Acts - Week 65

Week 65 Acts 20 

Day 1 

READ 

Acts 20:9-10 

9 As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. 10 Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!” 

Paul was planning to leave Troas the next day so on this first day of the week he spoke until midnight. A young man sitting on the windowsill became drowsy and fell to his death three stories below. Imagine the turmoil when this occurred! Paul went down, took him in his arms and said, “he’s alive.”  The apostle had brought a man back to life! How would the crowd react? 

REFLECT 

Try to put yourself in the meeting that evening. Likely you have had services interrupted by someone having a physical problem. But this was someone who fell three stories to his death. 

RESPOND 

Remind yourself and your disciple of the special powers God granted the apostles to show they had His approval. Read Acts 2:22; 2 Corinthians 12:12 and Hebrews 2:3-4. Today the written word of God is available to check who is speaking with God’s approval.           

Day 2 

READ 

Acts 20:11-12 

11 Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. 12 Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved. 

As if nothing had happened, they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, had a fellowship meal, and Paul kept talking to them until dawn. The young man stayed with them until the meeting was over then he was “taken home alive and well.” It is understandable at this point that “everyone was greatly relieved.”  

REFLECT 

What is the longest you have ever been in a church meeting? Surely it did not compare to this service the believers in Troas had.  

RESPOND 

Depending on where you live in the world, are believers around you controlled by the clock instead of by their interest in the Word of God and Christian fellowship? Talk about this with your disciple. 

Day 3 

READ 

Acts 20:13-15 

13 Paul went by land to Assis, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. 14 He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mytilene. 15 The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus. 

Again, Luke—the human author of Acts—traces the places where he and Paul’s companions passed on their way to Miletus. These details reveal this is an eyewitness report. If it weren’t, such details would be omitted. Believers today can be thankful as they have a copy of the Scriptures they have an eyewitness report of the events at that time. 

REFLECT 

Have you thought about the truth that you have an eyewitness report of these events in the first century? Every person who has a copy of the Scriptures has this report. 

RESPOND 

Read 1 John 1:1-4 to see that the apostle John was sharing an eyewitness report about Jesus. All who have the Scriptures today have a copy of this eyewitness report. Believers today can share with others what Jesus has done in their lives to tell what they have experienced. 

Day 4 

READ 

Acts 20:16-17 

16 Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost. 17 But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him. 

Some have misunderstood what Paul meant when he wanted to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost. It does not refer to what occurred as recorded in Acts 2. There was an annual celebration of Pentecost 50 days after the Passover since Old Testament times. Paul wanted to meet with the elders of the church at Ephesus so he sent for them to come meet him.  

REFLECT 

The believers in Ephesus were precious to Paul. Think of the believers who have been of special encouragement to you. Have you reciprocated by being of special encouragement to them? 

RESPOND 

If interested in reading about Pentecost being instituted in the Old Testament, read Leviticus 23:15-22. That reveals all the details included then. 

Day 5 

READ 

Acts 20:18-21 

18 When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now 19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus. 

When the elders from the church at Ephesus arrived, Paul talked to them. There is no record of how many elders there were but there was at least more than one. Paul reminded them how he had lived among them and the trials he had endured. He told them of the key message he had delivered to everyone: the need to turn from sin to God by having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  

REFLECT 

Think about if people gave up their bad habits and ideas, they would still need to trust in Jesus for salvation to have eternal life.  

RESPOND 

As you and your disciple talk about witnessing to others, here is a statement you might use. As someone has said, “Good people do not go to heaven because they are good; and bad people do not go to hell because they are bad. Good people go to heaven because they have trusted in the Lord Jesus for salvation, and bad people go to hell because they have not trusted in Him.”