_And Saul was consenting to his death._ THREE GREAT FIGURES IN THE CHURCH I. The persecuting Saul. In this part of the narrative the name of Saul occurs three times (Acts 7:58; Acts 8:1; Acts 8:3). How quick the development and how sure! First of all, he watched the clothes of the men who stoned St... [ Continue Reading ]
_And devout men carried Stephen to his burial._ THE BURIAL OF STEPHEN I. The devout men exemplified-- 1. The constancy of Christian friendship. They did not need the sound of his voice and the echo of his steps to remind them of the duties they owed to him. The friendships induced by Christianity... [ Continue Reading ]
_As for Saul, he made havoc of the Church._ THE SMITER SMITTEN Read and compare the following passages, the text and Acts 14:19; Acts 9:1; Acts 23:12; Galatians 1:13 and 2 Corinthians 11:23; Acts 26:10; Acts 16:23; Ezekiel 18:25 and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word._ THE AGGRESSIVE POWER OF CHRISTIANITY That it is pre-eminently by aggressive movements that the Church is to prosper. By this means she is to maintain spiritual life in her own soul--cause religion to flourish at home,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then Philip wont down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them._ PHILIP AT SAMARIA I. The preacher--“Philip.” 1. His native place--“Caesarea,” most likely. 2. His official status--“Evangelist,” and one of the first deacons. 3. His new charge--“Samaria.” 4. His specific work “Preac... [ Continue Reading ]
_But there was a certain man called Simon _ SIMON THE MAGIAN UNMASKED AND PUT TO SHAME This Simon was the first heretic in the Christian Church, the first to claim its fellowship while out of sympathy with its fundamental truths. His mistakes were many and grievous. 1. He began with an unscrupul... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John._ THE FIRST CHURCH VISITATION I. The occasion. There is-- 1. Christian life to be fostered (verse 14). 2. A want in the Church to be supplied (verse 16). II. The vi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost._ CONFIRMATION According to-- I. Its origin. No sacramental institution of our Lord, but a time-honoured ordinance of the Church. II. Its import. No substitution for, or repetition of baptism, but a ratification of baptismal c... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee._ THE IMPOTENCE OF MONEY I do not know that the age in which Simon lived was especially a commercial age; but whatever may have been its distinctive peculiarity, there cannot be much doubt about ours. There have been successive ages, each of a ch... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go._ MAN VERSUS ANGEL Why didn’t the angel go himself? Because this was a mission where a man was worth more than an angel. In the Lord’s plan of salvation there is a place for redeemed sinners as witnesses for Christ, to do a work t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet._ ORIENTAL READING If the eunuch followed the general custom of the East, he was not only reading to himself aloud, but so as to be heard easily and distinctly by any one in the immediate neighbourhood. The prayer, or praying, of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said the Spirit to Philip, Go near._ LESSONS FROM THE DESERT WAYS These two men were alike in a few respects, but in all others different. Both were travellers, both were stewards, and each had authority. But one was rich, the other poor. One was the steward of a great queen, and returning to... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Philip ran … and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?_ UNDERSTANDING THE WORD 1. Notice the preliminary fact that the Scriptures challenge investigation. “Let us reason together,” says Isaiah. The Bible is a definite and positive force. You can no more eliminate it from the world’s lif... [ Continue Reading ]
_The place of the Scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter … Then Philip … began at the same Scripture and preached unto him Jesus._ PHILIP’S SERMON I. The text. “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter,” etc. Here is no difficulty, but there are two difficulties fol... [ Continue Reading ]
_The eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?_ THE BAPTIZING OF THE EUNUCH Note-- I. That to an obedient and cheerful hearer the word of God is never preached without success. This one discourse prevailed through God’s mercy to the enlightening of the eunuch’s mind; it... [ Continue Reading ]