Always Listen to the One Closest to God

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Study Group meeting on April 25 to study Acts 27.  This chapter is a lot like Luke's former narrative on Paul's voyage to Jerusalem.  The major differences are the events themselves, and the places...and the people involved actually.

Read through the chapter a few times, and feel free to go and include chapter 28 (we'll get to that next week).  Look for odd things whether explained or not.  Ask "why" questions; try to imagine who says what, what things and places look like, especially pay attention to Julius.

After reading through a few times read through again considering the questions below:

• What does "Augustan Cohort" suggest about the centurion?
• Where is Adramyttium?
• Who travels with Paul?
• Look at the route Paul takes from Caesarea (see map below). How much of this is familiar ocean for Paul?

• Where is the second vessel from?  Where is that?
• What seems different about the second part of the voyage right off the bat?
• When they reach "Fair Havens" what does Paul say, and how does he say it to them?
• Look up "admonish" in the Strong's Concordance.  What sort of emotion is Paul feeling as he speaks to the sailors and soldiers?
• Who does the centurion listen to instead of Paul?  What would you have done?
• What was wrong with Fair Havens?  What was so "great" about Phoenix (besides spring training baseball)?
• What was the storm called?  Look the name up in the Strong's Concordance. Be sure to "listen" to it pronounced.  What does it mean?
• What was done at Clauda?  What was it supposed to do?  What did they use to do it?
• After hope is abandoned, what does Paul say?
• Where does Paul find his hope?
• Where is the Adriatic Sea?  Does that seem to be where they were on the map?  What explains the difference (click through to the complete article)?
• In a huge storm, why would the sailors try to escape?
• What does Paul do?  What do the soldiers do? (so, now who's in charge of the ship?)
• What is Paul's next word and deed of encouragement?
• How many people are on the ship?  Do you need to revise how big you imagined it to be?
• Consider all three words used for "ship", what do you think of the third one?
• What does the ship hit on its way to the beach?  Look up 'a place where two seas met' or 'reef', 'sandbar' or 'shoal' in Strong's Concordance.  It's really made of two words, the other one is 'place' which may look or sound familiar if you like maps.  This is one of many technical nautical terms Luke uses.  So where do you think Luke learned all these terms?
• Why would the soldiers want to kill the prisoners?
• What does the centurion do to change their plans?
• Where do they all end up?

This should be a fun study, and we're almost done!  This is the exciting part though, the dramatic climax.  After this the account calms down, but also closes to a point (again, we'll get to that next week).  I look forward to studying with you Thursday!

Of Cabbages and Kings

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Study Group meeting April 18 and studying Acts 26.  This chapter represents the most detailed testimony of Paul, and the last recorded.  From here on is the trip to Rome.  Some excellent elements are touched almost unnoticed, like repentance.  Others, like Paul's desire to pull others into his faith in Jesus are obvious.

Read through the chapter several times noting various things that make you wonder why, what, how, or who.  Jot those questions down.  Imagine you are in the court room, don't just read, listen to Paul; watch him deliver his defense, note his gestures and expressions.  Look around at the crowd, watch their expressions and behaviors.  Read through again reading slow and intentionally.

After jotting down some questions, be sure to look around for some contextual pieces that may help explain various curiosities in the chapter.  After you have a good handle on the chapter, go back through with these questions.  You may have asked them already or ones very like them, consider what you learn from the view from a different 'knot-hole'.

• Why does the king give permission to Paul and not Festus?
• How does Paul begin his defense (in verse 1)?
• Where does Paul begin to explain himself?  What does he say about his "origins" that seems surprising?
• What does Paul claim forms the basis of the accusations against him?  Why go back to this?
• What does Paul say his belief has in common with all Jews?
• In verse 9 what does Paul begin to unpack from his past?  Why bring that up?
• In verse 14, what part of his vision do those with him experience?  How does that correspond with Acts 22:9?  Or with Acts 9:7?
• How does the charge God gives to Paul differ here from the wording in Acts 22?  Who gets the gist of this charge in Acts 9?
• In verse 20, the wording is typically "repent and turn to God", but really, what's the difference?
• Look up "repent" and "turn" in the Strong's listing on the Blue Letter Bible.  What's the difference between them?  Which one do we typically think of as "repentance"?
• How does Paul view repentance?  What else is necessary?
• In verse 21, for what reason did the Jews seize Paul in the temple?
•  What has enabled Paul to stand and speak in that place?
• What support does Paul claim for his faith?
• And what does Paul claim they support?  What is his faith in?
• Who can't stand his testimony any further?  Of whom does his response remind you?
• What does Festus claim has happened to Paul?
• Toward whom is Paul's testimony focused?  What does Paul claim about him?
• What does King Agrippa say?  What is odd about his comment?
• How does Paul respond?  Who is trying to convince?
• How is this defense a legal defense?
• How does the king respond to Paul's reply?
• What seems to be the consensus of everyone there?
• Why is King Agrippa's comment odd?

