One of the characteristics of the book of Acts that I noticed in the overview is the Holy Spirit empowering ordinary people for extraordinary things. Now, what do I mean by extraordinary? Well, I think by looking at the very first sermon by Peter on the day of Pentecost just after the Spirit was given should give us a clue as to what I mean by extraordinary and how it can apply to us.
Now here as with any passage it is important for us to set the scene and not just look at these verses in isolation from the rest of the story. The scene for Peter's sermon is the day of Pentecost, which came 50 days after the Passover, when Jesus was crucified. The apostles appear to be celebrating this harvest festival in or near the temple grounds as over 3,000 people gather to hear Peter's sermon. So, who has gathered, well the text says that "devout men from every nation under heaven" were in Jerusalem, so we can assume that these people had traveled here for the festival along with the resident Jews of Jerusalem who would be celebrating the festival. Certainly many if not all of the Sanhedrin (the ruling council of the Jews) and those who persecuted and killed Jesus not two months previously are present. This I think shows the point of the Holy Spirit's empowerment more than anything. Why? How did Peter respond to these people the last time he was with them according to Scripture:
Luke 22:54-62
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, "This man also was with him."
57 But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him."
58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not."
59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean."
60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."
62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

Fearful Peter denies Christ to save his life. But now:

Acts 2:14-41
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.
15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
25 For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
29 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.'
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Peter boldly proclaims Jesus as the Christ and even charges those present with his death. What a difference! The only answer is the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of Peter. So what is the difference between Peter- an ordinary man and Peter- a spirit-filled extraordinary witness? Before being filled with the Spirit Peter denies Christ out of fear, when filled with the Spirit he proclaims Jesus boldly, without regard to his life. Remember these same people cried "crucify him" not even two months previous to this one that Peter proclaims as "Lord and Christ" (vs. 36). Now, this is a unique event in one sense and a regular event in another. It is unique because Peter was a Christian without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when he denied Christ and after Pentecost experienced a radical change in his Christian life- the gift of the Holy Spirit. But, since Pentecost- the Holy Spirit is given upon conversion to Christ so their are no Christians that do not have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. But, I call this a regular event in another sense, because this is what the Spirit of God still does today, empowering ordinary people to become extraordinary witnesses to who Jesus is and what He has done. Be encouraged therefore, that you don't have to have all the answers, all the knowledge, all the skills in evangelism (though those are good things to pursue) but you must simply believe in Jesus, trust him alone for your salvation and you can know that you are empowered for ministry with this exact same Holy Spirit. He lives in you and I in the very same way and for the same purpose: empowering extraordinary witness to the grace of God in Jesus Christ for His Glory!


-In Christ alone,
The Holowell's (Josh, Whitney and Tyko)

Touchdown Tyko from Josh Holowell on Vimeo.

-In Christ alone,
The Holowell's (Josh, Whitney and Tyko)

Acts: Overview Thoughts

It would be very easy to say that the book of Acts is about Paul, or Peter, or the early church, but that would be wrong. They may play a prominent role in what appears to be the spotlight, but they are really dropping to the background to let God take his rightful spot as the main character of the story. Acts is about the sovereign God who reigns using His people: the church, for His purposes: the expansion of His kingdom through the proclamation of the gospel, to His glory.
For New Testament Survey we read through the whole book, tracing the apostles steps and particularly Paul's movements, and meditating on the activity of the early Church.
Here are some initial thoughts and then I hope to write a few meditations on some passages that really struck me while reading.

1. The Holy Spirit empowers ordinary people for extraordinary things as the gospel stretches throughout the known world. The apostles and the early Christians are regenerated, empowered, led, controlled, and comforted by the Holy Spirit. They speak, act, think, move, go, stay, change course, all at His direction and leading. They play the background while he takes center stage to use them for the glory of God.

2. The gospel goes forth through suffering and persecution. Through the stoning of Stephen and the first persecution on the church, God sends his people into the nations to proclaim Jesus. And throughout the entire expansion of the early church in Acts there is suffering associated with the expansion of God's kingdom.

3. The radical nature of the gospel. Economies are overturned as people stop idol worship, people sell everything they own, the apostles suffer the loss of all things including their life, and every decision is made in regards to God's glory as the good news of Jesus expands. There just is not room for lukewarmness towards Jesus.

4. Missionary zeal. Paul and the apostles travel so much, so fast. They stay long enough to plant churches, get elders rooted in the gospel, entrust them with the local ministry and then move on. They see God's heart for all nations and desire to proclaim the gospel where it has not yet been heard.

5. This is the most important feature, I think, and the one that I alluded to earlier: the sovereignty of God, which makes Him the main character. When I think of passages that teach the sovereignty of God in planning, ordaining, and accomplishing all things in accordance with his will, I think of Romans 8 and 9, Ephesians 1, Proverbs 16, or the book of John. But, I think that the whole of the book of Acts creates one of the strongest biblical cases for it, and gives us an insight into why God has set it up this way: the expansion of his kingdom through the salvation of sinners by the grace of the gospel to his glory. We see throughout Acts the sovereignty of God in ordaining the cross (2:23, 3:18, 4:27-28), calling and appointing people to eternal life (2:39, 2:41, 2:47, 5:14, 11:24, 13:48), and in God granting faith and repentance to people (3:16, 5:31, 11:18, 15:8-9, 16:14, 18:27). It's also seen in the providence of God in things as simple as Paul's heritage and upbringing. A Jew and a Roman citizen, trained in the law as a Pharisee and able to engage with Greeks and Romans. The perfect heritage to be the apostle to the Gentiles and take the gospel to literally every major world leader. This is no accident but planned by God for His glory and the salvation of sinners.

All of these things are very encouraging for ministry, challenging for my walk with Jesus, and beautiful displays of who God is and how he works.



I thought of a great deal of this after a day at Panera reading Acts and listening to the song "Background" by Lecrae on his album Rehab.
Here is the music video, enjoy:
Lecrae "Background" ft. C-Lite from Rive Video on Vimeo.

You can buy the full album on iTunes.


-In Christ alone,
Josh Holowell

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. - 2nd Timothy 2:15

Paul exhorts Timothy to be one who can rightly handle God's word because Paul knew very well that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). It is through the good news of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit regenerates hearts and gives people faith. So rightly handling the word of truth is of utmost importance for ministers of the gospel. That is why, during our season of support raising, we are continuing our ministry training by taking a New Testament Survey Course. This course gives the background information, themes, authors, and a general overview for the New Testament. At the end we will be able to better navigate the scriptures and proclaim them boldly, knowing Christ and making Him known. We are so excited for the opportunity to continue learning about the world at the time our Lord walked the earth so that others can encounter Him through our witness. It has been a great time of confirming the Lord's call on our life to be heralds of the good news of Jesus. Thank you for making this essential time of training and preparation possible. Please pray that we would study diligently and be doers of the word ourselves and not blind guides.



-In Christ alone,
The Holowell's (Josh, Whitney and Tyko)