The Hope of Israel in Chains

In one paragraph

The pastor opened the final chapter of Acts still carrying the weight of a motorcycle accident he had witnessed days earlier on the way to Idaho Falls, and he asked the congregation to pray for Bruce and Violet, the couple involved. From that personal moment he moved into Acts 28, the last chapter of Luke's account, drawing a straight line between what Paul experienced on Malta and what the church...

Read together

1. Acts 28 the passage being preached through in this sermon
2. Isaiah 6:9-10 quoted by Paul to the Jews in Rome about hearing but not understanding, seeing but not perceiving
3. Isaiah 6:8 referenced as the verse just before the commission, where Isaiah says here am I, send me
4. Acts 2:42 referenced as saying daily in every house they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ
5. Acts 5:42 referenced alongside Acts 2:42 about daily teaching and preaching Jesus in every house

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan shared that the motorcycle accident with Bruce and Violet felt like a divine appointment that happened 'in between' his normal plans. Have you ever experienced something similar, where an interruption turned out to be the most important thing that happened that day?
2. The Maltese islanders first called Paul a murderer and then called him a god after the snake bite. What does that back-and-forth tell us about how people form opinions about Christians, and how should that shape the way we carry ourselves?
3. Paul called together the leading Jewish men in Rome after just three days, even though calling on Jewish leaders had gotten him beaten, flogged, and nearly killed multiple times before. What do you think kept him going back to that same group of people?
4. Pastor Nathan pointed out that every time the gospel is presented in Acts, the response is almost always that some accepted and some rejected. How does that pattern help or challenge you when you share your faith and the response is not what you hoped for?
5. The final word of the book of Acts is 'unhindered.' Looking at everything Acts records, including imprisonments, shipwrecks, beatings, and rejection, what does it actually mean for the gospel to be unhindered, and where do you see that playing out today?