CountryClub Road Church of Christ

04/30/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟭𝟯
In reading Acts 13, I was bombarded with thoughts – questions about all the who, why, how that related to all these events. A short list of such events would include:
The zeal of the church to learn and share the Gospel message!
The sending forth of Paul and Barnabas – the beginning of the ‘uttermost parts of the world’ spread of the gospel.
The opposition: first in Cypress and then by the jealousy of the Jewish leaders in …….
Then the work in Pisidian Antioch
The sermon – a master piece of simplicity, directness, scriptural integrity, and testimony of the resurrection of Jesus, including the quoting and application of OT scripture.
The enthusiastic reception among the people of the city – including the Gentiles.
The hard-hearted rejection by the Jewish leaders… and their enlisting the ‘leading people’ of the city.
The leaving of faithful disciples – a church now existed here! What happened to it?
There are just so many avenues to explore and learn here! This would include: the very background of the area of Galatia, the history of the cities and ‘recent’ Roman influence in Paul’s day, the religious background that Paul had to deal with, etc. It is easy to just assume that things were much like they are today. That just isn’t true on so many points. So, what would be the message they would preach? Again, they began in the synagogue where the history of God’s promise to Abraham was known – God’s eternal purpose of blessing all nations through Abraham’s seed. There was Jewish influence itself amidst the pagan religions of that area and how it provided the foothold into the Gentile community.
But the message is the same: Jesus Is the way of salvation. He lived in the flesh, was crucified and died, was buried, and THEN WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD and 40 days later ascended to the glory of the heavenly throne as king of kings and Lord of lords! There HE is still and is still the ‘way, and truth, and life’. Through HIM we have forgiveness and a restored relationship with God.
So now, in a land far removed from Galatia, in a society far different from a Roman city, we hear the good news: Jesus is the Risen Savior. How has this affected your life, your values, your thinking, your hope of the future? Give it some thought – let it fill your mind and control your life. Hugh DeLong

04/29/2026

𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟭𝟮
Every time I read Acts 12, I stop and ponder the acts of God in relation to His people. We are taught by Peter to ‘cast your cares upon God, for He cares for you’. This was written towards the end of his life, a life in which he faced years of opposition from unbelievers. Yet, to get to that point in his life, we must go through the events here in Acts 12.
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, James is martyred. Yes, this is the apostle James, John’s brother, Peter’s companion.
𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱, and this falls directly ‘on the heels’ of James’ martyrdom – Peter is arrested, put in extreme lockdown, and is awaiting his own martyrdom.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱, the church prayed! They prayed FERVENTLY (vs. 5). This was not a simple one-time prayer at the end of a Lord’s day meeting, this was a continuing thing with the church (cp. Vs. 12).
Now what always makes me stop and think… God rescued Peter, but did not rescue James. Both are apostles. Both are steadfast servants of God. While it doesn’t say anything about the church praying for James, I have trouble thinking that they DIDN’T!
Then we begin the old ‘why’ questions! Trying to understand the providential activity of God. In the end we only know what happened, not the ‘why didn’t God…’ answers. The death of James did not cause the church to falter; the brethren continued to continue ‘devoted to prayer’ (cp. Below is a list of prayer activity by the disciples – both individually and collectively).
WHY didn’t God rescue James? Such questions about such major events in our lives can overthrow our faith! Yet, I do have an answer that works for me. I can see that James is, at least in the eternal scheme of things, the fortunate one! Blessed are those who die in the Lord! The lives of the apostles was headed to the same event – death. But death for disciples is in fact a settled goal – but a goal to die FAITHFUL. (Rev. 2:10). Peter on the other hand, lived to suffer and then be martyred!
Will we be faithful? Will we be faithful when life is difficult? Will we be faithful if God’s will doesn’t bring ease and comfort into our lives? Will we? Hugh DeLong
(Prayer in the early church: Acts 1:14; 1:24-25; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4, 6; 7:59-60; 8:15; 9:11, 40; 10:2, 4, 30; 10:9; 11:5.)

