Moses is gone. The Jordan lies ahead. And Jericho is not opening its gates. God calls a new leader to courage and obedience, and a march ends with walls coming down. But this is not just a feel-good story about overcoming obstacles. There is rescue here—and there is devastating judgement. We’ll explore Rahab’s rescue, God’s promise to be with Joshua, and the hard questions Jericho raises. What does faithful courage look like? And how do we read these battles without turning people today into our enemies?

Acts 22:30–28:31 presents the gospel advancing through apparent defeat. Paul is accused but keeps witnessing, delayed but keeps reasoning, shipwrecked but keeps serving, and imprisoned but keeps welcoming. Behind every scene stands the risen Christ, carrying his promise forward. Acts ends not with a defeated apostle but with an open door in Rome: Jesus is alive, his kingdom is advancing, and his word is not bound.

"Lord Jesus, give us courage rooted in your presence and faithfulness shaped by your word. Grant us clear consciences, wisdom in the use of our freedom, humility in suffering, and boldness to proclaim your kingdom. Turn our delays and detours into places of witness, and make our lives signs that your gospel is not bound. Amen."

Across Acts 18–22:29, Luke portrays the risen Jesus as sovereign over cities, spirits, idols, death, the church, hostile crowds, and imperial procedures. God advances the mission through coworkers such as Priscilla, Aquila, Apollos, Silas, and Timothy, showing that gospel ministry is collaborative as well as apostolic. The Spirit empowers witness but does not spare witnesses from suffering. The word corrects incomplete understanding, creates a holy and generous people, challenges profitable falsehoods, reconciles diverse believers, and presses beyond ethnic boundaries. Paul’s path shows that Christian faithfulness is missionary, teachable, pastoral, public, peaceable, and costly. Even opposition and arrest become occasions through which God sustains and extends the witness to Jesus.