Be a Berean

Rev. Brian Flamme, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Roswell, NM, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Acts 17:1-15. Paul and his companions make their way to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue. For three Sabbath days, Paul preaches to them from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. Some believe, including many leading women. Yet some of the Jews in Thessalonica become jealous. They take some of the rabble to form a mob to attack Paul and Silas. When they cannot find Paul and Silas, the mob settles for Jason, who had welcomed the preachers into his house and now suffers along with them. The brothers in Thessalonica send Paul and Silas along to Berea; the Jews there listen with eagerness and examine the Scriptures to see that Paul’s preaching is true. This duty still belongs to Christian hearers today. Though many believe in Berea, Jews follow from Thessalonica and chase Paul out of Berea as well. “To the End of the Earth” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Acts. In his second volume, St. Luke records all the things that Jesus continued to do through the ministry of His Church. By the end of the book, the proclamation of the Lord’s Word that began in Jerusalem grows all the way to Rome. By God’s grace, even now, that same Word is proclaimed to us.