Be sure to go back over your questions and fill in gaps in my set.  Consider all of them, and be ready for a lot more 'knot-hole' views on Thursday.

Two Governors, An Incestuous King, and a Another Cliff-Hanger

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Study Group meeting April 11 to study Acts 24 and 25.  I suspect we will get through both chapters since the events aren't that problematic.  There are some interesting issues in the text, and the characters (especially the Roman governors) are really interesting.

Read through both chapters (and continue on if you just can't stand it, and even if you can) several times.  This is nearly the end of the book, so Luke is wrapping up the final elements.  He spends considerable time on both Roman governors, Felix and Festus.  Think about that, and why.  Imagine being in on the conversations, and speeches.  What do things look like, and who says what?

After reading through the chapters a few times, consider the following questions as you read through a final few times:

Chapter 24

• Who makes up the group from Jerusalem?
• Who is Tertullus?  What does he say happened?  How accurate is his account?  Read the article about him on the Blue Letter webpage. What do you think of his argument after that?
• Read the argument of Tertullus in as many translations as you can find.  What is in some, but not in others?  What do the "footnotes" say about that (there should be footnotes regardless of the translation)?
• Paul has several elements to his defense, how long ago did he go up to Jerusalem?
• What did he studiously avoid his whole time in Jerusalem?
• So what does he claim they cannot prove?
• With what about the charges does he agree?
• How does he describe his belief?  Consider what he says here with what is recorded in the rest of Acts about how Paul spreads the Good News.  How does this affect your understanding of what he was doing and how?
• Where does Paul get the support for his beliefs?  What does he claim about his beliefs and those of his accusers?
• What parts are similar to his defense in Jerusalem?
• Who does Paul name as having accusations, but not being present?  Why should that be significant?
• What might Paul be admitting in verse 21?  Read it in a few translations.
• What does verse 22 mean about Felix?  How is this borne out in the rest of the chapter?
• What disturbs Felix about Paul's discussions?
• What is Felix waiting for?  Why not render judgment?
• How long does Felix wait?
• So what happens after that?  Why does Paul remain in custody?

Chapter 25

• What is Festus' first order of business?
• What is the chief priests and elders' first order of business?
• What does Festus offer to do?  Why can't/won't he do what they ask?
• What do the Jewish leaders want to do...again?
• What is Festus' second order of business once he arrives back in Caesarea?
• What is the problem with the charges brought against Paul?
• What is the essence of Paul's defense?
• Why does Festus want to defer the trial to Jerusalem?
• From Paul's response, what is his opinion of the new governor?
• How long before the arrival of King Agrippa and Bernice?  Why do they come?
• Who is King Agrippa? Who is Bernice? Read the article in the Blue Letter Bible about them (it's at the bottom of the "Herod" article).  What bothers both Jews and Gentiles about this "king"?
• What interest and prior knowledge would Agrippa have about Paul and Christians in general?
• What does Festus tell Agrippa?  How accurate is he?  What is his dilemma now?
• What do they decide to do?
• Who all comes to this hearing?
• What does Festus claim here?  Again, really?

So that should do it for these two chapters.  There are obviously lots of stuff in there not included in these questions.  You will hopefully have come up your own and will bring them to the group.

When Slap-Fights Go Horribly Wrong

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Group meeting on April 4, to study Acts 23.  We will begin with Paul's defense before the Sanhedrin, and move to his eventual removal to the Judean coast.

Read through Chapter 23 several times.  It will be hard not to continue on to the succeeding chapters, and continuing may be a good thing to do.  Chapter 24 is fairly short and the story moves quickly to its conclusion from here.  We have two governors, a king and a boat trip left after this chapter.

As you read through the chapter, slow down, re-read difficult sentences, try and imagine yourself in the event. Ask yourself questions about what it would have been like to have been there, what it looked like, what are the expressions on faces, what do their voices sound like.  Once you can put together some idea of a "setting" using your imagination, ask yourself the "why" questions.  This is narrative, and fast-moving narrative.  You have to think and imagine in order to slow it down to really observe.  This is inspired of God, so it's worth the effort; there's a goal in mind here, find it.

Once you've sifted through the chapter a few times, and come up with some questions, read it through again, and consider these.  They're not replacements, or the "right questions", they're ones from my different perspective.  We need your perspective in order to get a more full view of these events; we can't really understand the game with just the view from one "knot-hole".