04/28/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟭𝟭
In reading Acts 11:19-21, several concepts become apparent. 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, the universality of the gospel. The promise to Abraham was ALL nations, the Commission by Jesus was ‘all nations’ and ‘every creature’. The explicit agenda was ‘Jerusalem, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world’ (Acts 1:8). BUT, how that agenda unfolded sees God stepping in to ensure His agenda. The gospel was not just for Jews of all nations, but all PEOPLE of all nations. God had already stepped into the life of Peter, the apostles, and the church in Jerusalem to show His plan was for not just for the Jews – we read: “ (18) When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11:18). This sets us up to read chapters 13-28 and the work of Paul.
𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱, as this gospel spread, the Holy Spirit worked with them giving ‘confirming signs’ to show that these preachers were God’s messengers with God’s message. This was the promise in Mark 16. This was the later conclusion that was drawn in Heb. 2:3-4 where the message preached by these early preachers was ‘confirmed as God was “… testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱, the persecution by Saul (Paul) ended up being a blessing by causing the gospel to be spread! In Acts 8 it states that many of the disciples ‘went everywhere preaching the gospel’. Here in chapter 11, we see that they went to Phoenicia (modern Lebanon coast — Tyre and Sidon), Cyprus (the Island that became the gateway for Paul into the Macedonian mainland), but also Cyrene (North Africa, modern Libya)!
The story in Acts will leave the story of Peter and center on the work and life of Paul. We have no inspired record of all the places that the gospel spread to during these early years, but it was quickly spreading to all men of every nation. We have inherited this message, and also the job of continuing to present it unto all men. Hugh DeLong

04/27/2026

04/27/2026

𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗟𝗟 - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟭𝟬
When Jesus gave the great commission, it set the boundaries: All NATIONS and EVERY CREATURE. (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16) Wow. The problem is that such an agenda cuts across ethnic, political, social, educational, monetary, and other worldly divisions. Of course, here in Acts we encounter the problem of integrating Gentile believers into the same ‘group’ as Jewish believers.
God picked the person(s) to be at the point of this change. Such a position comes with all the baggage of change, resistance, prejudice, etc. Cornelius! Why pick him? (2) a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.” (Acts 10:2) Then again: (22) They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you." (Acts 10:22)
Even at this, there came the pushback! Peter is later ‘called on the carpet’ for accepting a Gentile (cp. (2) And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him,
(3) saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." (Acts 11:2-3) Even with the miraculous confirmation of God’s acceptance of him, there was this pushback.
We yet make judgments concerning who is ‘worthy’ of our acceptance. People still segregate themselves into ‘groups’, groups that are based upon worldly preferences and ideas! Wealth, education, ethnicity, nationality, etc., etc. The simple question is ‘does God accept them?’ The decision is stated plainly in Acts 11:17-18: “(17) "Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" (18) When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
We need to base our outlook on Jesus’ commission: preach to ALL NATIONS and EVERY CREATURE. Let the individual respond. Let God be the judge. AND accept all that God accepts. Hugh DeLong

04/24/2026

𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗹'𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

Yes, I wrote this some years ago, but it bears repeating:
Paul began his life in Judaism. He was of the strict Jewish sect (Pharisee). In this religious life he was advancing and profiting above his peers. As a Pharisee the law / covenant was everything. His life revolved around the temple, priesthood, sacrifices – the pomp & circumstance. He was in with those who were the leaders of God's religion on earth. To abandon Judaism for this new cult would be to be cut off from family and friends.
With great zeal he persecuted the church (Acts 8:1, 3). Then went on his way to arrest even more (Acts 9:1-2). Then he changed! Completely! He began the journey as a persecutor and ended the journey a disciple of the very movement he sought to destroy. The Christians themselves were perplexed, saying: "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy" (Gal. 1:23).
He gave up his career, his friends, his family, and his religion. Those who had worked with him in persecuting the church now seek his life. He is ostracized, arrested, beaten, even stoned and left for dead. He ended up a martyr. Why? Why would one make such a change that would cost him everything?
In the 1700's a skeptic named George Lyttelton set out to study and write the answer to that question. He was going to show that Paul was NOT converted by the appearance of the resurrected Jesus. He set out to discover and show the real reason that Paul made such a change.
Among things proposed we can make a list and consider the weight of such.
𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 - 1 Cor. 4:11 11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands.
Phil. 3:7-8 – But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗲 – 𝟭 𝗖𝗼𝗿. 𝟰:𝟵 - 'a spectacle to the world', hated by all opposition, small poverty ridden group of people,
𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 – He became part of the group that he could write about saying: "… consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are" (1Cor. 1:26-28). He never meddled in politics, never rallied to change laws, never raised rebellion. Leader in his own religious heritage – or an 'apostle' to this movement of poverty and oppression?
'𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁' 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘆 ? Many men have used religion as a curtain to hide their life of lust and debauchery. Yet, this is the one thing that Paul constantly wrote about and condemned (1Cor. 6:6-9; Gal. 5:19f; Eph. 5; 1 Thess. 4:1-10; etc.).
𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱. By who? HOW? How produce the bright light, the voice, the vision of the one he hated? Who and how was Ananias persuaded to come to him by vision?
Willfully deceived. Why? He was NOT looking for it, not seeking it. The LAST thing he would want to do is become part of the very thing he had his heart set upon destroying.
Further, we note that with this conversion came a life of problems and turmoil. He would write that he suffered "…imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure" (2 Cor. 11:24-27).
Lyttelton considered all of these things and in the end he also became a disciple of Jesus and a believer in the resurrected. Thus, he wrote not to convince people that Paul was a fraud, but that Jesus is the Christ raised from the dead. Hugh DeLong

