Welcome to week 10 of Weekly Word!
We pray that these weekly readings continue to stir your heart as you abide in Christ! Below, you’ll find your readings for this week, along with discussion questions and a short devotional for you to enjoy at the end of the week.
Readings:
- Acts 19-20
- Luke 12
Devotional:
Readings: Acts 19-20 | Luke 12
In Ephesus, Paul’s ministry was so effective that it actually hurt the local economy of idol-makers. The people realized that the eternal was far more valuable than the silver shrines they were selling. Paul’s farewell to the elders in Acts 20 shows a man who wasn’t worried about his own safety or his own moments—he was only concerned with finishing the race.
Jesus asks in Luke 12, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” We spend so much energy worrying about things we cannot control—our time, our money, the future. But Paul shows us that when we invest in the eternal, the fleeting worries of this life lose their power.
You cannot add a moment to your life by worrying, but you can add life to your moments by filling them with the things of God! This week, trade your anxiety for a Kingdom focus. The God who numbers your hairs is the same God who will finish the work He started in you.
Discussion Questions:
- Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders shows he didn’t worry about his own life. How does Jesus’s teaching in Luke 12 (not adding a moment by worrying) empower Paul’s ministry?
- The riot in Ephesus happened because the gospel changed the economy. How should our faith disrupt our “normal” spending or priorities?
Dig Deeper
Life can be bumpy and have unexpected twists—does that mean God can still use our lives? In this message from Antioch’s 2020 sermon series, “Unstoppable,” Pastor Stephen Castleberry examines Paul’s journey to Rome in the second half of Acts.
We are praying for you as you dig into God’s Word this week!