Acts 8:26-40

The Book of Acts is the story of the Christian Church as it was established and began to grow. Before he ascended to heaven, Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his first followers. On the Day of Pentecost (which we will celebrate on May 23) the Holy Spirit alit on the small band of about 120 followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, and so the Church was born.

This week, as we read Acts 8:26-40, we hear about the first expansion of the Church beyond Jerusalem and Judea, southward toward Africa.

How does the call of Philip by “an angel of the Lord” compare with the call of Abraham in Genesis 12?

Notice that Philip interpreted Scripture, taught, preached, and baptized. This was long before our modern denominations were established. What do you make of Philip’s activity? Where did his authority come from?

Take some time in prayer to thank God for the improbable way the Church grew and survived from its beginnings among a couple of women who went to the burial tomb, to the  11 despondent and traumatized apostles. What are the “improbable” challenges the Church faces today? Where is the Spirit alive in our midst?