Dig In:
Passage: Acts 20
Dig Deeper:
Chapter Summary
v1-6 - After the riot in Ephesus, Paul left town and headed to Greece. Notice how Luke's writing style comes through with all of the details: the exact places they went, how long they stayed and the names of those who were along. Remember, Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel account, and the opening verses to the gospel show Luke saw himself as an investigative reporter.
v7-12 - Paul preaches past midnight, poor Eutychus can't hack it and falls asleep, which is bad enough (speaking as a preacher), but made even worse by the fact that he was sitting in an open widow three stories up. After being killed by the fall, Paul miraculously raises him from death. After a brief snack, it was right back to preaching till dawn. Excellent.
v13-38 - Paul once again sails off, ultimately heading back to Jerusalem. Knowing he'll never see them again, he calls the elders from the church in Ephesus and encourages them to carry on. For a short time, God used Apostles like Paul, Barnabas, Silas and others, but as they phase out, the church is to be guided by elders.
Old Testament Reference -
1 Kings 17:17-24 tell of another time a young man was brought back to life by one of God's messengers.
Discuss:
Use the comment box below to discuss one or more of these questions. For every comment or reply you post, you will receive an entry for this month's prize: Gift certificate from Seed & Stem 12:27
When you get to heaven, and you meet Eutychus, what’s the first question you’d like to ask him?
How does v28 show the two key aspects of what it means to be an elder (overseer) in the church?
Follow the AAA Prayer Pattern:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God's grace which can build you up and give you an inheritance (v32)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength and focus to finish the race and complete the tasks that Jesus has given to you (v24)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
COMMUNION PREPARATION:
We're looking forward to celebrating Communion on Feb 7 at Worthington Christian Reformed Church. As you prepare, consider these words from theologian Herman Bavinck:
First we are to consider by ourselves our sins and the curse due unto them, to the end that we may humble ourselves before God...
Secondly, we are to examine our own hearts to see whether we believe this faithful promise of God:
that all our sins are forgiven us,
only for the sake of the passion and death of Jesus Christ
and that the perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed [put into us] and freely given unto us as our own.
Finally, we are to examine our own conscience whether we desire to show true thankfulness to God in our whole life, and to walk uprightly before him.
What a significant confession we therefore make when we come to the Lord's Supper! We do not come to it to testify that we are perfect and righteous in ourselves; but on the contrary, considering that we seek our life out of ourselves in Jesus Christ, we acknowledge that we lie in the midst of death. We confess in this sacrament that Jesus Christ is the true meat and drink of our souls, and that we are members of His body. For it is one bread, thus we, being many, are one body, for we all are partakers of one bread.
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