Bible Study with David Hathaway (TV Audio Podcast‪)‬ DavidHathawayTVAudio

'Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders... They gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.' (Acts 14.3, 27, NIV.)
Acts 14 recounts the missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas to various cities in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). In Iconium, they face opposition but continue to preach boldly, performing miracles that lead to some conversions. However, a plot to stone them forces them to flee to Lystra and Derbe, where they continue to spread the Gospel.
In Lystra, Paul heals a man, leading the locals to believe they are gods. When Paul and Barnabas try to correct this misunderstanding, the crowd turns against them, and Paul is stoned and left for dead. However, he survives and moves on to Derbe, where they continue preaching.
Afterward, they backtrack through the cities they visited, encouraging and strengthening the believers. They appoint elders in each church before returning to Antioch, where they report their journey to the church, recounting how God had opened doors for the Gentiles to believe.

'While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.' (Acts 13.2-3, NIV.) Acts 13 details the start of Paul's first missionary journey:
Commissioning of Paul and Barnabas: The chapter begins with the church in Antioch commissioning Paul and Barnabas for missionary work. The Holy Spirit directs this decision.
Preaching in Cyprus: Paul and Barnabas travel to Cyprus, where they preach the word of God in synagogues. They encounter Bar-Jesus, a false prophet, whom Paul rebukes for trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
Preaching in Pisidian Antioch: They journey to Pisidian Antioch and preach in the synagogue there. Paul gives a powerful sermon recounting Israel's history and how Jesus fulfills God's promises. Many Jews and Gentiles believe, but some Jews oppose them, leading to their expulsion from the region.
Turning to the Gentiles: Paul and Barnabas turn their focus to the Gentiles, spreading the Gospel throughout the region. The message spreads rapidly.
Opposition and Perseverance: Despite facing opposition and persecution, Paul and Barnabas continue to preach boldly, relying on God's strength.
The chapter concludes with Paul and Barnabas departing from Pisidian Antioch, shaking the dust off their feet as a symbolic gesture against those who reject the Gospel, and moving on to preach in Iconium.

Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
Then the angel said to him, ‘Put on your clothes and sandals.’ And Peter did so. ‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me,’ the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.’
When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognised Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, ‘Peter is at the door!’
‘You’re out of your mind,’ they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, ‘It must be his angel.’
But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. ‘Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,’ he said, and then he left for another place. (Acts 12.5-17, NIV.)

"I began telling them the Good News, but just as I was getting started with my sermon, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as He fell on us at the beginning! Then I thought of the Lord’s words when He said, ‘Yes, John baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ And since it was God who gave these Gentiles the same gift He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to argue?” When the others heard this, all their objections were answered and they began praising God! “Yes,” they said, “God has given to the Gentiles, too, the privilege of turning to him and receiving eternal life!” (Acts 11.15-18.)
In Acts 11, we see a significant shift in the early church's understanding of its mission, as it embraces the inclusion of Gentiles and expands beyond its Jewish origins. 
At Pentecost the Gospel began with the Jews, but Jesus came to save the world. We are intructed by Jesus in the Great Commission to bring salvation to all people. Jesus told the parable of the Wedding Feast: the invited guests didn't enter into the celebration, so we Gentiles have been invited. During the ministry of Jesus He healed the Centurion's servant; from this we can understand that Jesus came to save the whole world, just as He said in John 3.16, 'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.'
'Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them...
“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.' (Matthew 22.)

'God shows no favouritism. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ — He is Lord of all — that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.' (Acts 10.34-43, NKJV.)
Acts 10 recounts the significant event where Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, receives a vision from God that challenges his understanding of who can be included in the Christian community. In the vision, Peter sees a sheet descending from heaven containing various animals, both clean and unclean according to Jewish dietary laws. A voice commands Peter to kill and eat, but Peter refuses, citing his adherence to Jewish customs.
Meanwhile, Cornelius, a Roman centurion, receives a vision instructing him to send for Peter, who is staying in Joppa. Cornelius, a devout man who feared God, sends his servants to fetch Peter. As they approach Joppa, Peter also receives a vision from the Holy Spirit, telling him not to regard any person as unclean.
When Cornelius' messengers arrive, Peter goes with them to Cornelius' house, which is against Jewish custom because Cornelius is a Gentile. Peter preaches the Gospel to Cornelius and his household, and while he is speaking, the Holy Spirit falls upon them, evidenced by their speaking in tongues. This convinces Peter that God shows no partiality and that Gentiles can receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, just as Jews can.
Peter baptises Cornelius and his household, marking a pivotal moment in the early church's understanding of the inclusion of Gentiles in the Christian faith. 

Acts 9.1-31 is a pivotal chapter in the New Testament, showing the dramatic transformation of Saul from a persecutor of Christians to one of the most influential figures in Christianity. It also emphasises the power of God's grace and the role of believers in supporting and accepting one another. 
'I will show him how much he must suffer for my name,' (Acts 9.16): We mustn't be afraid of suffering for in the moment of your greatest tragedy, in the moment of your greatest suffering, when you’re hurting more than you’ve ever hurt before, Jesus is there. He’s not forgotten you, He’s walking nearer to you. Jesus said, ‘I will be with you always.’ Every day, every hour, in the middle of every storm, in the middle of every sickness, even in a hospital bed, Jesus will always come. Whatever the crisis, there’s never a moment when He’s not there. 
Suffering is identification; in taking up our cross, we identify with Jesus, and He identifies with us. Jesus said, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.'