Today our Scripture lesson is from the Book of the “Acts of the Apostles.” There is an old saying that the church needs to move its focus from the “Book of Numbers” to the “Book of Acts.” And if you’re looking for drama, even melodrama, with dramatic plot reversals and somersaulting stories lines, you’re in the right book. There are stonings and shipwrecks, prison breaks and spiritual breakthroughs, trials and betrayals, riots and revivals. That’s why a better name for the “Book of Acts” might be the “Book of Narratives.”

The Apostle Paul warns elsewhere “The letter kills, the Spirit gives life” (2Cor.3:6). Most Christians may have gotten past the every‑jot‑and‑tittle‑of‑the‑letter stage in their faith. But the numbers kill just like the letters. That’s why we really do need to move our f…