04/23/2026

𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟴
WOW! Here we encounter Saul – BC (before Christ). Read again his own testimony of what he was like at this point of his life (Phil. 3:4-6; Galatians 1:13-14; Acts 22:3; and Acts 26:4-5). Hopeless unbeliever! Yet, we will read in chapter 9 of his conversion!
Perhaps the most astounding comment about such a change was made by Paul in 1 Timothy 1:16: “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”
God was willing to forgive him! This mercy from God was received with heartfelt thanks that dominated his whole life-style until he died – himself a martyr to the cause he tried to destroy.
WE need to actually learn and believe Paul’s point – if God can forgive PAUL, God can forgive YOU, and your neighbor, and your enemy. It is God’s prerogative to forgive, it our function to tell people about Jesus. Don’t make the decision that alone belongs to God. Let us do as Paul did AFTER his conversion: go everywhere preaching Christ crucified – and now our risen, glorified Savior, King, Lord, Redeemer, and friend. Hugh DeLong

04/22/2026

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟳
As a preacher I have converted many people, most of whom knew very little about the actual bible story. Then it took time to ground them in this story of God and His work. This was particularly true of our preaching efforts in China. How were they to learn this story? In China, they did not have access to the many bible help books that we have. Some had never had a bible in their hands let alone been able to read it. I made a list for them of places within the Bible that recapped this story. They could get an inspired summary, and inspired overview. While each of these sections of the Bible were designed to teach something in particular, yet each adds to the knowledge of the story of the Bible.
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟳, Stephen recaps much of this history. He is leading to the conclusion that in many of these events, people were NOT faithful to God, rejecting the men God chose to instruct them. This led to the people stoning Stephen! It has been said that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. We see here that sometimes even those who know history refuse to learn from it and repeat the same mistakes!
𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟭𝟯 – Paul does a similar telling but with the underlying purpose of tying together the promises of the Messiah through the lineage of David. This gives the evidence that Jesus really is the promised seed of David – the king not only of Israel but king of kings.
𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗮 𝟮𝟰 recounts Joshua’s telling of the story of Israel from their leaving the wilderness to the conquest of the promised land. He has reached the end of his life but wants to leave this telling of the story so that the people of this ‘new generation’ would know that it was only with God’s help and intervention that they now lived in the land. He ends with the famous challenge that faces all of us: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”
𝗛𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝟭𝟭 gives us an almost orderly list of the great heroes of faith that served God. People who trust God even in difficult times. Being faithful to God has often been very difficult!
𝗡𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮𝗵 𝟴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟵 tell of the time in the Old Testament when the people returned from 70 years of captivity in Babylon. This was a generation of people that did not have the temple, the priesthood, the festivals of worship. They needed to be taught their history with the idea of not making the same mistakes as their forefathers.
𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝟭𝟬𝟱-𝟭𝟬𝟲 retell this bible story This section tells of God’s great faithfulness and patience. Such is contrasted with the often unfaithfulness and rebellion of those who at least outwardly were ‘God’s people.’
If you are new to the bible, read these and learn the story behind Jesus and His work. If you are not new, read these repeatedly and learn what it like to serve God in difficult situations. Such reading will ground us in our faith. Hugh DeLong

