Overview The church started growing from 120 to over 10,000 people, and the religious leaders said something must be done. Stephen was stoned to death, and a Pharisee with passion and drive started persecuting the church until Jesus interrupted his life and transformed his heart, and used his inner drive to build the church (Saul’s conversion). Paul has completed one missionary tour with Barnabas. Now he is on his second missionary tour with Silas, Timothy, and Luke. The team is now in Europe—Greece—Philippi. And a very influential businesswoman named Lydia has trusted in Jesus, and the church is meeting in her home. Acts 16:16 The “spirit of divination” translates into two Greek words—“a spirit, a python.” Acts 16:17 What she says is true—but remember it is coming from the demon inside her. The words are not meant to promote Jesus but distract people from the message. Acts 16:18-24 After Paul and Silas are beaten, they are thrown into prison. The jailer threw them in the inner prison—probably a dungeon. And to make sure they could not escape, he put their feet in stocks. Acts 16:25 Paul and Silas hold a worship service, and as they are praying and singing hymns … Acts 16:26 “…and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.” Acts 16:27-28 Roman law said that if a guard lost a prisoner, he was given the same punishment the prisoner would have received. Acts 16:28-30 The jailer asks, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) Acts 16:31-34 Only Jesus. By Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Faith in Jesus Christ alone is the emphasis throughout the book of Acts. [Acts 2:38–39; 4:12; 8:12, 37; 10:10–43; 13:38–39] Acts 16:35-36 The officials knew they had no convincing case against Paul and Silas. They wanted to teach them a lesson and get them out of town. Paul—has a trump card—a Roman citizenship card. You don’t beat and imprison a Roman citizen without a fair trial. Acts 16:37-39 Paul didn’t want to leave this new church in Phillipi under a cloud of suspicion. Had they left quietly, the perception would have been that they must have been guilty of some crime. Paul wanted to leave a strong witness of integrity. Acts 16:25 Not easy to pray and sing songs of praise when you are in pain in the midnight times, in the dark times. Any fool can sing in the day. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skillful singer is he who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by. Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men. -C. H. Spurgeon When you sing songs in the night, other people take notice. Songs in the night are a vivid demonstration that following Jesus really works. Songs in the night come only from God. Songs in the night come only from what Jesus has done. DAILY DEVOTIONAL WITH RON MOORE Get Ron’s Daily Devotional to your inbox each morning; visit biblechapel.org/devo. LIVING GROUNDED Learn more about how you can grow deeper and embrace the foundational truths of the Christian faith with Living Grounded. Whether you’re just starting out in faith or you’ve been a Christian for years, Living Grounded offers truth, wisdom, and encouragement for every stage. Contact gdevore@biblechapel.org to get connected. CAREGIVING Do you have a need we can pray for? Do you need someone to walk alongside you? Do you know of another person who needs care? Let us know at caregiving@biblechapel.org. CAMPUS FACEBOOK GROUPS You’re invited to connect with The Bible Chapel family in your campus Facebook Group. Look for Facebook Groups at facebook.com/biblechapel and click on Groups on the left side. FIND AN ENCOURAGER TODAY! JOIN A SMALL GROUP Community Groups are our easiest on-ramp to community at The Bible Chapel; these groups use sermon-based questions to dive deeper into weekly messages. Visit biblechapel.org/smallgroups to learn more and sign up!