Hi, I'm Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to serve as your Bible teacher every day on this great radio station on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

The apostles are in jail, but it says during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison.

Now, this is the first of three times we see the apostles miraculously released from jail.

Here, Acts 12, when Peter had a similar experience, and then Acts 16, when Paul and Silas were in the jail in Philippi and were released.

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress.

The church is no stranger to persecution. From the first century until today, millions of Christians have died for their faith, and even now the intensity is steadily increasing.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress talks about the persecution taking place all around the world and even in the United States.

Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message. Dr. Jeffress?

Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. You've undoubtedly heard the metaphor of the frog in the kettle. It's a great word picture.

When you place a frog in boiling water, he'll hop right out of the pan. But if you place a frog in tepid water and slowly raise the temperature, he won't notice the danger until it's too late.

Well, that's the perfect illustration of today's church. Little by little, the temperature is rising in our culture, and unwitting churches ignore the danger signs to their peril.

In today's message and in my teaching series called Unstoppable, I'm showing you how to resist these challenging times.

In today's message and in my teaching series called Unstoppable Power, I'm showing you how to be aware of the spiritual temperature around you.

Along with my teaching series, I've also written a brand new book based on Acts chapters 1 through 12. It's also called Unstoppable Power.

And I'm prepared to send a copy to your home when you give a generous gift to the matching challenge that's active right now.

My book is the perfect choice for your small group Bible study at church. It'll stimulate great conversation among your friends.

Plus, when you give a generous gift today, every dollar you give will have twice the impact because of the unstoppable power matching challenge.

We're inspired by the words of Jesus who said, in the world you will have tribulation, but take courage I have overcome the world.

Your gift today will provide the fuel needed to help others stand strong in Christ and to unleash God's unstoppable power.

More details on this wonderful matching challenge and my book are forthcoming.

But right now, let's turn in our Bibles to the New Testament book of Acts. I titled today's message Church in the Kettle.

Turn to Acts chapter 5 as we discover what happens when the church is in the Kettle.

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