Shipwrecks and Snakebites

Based on Acts 27-28

Shipwrecks and snakebites…can leave you disoriented. They tend to occur (as does the subsequent disorientation) when things don’t go as planned, or as we planned, at any rate.

Skim Acts 27:1 – 28:10 with the following questions in mind:

• How many course corrections did Paul and his travelling companions have to make?
• What kind of obstacles did they have to overcome?
• How did God show up along the way to encourage and protect Paul?
• How did God use Paul throughout his journey?
• When all was said and done, what do you think stood out most to Paul from his experience?

Now it’s your turn:

How many course corrections have you had to make recently?

Maybe you feel like you’ve been struggling to make headway, fighting to stay on course. Paul certainly experienced that.

Listen to some of the words Luke recorded:

• · The winds were against us
• · We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty
• · The wind did not allow us to hold our course
• · We moved along the coast with difficulty
• · Much time had been lost
• · Sailing had already become dangerous
• · Paul warned them, ‘Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous’
• · A wind of hurricane force
• · The ship was caught in the storm
• · So we gave way to it and were driven along
• · We took such a violent battering from the storm
• · Neither the sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging…

What kind of obstacles are you trying to overcome?

In addition to the seemingly unending, violent weather, don’t forget that Paul started out on this journey as a prisoner, bound for his trial in Rome. And that was just the start.

His warnings of danger were ignored by those in charge.

A change of wind turned out NOT to be the good news they had hoped for. The lifeboat, and even the ship itself, were in danger of capsizing. The cargo had to be thrown overboard to help them survive, along with the equipment for sailing the ship. They had to destroy the lifeboat to keep the experienced sailors from abandoning them.

They were all in constant suspense, to the point that they didn’t eat for 14 days. The soldiers guarding them planned to kill them. The ship began to break up and they had to abandon it to save their lives.

The storm continued as they reached land, and when they built a fire to warm themselves, a deadly viper was in the branches! People judged him wrongly, condemned him, and ignored him.

Have you ever had a stretch like that?

How is God showing up to encourage and protect you along the way? How is He using you in other people’s lives during these times?

God caused Paul’s Roman guard to show kindness to Paul. God allowed Paul to reconnect with friends, friends who cared for his needs. God used Paul to warn the crew of the difficulties ahead.

When they went ahead anyway, God sent an angel to encourage Paul and to offer words of hope, courage, and a promise that they would be safe. The Roman guard listened to Paul’s warning when the sailors were going to abandon them. Paul ministered to the sailors, feeding them, and encouraging them to stay strong and not give up hope. God preserved their lives when the ship wrecked on the sandbar.

God kept the Roman guards from carrying out a plan to kill Paul, and he supernaturally protected him from the viper’s poisonous bite. God provided a home and a warm welcome with the island’s leader.

Finally, God gave Paul a platform for ministry. He opened the door for Paul to heal many people in Jesus’ name.

When the time came to leave, the bedraggled prisoner who first arrived on the island left in high honor, with all his needs supplied for the journey ahead.

What an amazing story of an underdog battling against the odds of circumstance, nature, and man, yet being used by God in the midst of the struggle. In the midst of it all, God protected Paul, preserving him for the purposes God had in mind for him. He guided Paul through the storm, encouraging Paul, and using Paul to pass on the wisdom and encouragement he received from God.

What about you? Where is God calling you to keep focused on Him in the midst of the storm? How are you passing that encouragement along to others?

When all is said and done, what will you focus on—the hardships along the way, or the grace of God that carries you through, gives you opportunities to minister to others, and opens new doors to reveal His grace as a direct result of the journey you’ve taken?

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.—Paul, writing to the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verses 3-11

To view the worship celebration Bible study on which this Next Step is based, visit

http://www.touchandchange.com/artman/publish/article_1591.shtml

Finishing What You Started

Based on Hebrews 12:1-3
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (NIV)


Essential Information about FINISHING (verse 1)

Jeff mentioned that the race is marked out to keep us on track, not to trip us up. Each turn, each obstacle, each new challenge, all are designed to point us to Jesus, to cause us to look for Him even more than we already do.

What do the following verses say about God’s involvement in designing your race?

Psalm 139:13-16
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Acts 17:26-27
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.


What does your race look like? What are the circumstances of your life that cause you to turn to Jesus?

We’re encouraged to run with perseverance. Perseverance is “steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.”

What difficulties (large or small) are threatening to throw you off track right now? Where do you want to quit? What would it look like for you to choose to persevere?

Will you choose to accept these circumstances as part of God’s plan to cause you to turn to Him? Will you make the commitment to persevere?

Essential Information about THE RACE ITSELF (verse 3)

The race is tough. No question. Racing isn’t strolling. It takes determination, training, and effort. Take a look back just one chapter in Hebrews 11 if you want to read some stories of people who had to overcome difficulties in their race. They all kept their eyes focused on what was ahead of them.

Running the race can sometimes be so hard that we lose sight of the goal. Jeff spoke of a runner’s “kick,” that burst of untapped energy and resources that a runner taps into to make it through to the finish line. God’s purpose in our lives are for us to touch and change our world as we become more like Jesus. It’s in the midst of the challenges in our lives that others can see something different about us. But how do you keep going when the race gets tough?

One way is to draw strength from Scripture. Romans 15:4 tells us that “everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” How familiar are you with the Bible? Where do you turn to in Scripture to find encouragement?

How do the following verses encourage you?

Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:13 – I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

A suggestion: Memorize one of the verses in this study to strengthen you and to find the encouragement that Romans 15:4 promises.

Essential Information about HOW TO RUN (verse 2)


Hebrews 12:3 is very clear about how we can keep going, how to run the race. We are to “fix our eyes on Jesus.”

Acts 17:27 says that when we seek God, when we reach out for Him, we will find Him because He is not far from us. Jesus is our running partner. How does the thought of Jesus running with you encourage you and strengthen you to run the race? What difference does that make in your ability to keep going?

Notice that fixing our eyes on Jesus is a choice we have to make, just as we have to choose to run the race. What are your eyes fixed on— yourself, the other runners, the crowd and how you look to them, your circumstances? Or are your eyes fixed on Jesus? What do you see when you look at Him, just some guy—or do you see your Savior, your Friend, your God, the Expert on running the race?


How much time do you spend talking with Him as you go about your day? Are you talking with Him about the difficulties in your life, asking for (and taking) His advice? Are you trying to run like He does? When you’re knocked down, are you reaching out for His hand to pull you back up? Are you letting Him set the pace?


Runners train to run, especially if they want to finish and finish well. They discipline themselves, they exercise. Hebrews 12:7 tells us to “endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons [and daughters]” and Hebrews 12:12-13 sums it all up—“Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ‘Make level paths for your feet…’” What are you doing to train yourself to run the race? What do you need to do to run better?

In this race, age isn’t an issue. In the Scriptures, children are held up as examples of faith; teenagers are encouraged to be an example to adults; all believers are called to be examples to a watching world; adults are told that even in old age they will still produce spiritual fruit and remain vital and vibrant. No matter what your age, your circumstances, your condition, you can be in the race.

So, how’s the race going? You’re being cheered on by a watching crowd. Run! Run hard! Run well!

—"perseverance." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 19 Aug. 2008. .