Acts Daily Devotional Podcast

Weeks earlier, Peter denied Jesus to a servant girl and ran. Now he's standing in front of thousands, raising his voice, preaching the first Christian sermon in history. Today we dig into how Peter connects what's happening at Pentecost to an 800-year-old prophecy from Joel -- and what it means that we're still living in those "last days" right now. The Spirit doesn't visit anymore. He moves in. And that changes everything about how you and I are supposed to live.

The Spirit's first act was to speak -- and he chose to do it in every language of the known world. In today's episode, we look at what happened when the crowds heard a group of Galilean fishermen declaring the mighty acts of God in their native tongues. The miracle at Pentecost was the beginning of a reversal that started at Babel. God scattered humanity through language. Now, through the Spirit, he was gathering it back. And he was doing it through the people nobody would have chosen.

Ten days of waiting. One hundred and twenty ordinary people in an upper room. And then the day of Pentecost arrived and heaven broke through. Wind. Fire. Languages nobody had learned. In this episode, we slow down to take in the three signs Luke describes at the Spirit's arrival and why each one matters. This was a new era beginning -- not with impressive people or powerful institutions, but with a room full of nobodies who had simply been obedient enough to wait. The Spirit who filled that room hasn't left. He's still filling people today.

The disciples needed a replacement for Judas -- someone who had walked with Jesus from his baptism through the resurrection. Two men were nominated. They prayed. They cast lots. And Matthias was chosen. Today's episode asks the question underneath the story: what does it look like to be qualified for God's mission? The answer might be simpler than you think. And the process might look a lot less dramatic than you'd hope. Faithfulness in the unseen seasons always precedes visibility in the significant ones.

Judas was gone. His seat was empty. And in the middle of a ten-day prayer meeting, Peter stands up and says something needs to be done about it. Today we look at a passage most people skim past -- the ugly aftermath of Judas's betrayal -- and discover something unexpected: even grief has a task inside it. Peter doesn't let the wound fester. He leads through it. God's purposes don't stall when people fail. They find a way forward.

After the ascension, the disciples walked back to Jerusalem and did something quietly radical: they prayed. Together. Continuously. In today's episode, we look at the unlikely group gathered in that upper room -- eleven disciples, the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers -- and what their shared prayer reveals about how God moves. Prayer isn't the warmup before the real work begins. For the early church, it was the work.

Jesus rose into the sky until a cloud received him out of their sight. And the disciples just stood there, staring upward, until two angels essentially told them to get moving. In this episode, we sit with the stunning reality of the ascension -- not as an exit, but as an enthronement. Jesus didn't leave. He was crowned. And two angels asked the question we still need to hear: why are you standing here looking at the sky?

The disciples had a burning question for the risen Jesus: "Are you restoring the kingdom to Israel now?" It was an understandable question. And Jesus redirected it entirely. Today we unpack one of the most mission-shaping verses in the entire Bible -- Acts 1:8 -- and why the Spirit's power isn't given for our comfort or our curiosity. It's given for witness. Jerusalem. Judea. Samaria. The ends of the earth. That's not just a geographic outline. It's a calling.

Jesus had just spent forty days appearing alive to his disciples. They were ready to go. And he told them to wait. In a culture wired for action, "wait" feels like the worst possible command. But in today's episode, we dig into why Jesus gave it -- and why activity without the Spirit's power is just noise. The disciples didn't need more information. They needed to be filled. And the same Spirit promised to them is available to you right now.

The book of Acts opens not with a dramatic new beginning but with a deliberate continuation. Luke tells his patron Theophilus that his Gospel covered everything Jesus began to do and teach. That word "began" is everything. The resurrection wasn't the finish line -- it was the starting gun. In this first episode of our 141-day journey through Acts, we explore why this ancient letter written to one man was always meant for all of us, and why the story of Jesus is still being written today -- through ordinary people like you. 

What if the story of the early church isn’t just history, but a blueprint for following Jesus today? The Acts Daily Devotional Podcast is a 141-day journey through the book of Acts in the Bible, hosted by Pastor Derek. Each short episode combines Scripture and practical teaching to help inspire your daily chair time with God, whether at home or on your drive to work. Starting April 26, discover how the Holy Spirit empowers ordinary people to advance the mission of Jesus from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.