Yearly Archives: 2026

Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 22-23)

June 9, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem to die on the cross for us. But God had other plans in mind for Paul. His journey to Jerusalem resulted in his imprisonment but not in his death; or rather, the road to his martyrdom would be a much longer one. God reveals His plans

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Compelled by the Spirit (Acts 20-21)

May 25, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

“But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, except that in one city after another the holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if

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This one weird trick will not produce miracles (Acts 19)

May 14, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:5-6) So extraordinary were the mighty deeds God accomplished at the hands of Paul that when face cloths or

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Paul in Athens (Acts 17)

April 18, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

Paul’s travels take him to Athens in Acts 17, where he preaches the Good News in the cultural center of the Mediterranean world. A rough modern equivalent would be Bishop Barron speaking at Facebook headquarters. “Now all the Athenians as well as the foreigners residing there used their time for

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“What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16)

April 6, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) The Holy Spirit continues to lead the Church in Acts 16. The Spirit does not allow Paul and Silas to enter the cities of Asia, but directs them through a dream to share the Good News in Macedonia. Paul and his

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The Holy Spirit Leads (Acts 15)

March 26, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

In Acts 15 Luke reports on the Council of Jerusalem, the first ecumenical council in the history of the Church. An ecumenical council is typically called so the pope and the bishops can confer and settle a matter of disputed doctrine. At the Council of Jerusalem, the issue was whether

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Saint Paul’s Roller Coaster (Acts 13-14)

March 10, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

Saint Paul never rode a roller coaster. He wouldn’t have needed to. His missionary journeys are a series of wild ups and downs. Paul’s first missionary journey takes him (together with Barnabas) from Antioch in Syria to several cities in Asia Minor (what is now Turkiye). Paul and Barnabas share

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God’s got this (Acts 12)

February 26, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

Every history book is wrong. Let me explain. Acts 12 tells the story of a king, two holy men, and the angel of the Lord. To win favor with the people, the king has one of the holy men killed. He arrests the second holy man, intending to kill him

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Make disciples of all nations (Acts 10-11)

February 10, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

A momentous event is the subject of Acts 10: Gentiles, specifically the centurion Cornelius and his household, receive the Holy Spirit for the first time. This is preceded by Peter’s dream, where God instructs him that he may eat any animal, for “what God has cleansed, you must not call common.”

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Conversion (Acts 9)

January 27, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

In An Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales writes of the necessity, and the ongoing nature, of conversion for followers of Christ. The conversion of St. Paul, recounted by Saint Luke in Acts 9, was an extraordinary conversion that birthed St. Paul’s ministry across the Mediterranean world. St.

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The Power of Prayer (Acts 9)

January 19, 2026 / Michael Haverkamp

As the stones rained down on Stephen, and as Saul stood watch by the coats, Stephen implored God, saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Some time later, as Saul traveled to Damascus, “breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1), the Lord Jesus appeared to him.

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