The Purpose of the Book of Acts - Reece's Peace's

               The Book of Acts is unique in the New Testament. It is not like the gospels because it does not cover the life and ministry of Jesus. It is unlike the Letter of the Apostles because it is a historical account, not simply a theological letter. This begs the question: what is the purpose of the Book of Acts?

               Before we can answer this question, we have to know why the Book of Acts was written. The Book of Acts was not written to be read as we read it today. It was made to be read directly following the Gospel of Luke. Luke and Acts were written as two sections of one combined work: Luke-Acts. The first line of the Book of Acts makes this clear when the writer states, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.”

               Reading the Books of Acts before the Gospel of Luke makes about as much sense as reading The Two Towers before The Fellowship of the Ring. You cannot understand the purpose of the second book without reading the first. Unfortunately, our modern Bibles created this problem. The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts are separated by the Gospel of John. This artificial division makes it seem as if they were written as two separate works.

               However, if you do read the two books together you can see the purpose of the Book of Acts. The Gospel of Luke ends with Christ's ascension and the Apostles leaving to go pray in the temple. Unlike the other Gospels, it does not have any conclusion or summary sentences. John has the clearest example of this in the final sentences, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The Gospel of John makes it clear with this statement that this is the end of His story. John has told all that he wishes to tell. Luke doesn’t have a statement like this because while Jesus’s life story might have been finished, for Luke His ministry wasn’t.

That is the purpose of the Book of Acts, to show how Jesus’s ministry lived on in the work of the Apostles. By connecting the books, you see this clear relationship. Jesus’s life is finished, so the Apostles continue with His mission. The Book of Acts shows us that even though Christ is no longer with us physically His spirit still is and we are to carry on with His mission.

Blessed Assurance - Marc's Music Notables

It might seem unlikely that a blind writer of hymns living in a slum and a wealthy woman living in a mansion would have anything in common — but Fanny Crosby, the blind hymn writer, was a humble woman with a number of distinguished friends. Grover Cleveland, who later became President of the United States, met Fanny Crosby as a young man, and they became lifelong friends.

The friend in the mansion was Phoebe Knapp, the daughter of a Methodist evangelist. When she was just sixteen years old, Phoebe married Joseph Fairchild Knapp, a young man who went on to found the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The Knapps worshiped at the John Street Methodist Church in lower Manhattan, which is where Fanny Crosby also worshiped — and so a friendship was born. Phoebe, the wealthy matron, often invited Fanny, the blind hymn writer, to her home.

Phoebe enjoyed music, and had a music room furnished with a collection of musical instruments. During one of Fanny’s visits, Phoebe invited her to the music room, where Phoebe sat down at the keyboard and played a tune that she had written. “What does that say,” she asked? Fanny clapped her hands in delight and said, “That says, ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!'” She then continued with other words of the hymn. Mrs. Knapp wrote the words down and fit them into the tune as we have it today.

Many people thought Fanny Crosby in 1873 finds inspiration for the song through the passage of Hebrews 10:22. ” Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (KJV). Because she wrote the hymn on a whim. Though without any spiritual background it might be difficult to write down the text of inspiring hymn as blessed assurance in a very short time like she did.

The full text and score of the hymn were published on page 36 of a magazine called Issue of Palmer’s Guide to Holiness and Revival Miscellany in July 1873. Specifically, the magazine is printed by the parent of Mrs. Knapp who is an evangelist. However, there is no source that confirmed that the magazine was the first to print Blessed Assurance Hymn.

But it actually assisted in making the inspiring hymn popular as of today. The tune is called Blessed Assurance or Assurance in relation to Fanny Crosby’s text.

During her lifetime, Fanny Crosby wrote eight thousand hymns, many of which became famous — but “Blessed Assurance” just might be the most famous of all.

Summer - Kayla's Korner

Psalm 113:3

“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!”

The Lord’s name is to be praised! It is something we should do daily! I feel like when summer hits sometimes we lose sight of praising God. We forget to read our Bibles, we forget to pray, and maybe we decide to take the summer off from Church. Do you think God ever takes a break from His relationship with us? I personally don’t think so, so why should we take a break from Him? This summer I hope everyone praises God in the morning and praises God at night. Something I did to help build my relationship with God was download the Bible app on my phone. It can be hard to carry a Bible around with me everywhere I go. If I ever find myself needing to hear God’s word or have an opportunity to share God’s word with someone, I can use the Bible app. There are so many different and unique ways we can praise God in today’s world. So how are you going to praise Him this summer? 

-Kayla

Why does Easter Fall on a Different Day Each Year? - Reece's Peaces

Easter is unlike other holidays. Independence Day is always on July 4th, Christmas is always December 25th, but Easter’s date changes.

Easter is always celebrated on a Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th, but the exact date moves. The reason for this is quite simple.

The date changes on our modern Gregorian calendar, but not on the Jewish calendar. Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday during the Jewish holiday of Passover. Passover always begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan. The Jewish calendar, unlike our modern Gregorian calendar, uses the rotation of the moon instead of the Sun to divide the year into months.

According to the Jewish calendar Easter does have a fixed date. It is always celebrated on the first Sunday immediately following the 15th of Nisan or, more specifically, the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon. While it may seem to us that Easter’s date changes year to year, it was not so for early Christians.

However, that's not the only unique aspect in dating the celebration of Easter because not all Christians celebrate Easter on the same Sunday. This year the Eastern Orthodox Church will celebrate Easter on April 24th, while Western churches will celebrate it on April 17th. This difference has nothing to do with the moon.

Instead, the answer comes down to our calendars. Western Christians use the Gregorian calendar which has leap days while Eastern Christians use the Julian calendar which does not. Over many years the two calendars have become a bit out of sync. This means that the Orthodox Church can date their Easter on one date while the Western churches use a different date.

In general, the reason why Easter’s date changes each year is due to the original Jewish calendar. We celebrate Easter following the cycle of the Moon instead of the cycle of the Sun. It is only due to our modern calendar that Easter has become a moving holiday.

Amazing Grace - Marc's Music Notables

John Newton’s earliest memories were of his godly mother who, despite fragile health, devoted herself to nurturing his soul. At her knee he memorized Bible passages and hymns. Though she died when he was about seven, he later recalled her tearful prayers for him. After her death, John alternated between boarding school and the high seas.

Pressed into service with the British Navy, he deserted, was captured and flogged. More voyages, dangers, toils, and snares followed. It was a life unrivaled in fiction, as he eventually became the slave of a slave in Africa.

Then on the night of March 9, 1748, John, 23, was jolted awake aboard ship by a brutal storm. In great peril, he cried to the Lord and began a slow spiritual journey that eventually transformed his life. The next several years were ones of slow, halting progress; but in the end John Newton became one of the most powerful evangelical preachers in British history, a powerful foe of slavery and the slave trade, and the author of hundreds of hymns.

“Amazing Grace” is his hymn of testimony, originally written to accompany a New Year’s Day sermon Newton preached on January 1, 1773, from the text 1 Chronicles 17:16-17. “I once was lost,” he said, “but now am found; was blind but now I see.”

Hymns are distillations of the richest truths of God, versified, emotionalized, set to music, and released in the mind and from the mouth. They’re miniature Bible studies that lead us effortlessly to worship, testimony, exhortation, prayer, and praise. They’re bursts of devotional richness with rhyme and rhythm. They clear our minds, soothe our nerves, verbalize our worship, summarize our faith, and sing our great Redeemer’s praise.

Everyone should have a hymnbook on their desk and a song of praise in their hearts. Lots of good music will improve our moods, but the great hymns of the faith will fill our hearts with the truths of God and lift our spirits upward in praise