Daily Reading Passages

Click below to see the passages online. Although, I recommend that if you can you read these in your own Bible. That way you can underline, comment, and become familiar with your own Bible.

Acts 18

Coaching Comments

The 18th Chapter of Acts gives us a great snapshot into the early church during the time of Paul's missionary trips. In the course of this chapter we see Paul's first visit to Corinth, then to Ephesus, and then off to Ceasarea and then Antioch. But something much more important than Paul's travel's is evident. You can see the continued and even more divisive antagonism between the Jews and the new Christians, so strong that at one point it leads Paul to change his own mission strategy. You also can see that the early church was not made up of a few hero-level leaders, but of all kinds of people. As people heard the story of the gospel, and begin to live in this new community, leaders with different gifts started to rise to the surface. Some were Jewish background, like Silas. Others were mixed background, like Timothy. Others were entirely from the Greek culture. Others were foreigners, like Apollos, who was from Egypt. Both men and women rose into leadership.

The level of influence was not dependent on church hierarchy, or background. It was dependent on who the Holy Spirit chose to work through. And it looks from the record that the appointed leaders, the apostles and such, looked for and acknowledged these new leaders that God was raising up in the body. So much was happening. You can really get a sense as we read these passages how fast-paced and exciting it was. The church was growing, exploding. At the same time it was fighting for its survival. And yet the people in this new religion had an amazing and unstoppable attitude. It's inspirational to hang around with them for a while, even if it is removed by a couple thousands of years.