• Paul's opening statement seems to offend the high priest, why?
• To whom does Paul address his "rebuke" when he is struck?  What tells us he knew who the man was?
• When Paul is told who the man was to ordered he be struck, how does he respond, with what sort of attitude?
• Paul then changes tactics dramatically.  Why?  What about how he started won't work with this group?
• What does his declaration about the resurrection do to the assembly?
• If you're the "commander", what has happened to your dilemma?  Now what do you do?
• Who appears to Paul to encourage him?  What is remarkable about that?
• What is really "stupid" about the oath the Jews take concerning Paul?  What is really important if they are going to live out this oath?
• What do the "oath-takers" do to try to get to Paul?
• Why would the council, divided the night before, play along with the conspiracy?
• Who hears of the plot?  Where must he have been?  Why might he have been there?
• What does that tell you of Paul's family?  This is really the first we hear of any of them, so where are some or many of them?  How is Paul viewed by his family?
• To whom does Paul send his nephew?  Why not go himself or with his nephew?
• How does the commander respond when the boy is brought to him?  Why this way?
• What does the commander do when he hears what the boy has to say?
• What does he tell the Sanhedrin?  When does he tell them?  Where is Paul when the Sanhedrin hears from the commander?
• What does that mean for the oath-takers?  I suppose that's "more than forty" fewer problems for Paul?
• What does the commander tell the governor about Paul?  What does he leave out or change about his involvement?

So we leave Paul, again waiting on another "trial" and will have to wait until next week to continue the story.  It may be possible to get chapters 24 and 25 done at once since 24 and 25 are so short.  Chapters 26, 27 and 28 will not be so easy.  So, possibly 4 weeks after this.

In Search of Facts

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Group meeting March 28, when we will be covering Acts 22.  This chapter continues the events of Chapter 21, and again leaves us with a "cliff hanger".

Again, there are plenty of elements to this chapter, like 21, that are rather peculiar.  It would be helpful to go back and read Paul's conversion in chapter 9.  Some of the details Paul relates seem different, some way more than others.

Read the chapter through several times.  Look for things that spark questions or seem to require some further explanation.  Jot them down as you go through.  Some of these may be answered as you go through the chapter, some won't, and there will be some for which we won't be able to find answers (get used to it, if you aren't already).

After reading through a few times, read through again considering the questions below:

• Through verse 5, it all sounds familiar.  At what point do things begin to sound different from Chapter 9?
• How many points of difference between Paul's account here and chapter 9 can you find?  (I found at least 8 depending on how some are combined)
• At what point do the Jews stop listening?  What does that tell you about what they think this is about?  How accurate is their assumption?
• What does the commander order done to Paul?  Why?
• What does Paul bring up at this point?  Luke set us up for this in chapter 16, but it was brought up differently there, why would that be?
• The conversation between the centurion, the commander, and then Paul is short, but what do we learn about the commander?  What sort of situation is he in?  What's the problem he faces?
• What does he decide to do?  What does it tell you about the Romans in Jerusalem that he can do that?  What do you think the council will be thinking and feeling as they arrive?

We're left, again, without Paul's defense which will be where we begin next week.  Be sure to bring your questions and notes!

Struck Down, But Not Destroyed

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Group meeting on March 21 to study Acts 21.  This is a very busy chapter with a "cliff-hanger" ending.  The ending is so abrupt it provides a good example of how arbitrary these chapter breaks can be.

Read through the chapter several times (if you haven't already, and I hope you have).  Jot down points of interest, and peculiarity.  Make notes and questions.  Look especially at things Luke mentions but does not explain, but still try to put yourself in the activity, observing.

Once you've been through a few times, go through again using the questions below:

• What is Paul being continually warned about?  What sort of literary device might Luke be using here?
• With whom do they stay in Caesarea?  Remember him?  What note about Philip does Luke include which is somewhat surprising/different?
• Where does the prophet come from?  What does he do with Paul's belt?  What does he say about this, who told him to say this?
• What does everyone do when they hear the prophecy?  What does Paul do?
• What was already arranged before they arrived?  In fact who goes with them to Jerusalem?
• What is the comment about their reception in Jerusalem?  Hang on to that for a sec.
• With whom does Paul and his company meet the next day?  Who is present?
• What does Paul relate to this "august" group?
• Look carefully at the response of the Jerusalem elders.  Look at what they say to Paul in a few translations. Where are these "thousands of Jews who have believed..." located, or at least now?
• What do you gather about the elders view of these Jewish believers?  For whom are they a problem?  What problem are the elders trying to solve?
• Considering this view, where these Jewish believers not from, or at least likely not from?
• What have these Jewish believers been told about Paul?  Who would have told them?  Again, where would this most likely have happened (considering the reception the elders gave Paul)?
• Think about the elders' solution, where had we heard of this before concerning Paul? (hint: Luke noted it in passing in a normal narrative, oh and Paul was in "Europe")
• What will this prove?  If this is such good proof, then what does that mean for Paul's previous experience with it?  So what is Paul's personal view/practice concerning the Law of Moses?
• What do you think of the repetition of their decree concerning the Gentile believers?  Why here?
• How long does Paul wait to follow their advice?  What does it tell you that he does follow their advice?
• How long is he in this process?  So for these days what could be surmised about his view of the Law of Moses by any observer?  Why then did these people miss what was supposed to be obvious?
• What do they claim Paul did (on top of everything else they claimed)?  And why would they claim such a thing?
• If Paul was with a Gentile in town during the week, how "pure" would he have been after the week?  How would the people know someone in town was a "Gentile" anyway?
• Where do think these Jews are from?  So, did Paul make it for Pentecost?
• How did the city respond?  How did the "city" know?
• As the mob gets going, who reacts?  Who does he bring with him?  Who is he anyway?
• How does the crowd respond to his arrival?
• What does this Roman commander do when he arrives at the mob center?
• What does the mob's information tell you about them?
• If they don't know why they are beating someone, why beat him?
• Where is Paul taken?  How is he taken?
• What does Paul tell the commander before he enters the barracks?  What does he want to do?
• If he was being beaten by a crowd, why is he so "cognizant" now?  What does that tell you about Paul, or about the beating?
• Who did the commander think Paul was?  What seems odd about that?  Who are these "assassins"? (look them up)
• How does Paul quiet the crowd?  What does that tell you about the crowd and where Paul is?

