Required Reading from Katie

All week I’ve been thinking about what book to give you as my “required reading” recommendation. Time and again I keep coming back to the book of Acts. I think that's no mistake either.

Why?

I was sitting down to write my “Required Reading” recommendation for you when I had my first chance to read Anitra’s post. Guess what? If you are a one of our faithful daily readers, you know that she recommended a book based on the book of Acts. Better read them both!!

I love the book of Acts. Most of us grew up hearing about Noah’s Ark, Moses and the Ten Commandments, Jonah and the whale, and bunches of great Jesus stories before we ever read the Bible for ourselves. There are stories in the book of Acts that are DOOZIES, too. Yet, for reasons I cannot explain, they remain largely unknown to the novice Bible reader.

The book of Acts is a collection of stories about the adventures of the birth of the Church. You’ll find great discoveries like…

…God telling Peter to break the law so as to enable Peter to share God's love and hospitality, (Acts 10 & 11)

…an angel executing the smoothest jail break you have ever seen, (Acts 12)

…a house church held in the home of a successful business woman named Lydia (a WOMAN), (Acts 16)

…Peter raising a young girl from the dead, just like Jesus did (Acts 9)

…a teenager raised from the dead by Paul after falling out of a window (after the young man got so tired from listening to Paul drone on and on that he fell asleep. True story!), (Acts 20)

There are just some great and eye-opening stories to be learned from the book of Acts. When you read it, you are given the opportunity to see where the church started, how it overcame its first challenges, and ultimately, perhaps, gain some insight as to as to where we’re headed today as one large congregation.

There’s my required reading. Have fun and “Act” on it!