Bible Reference:   Acts 16:1-99, Acts 22:1-99, Acts 24:1-99, Acts 25:1-99, Psalm 119:61-62 Ephesians 6:19 “And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.” “At one point during his ministry, the Apostle Paul was at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He was accused by some Jews of bringing a Gentile into the courts where only Jews were allowed. He hadn’t, but they thought he did and a riot started. When Roman soldiers pulled him out of the crowd to flog him, Paul said, “You’d do this to a Roman citizen?” (Acts 21 & 22). The penalty for abusing a Roman citizen without a trial was severe, so instead the terrified soldiers sent him under armed guard to be tried by the governor of the region. What makes this story especially interesting is that seven years earlier, in the city of Philippi, Paul was arrested, flogged, and imprisoned for teaching about Jesus – but he neve

Philippians Chapter 1:1-2 16-18 One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by yelling out, “These men are working for the Most High God. They’re laying out the road of salvation for you!” She did this for a number of days until Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her, “Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!” And it was gone, just like that. 19-22 When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, “These men are disturbing the peace—dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.” By this time the crowd had turned into a restles

Bible References: Acts 16: 11-15; Philippians 1-2 The Message Version: 11-12  Putting out from the harbor at Troas, we made a straight run for Samothrace. The next day we tied up at New City and walked from there to Philippi, the main city in that part of Macedonia and, even more importantly, a Roman colony. We lingered there several days. 13-14  On the Sabbath, we left the city and went down along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting. We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them. One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman. As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the Master gave her a trusting heart—and she believed! 15  After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, “If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.” We hesitat

Bible References: Acts 26:22-23 New International Version (NIV) 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so, I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.” Bible References:   Ephesians 6:19 New International Version (NIV) “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,” What does it mean to bring Shalom? (God’s Peace) To bring God’s Peace is to bring His story – that great story of redemption. The story of how God chose the Hebrew people, the Jews and set them apart as his treasured possession.   A nation that was to live in such in a way that they would be a light to the nations and make God’s name known to all nations.   Then people would be blessed and the world