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Pete Kersker - Aug 03, 2026

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk (Acts 14:8-10 NIV).

Paul and Barnabas traveled on a many-month, Spirit-led mission-focused journey. They helped many people return to God through Jesus, the Christ. Things went well on the island of Cyprus, Barnabas' childhood home. Psidian Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra all started well, but turned dangerous when the jealous leaders turned against them.

Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead (Acts 14:19 NIV).

The jealous-leader crowd finally caught up with them, stoned Paul, and left him for dead. The LORD, however, had different plans. Paul was not done yet. He had more people to bring home to God.

But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city (Acts 14:20 NIV).

Have you ever encountered resistance for trying to bring people to God through Jesus Christ?
How significant was the resistance? What did you do? What did God do?

How would you respond to a town where people tried to stone you to death, dragging you outside of town?
Would you go back into the town? Why (not)?