Acts Of Faith—Kingdom Advancement
Paul was hounded to death by the enemies of Christ, just as Jesus had been.
Written in 2005-6, published in 2007, 351 pgs. Jesus was the most misunderstood man in history—and He still is. But does He stand alone? Has anyone ever completely understood what the Lord was up to? This study of Acts shows that Paul understood Jesus, and carried forward Jesus' perspective, not simply his own perspective. It was an old perspective because it was a biblical perspective.
Acts of Faith picks up the story of Jesus after Jesus’ death, from my previous book, Marking God’s Word. The story of the misunderstanding of the gospel among those who personally knew Jesus continues in the ministry of the Apostle Paul, who was knocked off his high horse and thrown to the ground against his will and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul came to see that as a Pharisee he had been completely blind, and had his eyes miraculously opened by the Lord of glory.
Paul—formerly the chief enemy of Christ, who became the chief disciple—took up the ministry and perspective of Jesus and began preaching the message of Christ to anyone who would listen. But Paul had the same difficulties that Jesus had— people thought he was crazy, that he didn’t know what he was talking about, that he had gotten the gospel message wrong. Paul was hounded to death by the enemies of Christ, just as Jesus had been. What you will find in these pages is not a new perspective on Paul, but a very old one.
The essential presupposition underlying this book suggests that Modern and Post Modern Christians have misunderstood something very basic with regard to Christianity. This is not an accusation but an observation made after many years in the ministry. My years of study and experience have led me to the observation that the model of ministry and church that are currently being used is broken. Churches are not what they should be. My conversations with people of various denominations suggest similar problems in nearly every church and denomination.
The reason that so many different and diverse churches experience similar problems is that the problems have a common source. It’s not so much the structure or polity that is giving rise to the problems, but rather the fact that the acids of Modern and Post Modern culture have eaten their way into the hearts and minds of contemporary people—both Christians and non-Christians alike—and eroded the fundamental beliefs and structures of the churches.
See the Book of Acts in a fresh light, not a new perspective, but an old forgotten perspective. Study the teachings of Paul, see the tapestry of Christian doctrine (Christ’s resurrection, the kingdom of God, speaking in tongues) in a basic sermon format that serves as a commentary on Acts.
Order Acts Of Faith now! It is a great resource for your Bible study group because it will bring up a lot of question and provide a lot of clarity on a variety of sticky issues.