The Awkward Silence

Stephen spoke this morning on ‘the awkard silence.’ All of us have experienced that kind of silence, perhaps when meeting people for the first time and conversation dries up or when facing unfamiliar situations where questions are asked but not necessarily...

Comfortable or Commissioned?

As we start a New Year (2021), we tend to reflect on what has gone before (and 2020 was such an unusual year, this may take longer than normal!) as well as look ahead, making plans and resolutions. The end of one year and the beginning of another – actually nothing...

Assumptions

What happens when you make assumptions? ‘Assume makes an ass of U and Me’, the saying goes, and this can be so true. In Acts 21 and 22, we see the dangers that are inherent in assumptions. The Jewish crowd assumed, without taking the trouble to check, that Paul had...

Defending Yourself

In the latter part of the book of Acts, Paul has to defend himself from accusations of sedition and rebellion before a variety of people (crowds, Felix, Festus, Agrippa) and as a result we hear the story of his conversion at least three times. The Greek word for...