Most of us know the feeling of being on a course we cannot change, watching the storm get worse, wondering if anyone is in control. The sailors around Paul had already thrown the cargo overboard and given up hope, until the prisoner stands up and tells them that not one life will be lost, because the God he serves has promised it. The ship breaks apart on the rocks, and every single person reaches shore alive, a sermon in itself about how God keeps people through disaster rather than around it. When life falls apart in ways you never chose, the same Lord who held that crew holds you.

The Rev. Dan Eddy, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Beloit, WI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 27:21-44.

To learn more about Messiah in Beloit, visit mlcbeloit.com.

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.