WORD up!

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Acts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. Stay strong. Live in the Spirit. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 25 of the book of Acts. Read it with the thought in mind that this is the first display of the power of the Holy Spirit working through man – aside from Christ, that is. Imagine what the Spirit can do through you if you let Him! Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… 25:9 – Claudius was Caesar. • The book of Acts teaches us much about what the Holy Spirit is capable of doing through a mortal life. What have you learned about how He wants to work through you today? What will you do to give up a bit...

Mary Connealy’s second novel in the Kincaid Brides series is absolutely charming! “In Too Deep” picks up where “Out of Control” left off: Rafe and Julia married – and loving it; the Kincaid brothers reunited; and Audra newly widowed and just having given birth to her second daughter. Now the excitement begins! Audra can’t stay in the shack her husband made her live in while he was alive and she can’t go to live with Rafe and Julia. That leaves heading back to the Kincaid ranch with Ethan and Seth. But that just wouldn’t be proper. So the only solution appears to be: marry Ethan and move into the ranch as the lady of the house. At least Ethan is better looking than Audra’s first husband, and seems kinder. Maybe they would grow to love each other, but she had hoped for love if she were to marry again. Masterful storyteller, Mary Connealy, crafts another entertaining and engaging novel that drips with character and humor, drama and suspense. This book beautifully continues the...

The “Fresh” topic for the third week of study is the “Purpose and Power of Fasting”. When we fast, a spiritual hunger for God’s Word is awakened. Fasting feeds my spirit, cleanses my body, reveals my sin and awakens my compassion. One of the scripture verses referenced this week was Luke 9:23. Look it up. It’s a quote from Jesus that if we come after Him, we must take up our crosses daily, deny ourselves and follow Him. Denying oneself requires discipline. Sometimes we need to tell ourselves “no.” I don’t do this enough. Do you? When was the last time you denied yourself? Pastor Kerry gave a good tip in this week’s video: make the rules of your fast before you begin. Knowing the boundaries is crucial. Also remember that fasting is between you and God.

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Acts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. Stay strong. Live in the Spirit. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 24 of the book of Acts. Read it with the thought in mind that this is the first display of the power of the Holy Spirit working through man – aside from Christ, that is. Imagine what the Spirit can do through you if you let Him! Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… 24:2 – Felix – brutal, incompetent, former slave, freed by Antonia (mother of emperor Claudius), married 3 times, removed from power by emperor Nero. Felix bought his Roman citizenship. Parallel – us – former slaves, freed by royalty ...

Pastor Kerry’s “Fresh” teaching this second week of study on the “Strategy for Meditation” was incredible. Building upon the foundation he began last week, he explained that there is no “formula” for meditation. Every person’s relationship with God is unique which will have an effect on their meditation. He does go on to explain his four Rs approach: Read, Recite, Remember, Reflect it. This sounds a bit like a formula to me. However, I can definitely see how you may begin using Kerry’s 4 Rs and it will evolve into your own thing. So, perhaps strategy is a better word. After watching this video and engaging in class discussion, I was motivated to record the scripture verses found in the workbook onto index cards and begin memorizing. I am praying that the Lord will help me to memorize the verses and the accompanying addresses so that His Word will be hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Him. And a miraculous thing has been happening: He is helping me to memorize His...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Acts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. Stay strong. Live in the Spirit. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 23 of the book of Acts. Read it with the thought in mind that this is the first display of the power of the Holy Spirit working through man – aside from Christ, that is. Imagine what the Spirit can do through you if you let Him! Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… 23:1 – was Paul’s comment sarcasm? Or misunderstood vocal inflection? 23:2 – it was illegal to hit Paul because he was a Roman citizen. 23:5 – Paul knew who Ananias was, most likely. He was probably being sarcastic about Ananias’ beh...

“Love by the Book” by Cara Lynn James, A Ladies of Summerhill Novel, is not only part of a lovely turn-of-the-century series. It is also a charming stand-alone read. Melinda has just lost her sister and has been granted custody of her niece, Nell. What she didn’t expect was that custody would be shared with Nell’s uncle, Nick. A summer spent together promises to give Melinda and Nick the time they need to sort out arrangements for Nell’s guardianship. But unexpected turns in Melinda’s personal life and Nick’s personal and professional ones lead them on a journey that neither one expected. This is a beautifully written and engaging novel that showcases the value of family and devotion to God. The characters are malleable and the dialogue transports the reader back to the early 1900s. The settings are opulent. The mysterious twist adds a hint of spice to this entertaining Christian romance.

This is probably the most unique Bible study I’ve ever done! Usually I attend or teach studies where you show up, go over some discussion questions that you answered during your week of homework, watch the video session and fill in planks on a prepared sheet, and go home to begin the next week’s homework. That’s not how “Fresh” works. The class is engaged on a deeper level because you do your workbook questions in class! Pastor Kerry gives a couple of questions to begin your discussion of that week’s topic. Then, there’s an introduction to read before watching the video – which was less than 12 minutes long! More questions to discuss the topic and a homework assignment to journal and put into practice what you’ve learned. Amazing! Several things impacted me during the video and in my small group’s discussion of “The Benefits of Meditation”. Pastor Kerry very plainly stated that the individual is responsible for their spiritual growth. You’re not going to flourish if you’re onl...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Acts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. Stay strong. Live in the Spirit. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 22 of the book of Acts. Read it with the thought in mind that this is the first display of the power of the Holy Spirit working through man – aside from Christ, that is. Imagine what the Spirit can do through you if you let Him! Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… 22:2-21 – Paul’s testimony. • The book of Acts teaches us much about what the Holy Spirit is capable of doing through a mortal life. What have you learned about how He wants to work through you today? What will you do to give up a bit...

Lesson 9 of “1 Peter: Finding Encouragement in Troubling Times – A Sue Edwards Inductive Bible Study” led me to examine the characteristics of the Good Shepherd that should be emulated by a good leader. As Christians, I believe each of us is called to leadership as a member of the body of Christ, using our unique gifts and talents to shine the light of Christ in a dark world. The Good Shepherd is Jesus. He calls His sheep by name and His sheep know and obey His voice. He goes before them and leads them. He lays down His life for His sheep. Jesus cares for His sheep. He knows His sheep. He is known by His sheep. Believers are His sheep. So, as a good leader, what characteristics should I be incorporating into my own behavior? John 10:1-18 brings up some substantial points: - First of all, the true shepherd of the flock enters through the gate, and Jesus explains that He is the gate, so we should lead others in the name of the Lord. - We should call those we lead by name. I b...

Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Acts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. Stay strong. Live in the Spirit. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming… Stacey Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 21 of the book of Acts. Read it with the thought in mind that this is the first display of the power of the Holy Spirit working through man – aside from Christ, that is. Imagine what the Spirit can do through you if you let Him! Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations… 21:4 – The Spirit warned the disciples what would happen to Paul. Their humanity warned Paul away from traveling to Jerusalem. Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go. See 20:22. This shows that we can be sensitive to the Spirit, b...