Learning from Acts - Salvation of the Philippian Jailer

Acts 16:25-28 - About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

Paul was on his second extended missionary journey.  Originally, he planned to revisit the churches in planted on his first tour and assess their progress (Acts 15:36-41).  The churches back then had no means of communicating with each other regularly, and there was no centralized management or control.  Each church had to learn to follow the Holy Spirit’s direction, receiving only occasional visits or letters from Apostles or other leaders.

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Acts 20:7-12: Eutychus & Paul

Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Acts 20:10 (NIV)

Paul was delivering a message to the church at Troas. The meeting was taking place on the first day of the week, and the disciples were celebrating the Lord’s supper together. The Bible says that Paul kept talking until midnight: it was a long message because he was going to leave the next day. Continue reading Acts 20:7-12: Eutychus & Paul »