04/21/2026

𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟲
We all have to make decisions on how to use our time – dozens and dozens of such decisions everyday. Some are ‘must-do’, and many are ‘want-to’, but there are only 24 hours and we thus must make such choices.
Here in Acts 6 we see this in the Apostles. Their position, chosen and instructed by Jesus, was ‘apostleship’ – the establishment of the good news about Jesus. This was their main ‘job’. There were to be many other such positions/functions among God’s people – elders, teachers, deacons. Each serves in their own delegated work. The church here faced the situation of many disciples being from ‘out of town’, arrived for Passover, became disciples, and were staying so they could learn more by steadfast attention to ‘the apostles teaching’ (cp. 2:41). The good news was that the disciples were taking care of each other even to the point of selling property to help feed those in need. But as the number grew, it became more and more a time-consuming work. Do the apostles use their time to ‘serve-tables’ or ‘preach and teach’? BOTH were needed. BOTH were serving God.
Here, the apostles chose to devote themselves to teaching and the church chose qualified men to look after the physical needs of the brethren. The simple observation is that there was much to do and no one could be involved in everything! Without the apostles doing their work we would not have the writings of the NT. Without those who serve and help in the material needs of disciples the church would suffer as disciples turned to taking care of their necessary daily living.
Paul would write to the Corinthians that the church is a ‘body of people’, and like your physical body, it is made up of different parts with different functions. We can try to arrange them in importance, and sometimes our physical conditions make us make difficult decisions – do we sacrifice a leg that is infected with gang-green in order to save the rest of the body?
I have no easy calculator on how to make such decisions. We are guided by principles that in themselves are sometimes screaming for ‘priority’ (preach or serve tables type of question). So, a few questions: would you have made the choice that the apostles made? Would you have stepped up as these 7 chosen men did? Would you have sold your property to provide for the needs of others? Would you have changed your whole life and devoted yourself to learning from the apostles? To fellowship – the sharing of yourself, your time, your money with brethren? To gather with disciples to publicly worship God? Does that describe your life NOW as a disciple? Hugh DeLong

04/17/2026

𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟰
When Jesus sent the apostles out on the ‘limited commission’ in Matt. 10, he forewarned them that
(14) "Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.
(15) "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of S***m and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.
(16) "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
(17) "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;
(18) and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
(19) "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.
(20) "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. (Matthew 10:14-20).
Now, having been sent out on the ‘great commission’, they see this happening. This will continue to happen, time after time. Stephen will be the first martyr under such circumstances, although he was not an apostle. Then James will be martyred. Then, one by one (according to history not recorded in the Bible), they all would suffer and die. Paul, who assented to the killing of Stephen, himself would later say: “"In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Tim. 3:12).
While such hardship to this degree has not been experienced by any of us, if it should come our mission is ‘to be faithful unto death’! There are disciples who are facing such severity. We can pray that they are faithful and thus death will be gain. We also must pray for ourselves, that OUR faith will not fail. Are you strengthening your faith – just in case? Are you prepared? Hugh DeLong

04/16/2026

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟯
After healing a lame man publicly, where everyone could see what happened, and with the man standing there as living proof, the people were amazed and full of wonder – and we would be too! This can NOT happen – but it DID! How? Why? What does this mean? All the usual questions in such situations would arise.
How does Peter respond? Remember the stir that is going through Jerusalem after the events in Acts 2. While that gave us a peek into the original event, I am always fascinated by the on-going effect that this good-news was having. 3,000 converts. Then it spreads and multiplies. And NOW – here is God stepping into their lives yet again, doing something that under any normal circumstances wouldn’t happen.
As the crowd gathers, Peter begins to explain thing to the crowd – to preach – to proclaim. He probably would not win any awards for pleasing the crowd. JESUS! God glorified Him (for us, we recall all the stories in the gospel records and then the resurrection! But you don’t get to the resurrection story until you go through the rejection story! Notice Peter doesn’t’ slander and rant against them, isn’t demeaning but doesn’t shrink back from telling the facts. You rejected. You Killed. God Raised. This man, who was lame but now stands whole and in good health because of Jesus. Go ahead – read the whole sermon! How would you have responded?
We get to the ‘end’ and Peter, like he did in chapter 2, demands that they repent and ‘return’. You made a major mistake in life, but you can return to a right relationship with God, you can be forgiven, you can be b restored – THROUGH JESUS. Such ‘return’ or ‘being converted in KJV’ was stated in chapter 2: repent and be baptized for the remission of sins’. There, many obeyed the gospel and did return. Here? Chapter 4 begins with the leaders of Israel arresting Peter and dispersing the crowd. That doesn’t negate and remove the conditions of returning to God. Later we see the number of disciple multiplying!
What would you have done? Would you have tried to stop the leaders? Would you have tried to interrupt Peter’s sermon? Would you have believed and returned to God? Are you continuing to live in thanksgiving and praise to Jesus? Hugh DeLong