That should be plenty for this Thursday.  There's a lot of detail that Luke seems to have left out, but we will try to fill in some blanks, and see if we can complete a better backdrop to this events.  We also learn some things about Paul that were either assumed or hinted at in previous passages of Acts.  Bring your questions and notes to the meeting.

See you there!

A Little Back-Story

This forms an additional study page for the Thursday Study Group meeting March 14.  In addition to Acts 20, the study page for which has already been posted.  Read over three chapters in Corinthians.

The first chapter is 1 Corinthians 16.  This chapter finishes out the first letter from Paul to the church in Corinth.  It might be good to read the whole letter (it's not a bad read actually), but the questions below will pertain to this chapter of the letter.

The next two chapters are 2 Corinthians 8 & 9.  These elaborate on the topic of 1 Cor 16.  Read through these three chapters, and be sure to look through Acts 20, possibly 19, to help get the context provided by Luke.  These chapters in Corinthians are written during Paul's stay in Ephesus in Acts 19, but setup and are carried out in chapter 20.

The reason I want you to have some idea of the content of these pieces to the Corinthian letters is that Luke makes no mention of this part of the story.  There are a variety of reason for this, and we can discuss these possibilities on March 14.  But these chapters (along with many others in Corinthians) form an interesting backdrop to the briefly touched events in Acts 20.  Chapter 20 happens so fast that there is little time to get a sense of the relational elements of the various visits of Paul to churches.  These letters help us gain some insight into those relationships.

So, as usual, read through the chapters several times, note elements that seem interesting or raise questions.  Note things that seem to be at odds with the account in Acts, and see if you can come up with some explanations (there will be several, but also obvious favorites of commentators).

1 Corinthians 16 (vv. 1-12)

• What does Paul want the church in Corinth to know about the instructions he's about to give?
• What are these instructions about?
• What assumptions is Paul making about the collection and the Corinthian church? (I found 3 before verse 5)
• From where is Paul writing this letter?
• How long will he be there?
• What route will he take to get to Corinth?
• How long does Paul intend to stay in Corinth?
• Who is Paul sending ahead?
• Where is Timothy headed?
• Who is with Paul and not coming to Corinth at the time of writing?

2 Corinthians 8

•  About whom is Paul writing to the church in Corinth?
• What is remarkable about these churches in Macedonia?
• Who is coming to Corinth to help them?
• What does Paul hope he finds in the church in Corinth?
• What is the purpose in starting with the churches in Macedonia?
• What is Paul urging the church to do?
• How does Paul describe giving for others, how does it work in the Kingdom of God?
• Why is Titus headed to Corinth?  What inspired Him?
• What does Paul want the church in Corinth to do for Titus?

2 Corinthians 9

• What does Paul say to the churches in Macedonia about the church in Corinth?  What does this do to the argument in chapter 8?
• What is Paul concerned about when he arrives?
• What does Paul think might "derail" the collection among the Corinthians?
• Again, how does Paul view this sort of collection and sharing within the context of the Kingdom of God?
• In this view, what is the eventual outcome?  Who ultimately benefits?
• How and why is God glorified through such service/ministry?
• What does this tell you about Paul's trip through Europe?
• What of this does Luke relate?
• Why the difference?

These questions should give us a lot to discuss on March 14.  Keep in mind that we may not get all the way through the chapter with this extra element.  That's okay because I think looking at this element to the travels of Paul will be very beneficial for our group.

Blessings upon you until I see you on the eve of the ides of March!