Kyle Kauffman

At the end of Acts we finally see Paul making his way to Rome. And what we find Paul doing in Rome is what we find him doing throughout the rest of the book – proclaiming the gospel and trusting in God’s power to save even as some people reject or oppose him. It’s incredible to realize just how much the gospel spread in the span of the 30ish years of the book Acts. That should give us confidence that God will continue to see that the gospel advances throughout history. It’s also convicting to see just how seriously Paul took the call to proclaim the gospel wherever he went. This is a call that we must take seriously as well as followers of Jesus. And it’s encouraging to know that God will continue to save people through the proclamation of the gospel today just as he did throughout the book of Acts. We find ourselves living 2,000 years later with the same mission to proclaim, the same God who works to save, and the same hope that one day Jesus will return. Until that day we know the gospel will advance. But we must also know that God intends for us to be his witnesses through whom the gospel advances.

Acts 28:16-31

Kyle Kauffman

Have you ever seen someone before who looks so familiar that you know you’ve seen them before but you can’t quite seem to place where you’ve seen them? A similar reality might happen to us as we read Acts 21-23. On first glance what Paul does in this passage almost appears foolish. This great missionary goes to Jerusalem to offer a gift to the people there knowing that he will be accused, mistreated, and imprisoned by those very people. And yet what we discover is that we have seen this very story played out before in the life of the Savior who Paul has given his life to proclaim. We discover the path Paul walks in Acts 21-23 is familiar because it’s the path Jesus walked to save Paul (and us!). And we find that this is a path that every disciple of Jesus is called to walk down in some way. Though the ways we follow in the footsteps may look different then Paul, we find that every disciple of Jesus is called to follow in his footsteps of love.

Acts 21-23:11

Kyle Kauffman

The Poet C.T. Studd once famously said, “Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” No one sets out to waste their lives. And yet there are all sorts of ways we can end up wasting our them. We all want to spend our lives well. But sometimes we never even slow down to ask, What does a life well spent look like? In Acts 20, we get Paul’s farewell speech to leaders of the Ephesian church. As we listen in to these passionate last words of Paul to this small group of men, we get a glimpse of what a life spent well looks like. We see what the greatest passion of Paul’s life was and how that got worked out into the ways he lived. And we find direction for what it means to spend our lives well rather than wasting them.

Acts 20