Athey Creek: Audio Podcast

As they continue their first missionary journey in Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas encounter extraordinary opportunities but also fierce opposition from a group of Jews who continually stir up trouble. But despite these violent uprisings – and even a near-death experience for Paul – they continued performing miracles, preaching the Gospel, and strengthening the faith of the new believers who accepted Jesus as their Savior.

After Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for gods, Paul addresses the fervent crowd in Acts 14:11-19 to redirect their worship to the one true God. As Paul boldly explains the folly of idolatry and points to how God reveals Himself through creation, his words once again incite hostility, culminating in a violent uprising against him.

A Bible teaching titled “Through the Bible | Acts 13” from Acts 13 by Brett Meador.

In Acts 13:36-39, Paul makes a powerful declaration that we can only find forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. But what does this actually mean for us? As we study, we learn why forgiveness is necessary, the benefits of confession, repentance, and salvation, and why Jesus Christ is our only access to these things.

Following Peter’s vision concerning the Gentiles, the church continues growing, and the Gospel spreads rapidly in Acts 11-12. However, the explosion of Christianity sparks persecution from Herod, who kills James and imprisons Peter. Yet we still see that God is in control as Peter is miraculously freed through the power of prayer and angelic intervention while Herod meets a ghastly demise.

The Gospel reaches the prominent but wicked city of Antioch in Acts 11:19-21, and many people become believers as a result. Similarly, we desire to impact the city of Portland, Oregon, and shine the light of Jesus Christ within our dark community. In this special message, Pastor Brett shares plans to reach the Portland metro area with the Good News of Jesus Christ as we officially launch the PDX Crusade 2025.

God orchestrates an extraordinary scenario in Acts 10, leading to the salvation of Gentiles and their inclusion into the Church. As we watch the story unfold, we meet a diverse cast of characters who all played a unique role, see how God combined vision and confirmation to accomplish His purpose, and hear the Gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ preached to the Gentiles in Caesarea.

While praying on a rooftop, Peter receives a vision in Acts 10:9-20 that would interestingly impact the early church and Christianity to this day. As we study Peter’s vision and its implications, we examine how the Lord can still give us dreams and visions as we seek Him and how we can have confirmation that they are from Him.

Things take a significant turn for the early church in Acts 9:20-43 as Saul, once their primary persecutor, converts to Christianity and exits the scene to prepare for his future ministry. Meanwhile, we catch up with Peter, who continues to follow Jesus' example while boldly sharing the Gospel throughout the region.

Saul of Tarsus is on his way to threaten and murder the Christians in Damascus when he has a life-changing encounter with God in Acts 9:1-19. In this dramatic account of his conversion, we see God knock Saul down to show him the error of his ways and extend his free gift of salvation to even the most unlikely person.

When Saul's persecution begins to scatter the church, Philip travels to Samaria, where he encounters a sorcerer and an Ethiopian eunuch. As we meet this interesting cast of characters in Acts 8, we study the varied responses to Philip's preaching while learning important lessons about evangelism, salvation, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

In an incredible God-ordained circumstance, Philip finds himself in the desert sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a traveling Ethiopian in Acts 8:26-40. In the same way, we are also called to share the message of salvation through Jesus with the people God places in our path. With Philip as our example, we learn how God often orchestrates circumstances for us to present the Gospel, how we should respond when we find ourselves with an opportunity, and how to obtain the power to be bold as we share.

Stephen concludes his sermon in Acts 7:37-8:3 with bold accusations against the religious leaders for continually failing to truly follow God’s law, turning to idolatry, missing His glory, and being spiritually dead. As their outrage culminates in Stephen’s death by stoning, we are introduced to Saul, who launches a rampage of persecution against the early church.

As Stephen is stoned to death, he utters some truly remarkable last words in Acts 7:59-60 that reveal the powerful transformation Jesus had upon his life. In much the same way, Jesus wants to change us too. As we study, we learn how He can bring about this change in our lives by rescuing us from our sins and giving us new hearts that will help us face any circumstance while glorifying God —just like Stephen.

In one of Scripture's most powerful sermons, Stephen recounts Israel's history to reveal how it foreshadowed Jesus as the Messiah while addressing the people's repeated rejection of God’s plan. As we study the first half of his message in Acts 7:1-43, we cover their history from Abraham to Moses to see the prophetic implications, the beginning of God's plan for the Jewish people, and how Jesus was pictured throughout this history.

Accused of blasphemy by the religious leaders, Stephen begins his defense in Acts 7:2-8 with a history lesson on God’s promise to give Abraham’s descendants the land of Israel. Starting with Stephen’s statement, we trace Israel’s history to the present day to explore who should possess the land and why, the current narrative in the Middle East, and how these controversies are leading to God’s ultimate plans for the Jews in the End Times.

A Bible teaching titled “Through the Bible | Acts 6” from Acts 6 by Brett Meador.

While Stephen is preaching about Jesus in Acts 6:8-15, a group of men come against him by spreading lies and accusing him of sharing misinformation. And unfortunately, twisting the truth is the oldest trick in the book and is still in play today. As we study how truth is distorted, we learn how to combat these attacks by knowing what Scripture actually says and how we can become people full of faith and power, like Stephen.

The early church is flourishing in Acts 5 as many come to know the Lord, miracles abound, and the Gospel is boldly proclaimed. However, Satan attempts to stop the growing power of the church with attacks from both within and without, and the opposition becomes increasingly hostile.

Ananias and Sapphira appear to be outstanding members of the early church in Acts 5:1-11, but an act of hypocrisy and deceit leads to their dramatic destruction. By examining why God made an example of them—and others throughout Scripture—we uncover why hypocrisy in the church is so serious, the importance of fleeing from unrighteousness, and how God’s grace and mercy cover us when we are overtaken by our faults.