion of Agrippa and his court too (vv.19-29).

Are you defending and declaring the Gospel?

Luke wrote the Gospel and the Acts with what Floyd V. Filson called “the journey motif.” In the Gospel, Jesus is journeying from Galilee to Jerusalem and in Acts the journey progresses from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and beyond (Acts 1:8). From Acts 19:21 through to the end of the book Paul is journeying from Jerusalem to Rome.

Sometimes we miss God’s big picture. This psalm helps us see God in his covenant grace forming and guiding Israel for nearly 600 years from Abraham to Moses.

Our local town had the dubious honour of being selected for Oprah’s Million Dollar Neighbourhood reality show. The show is based on the premise that it will encourage and teach people how to get out of debt. The first show of the season is designed to reveal just how bad people’s finances are.