Paul has now been in custody for two years, shuffled between governors who would rather make the problem disappear than deal with it. When Festus tries to do the local leaders a favor, Paul plays the one card a Roman citizen could play and appeals to Caesar, and what looks like a legal maneuver is really God steering an innocent man toward the heart of the empire. Few of us will ever stand trial, yet most of us know what it is to be caught in systems that treat us as an inconvenience. The comfort here is that delay and injustice did not mean God had forgotten Paul; he was being carried, by ordinary means, exactly where the Lord intended him to go.

The Rev. Max Phillips, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Bouton and Zion Lutheran Church in Ogden, Iowa; Executive Director of Lutheran Family Service; and CEO of Perry Lutheran Homes, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 25:1-27.

The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.