Outline of Acts 20

1. Paul teaches in Greece for 3 months
2. Paul talks a kid to death in Troas, then raises him to life
3. Paul announces that he’ll never see his Ephesian friends again

Riot

In verses 21-41, Paul and his companions face intense pressure from residents of Ephesus.

Eventually, they riot to preserve Artemis’ good name.

Book Burning

In verses 18-20, people who saw what happened to the sons of Sceva burned their unholy books.

This is a surprising response to this situation. I would have expected the people to be upset with Paul’s God.

Instead, they responded in reverent awe.

Posers

Don’t be a poser when dealing with spiritual matters.

The sons of Sceva learn this lesson the hard way in verses 13-17.

Relics

In verses 11-12, we learn that the Spirit has chosen to use Paul in an unusual way.

Relics that he has handled gain healing power.

Don’t Waste Your Breath

In verses 8-10, we learn that Paul moves his teaching from the synagogue–where he gets massive resistance from the members there–to a public lecture hall for two years of teaching.

If people inside the walls of a religious building won’t listen to the truth, then Paul demonstrates that it’s OK to leave them and take the message to a public marketplace of ideas.

Conversion, Part II

Verses 1-7 are some of the most fascinating to me in the entire book of Acts.

How puzzling that new believers hadn’t heard of the Holy Spirit and experienced John’s baptism of repentance.

It is interesting to correlate Jesus’ words at the end of Matthew, the end of Luke and the beginning of Acts with Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian believer.

Clearly water baptism is an important sign of Christian faith, but baptism in the Holy Spirit does not always correlate to baptism in Acts.  But in these verses, it is John’s baptism which is incomplete.

Outline of Acts 19

1) Paul, in Ephesus, demonstrates the difference between the baptisms of John and Jesus. He tells about the Holy Spirit.
2) Paul teaches publicly in Ephesus for over two years
3) Sceva’s seven sons get beat up by an unclean spirit
4) Demetrius stirs up a riot to undermine the idea that handmade gods aren’t really gods

Forensics

Apollos, in verse 28, puts his new understanding to use in public debate.

Like a debater on a forensics team, he supports the claim that Jesus is Messiah from the Old Testament scriptures.

On the Road

In verses 26-27, Apollos receives some coaching and then travels to share the Good News.