Sunday School Lesson: Offering of Oneself

Purpose: To consider ways we can offer hospitality and service to others in the same spirit that Lydia and Paul demonstrated.

Scripture: Acts 16:6-15

Does God ever block us from ministry or in any way keep us from ministry?

Have any of you had an experience of the Holy Spirit forbidding you from some type of ministry?

How do we normally deal with closed doors?

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.
(Act 16:6-15)

Our lessons this quarter have all come from the book of Acts. We have seen a steady progression of the infant church beginning with the day of Pentecost and with the growth of the church following exactly as the last words of Christ told. The last recorded words of Christ immediately prior to the Ascension are recorded in Acts 1:8:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
(Act 1:8 ESV)

The rest of the book of Acts is a testament that what He said is exactly what happened. The Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. After that a loving and sharing Christian community grew in Jerusalem. As the Church in Jerusalem grew, so grew opposition to the Church. This opposition resorted to violence and murder of Christian faithful. As a result of the persecution the believers left Jerusalem, but did not leave the Faith. The saints who fled Jerusalem first carried their faith into the surrounding countryside and into Samaria. The persecutors followed. Who would have ever guessed that Christ would choose the chief persecutor to become the missionary who would take the Gospel to the end of the earth.

Last week we learned of Saul’s experience on the road to capture and punish Christians. Following his visit with Spirit of Christ, Saul becomes Paul, the missionary to the Gentiles. This weeks lesson skips forward to Paul’s second missionary journey.

On Paul’s first journey, he and Barnabas had carried the Message to Cyprus and various cities of Pamphylia, Pisidia, Galatia, and Lycaonia; all in what is modern day Turkey. After the first journey, they returned to Jerusalem to report of their success as well as to take part in the Jerusalem Council, which decided that Gentiles did not have to become Jews to be Christians. After the Council Paul invited Barnabas to return with him to the cities that they visited on the first journey. After a disagreement Paul leaves with Silas for Syria and Cilicia, while Barnabas and Mark go to Cyprus.

In Lystra, a city on Lycaonia, Paul and Silas are joined by Timothy. And that brings us up to this weeks scripture lesson.

Verse 6 says that they were forbidden by the Spirit to speak the Word in Asia. What exactly does it mean to be forbidden by the Spirit?

How do you think the Spirit communicated this command to the missionaries?

If any of you have ever experienced the Spirit moving you away from a certain ministry, share with us how that was communicated to you?

Why would the Holy Spirit want to keep the Word from any place? Don’t you think that God wants the Gospel taken everywhere?

Verse 7 says that they attempted to enter Bithynia which is in the area that at that time was called Asia. If they had already been told by the Spirit not to go to Asia, why do you think they tried anyway?

How do you think they were stopped from entering Bithynia?

When we are "called" to NOT do something, should our response be the same as when we are called to DO something?

What should that response be?

When our intended course is blocked by God, what are some potential courses of action?

Should we stop and pray and wait for further guidance or just keep on plodding forward? Which is the better course of action?
We should always remember that just because one door was closed, there may be others opened.

Which do you think is easier, being led away from doing something or being led to do something?

After their failed attempt to enter Asia, Paul has a vision. A man from Macedonia pleads with him in this vision to come over to Macedonia. How does Paul respond to this call?

Is this how we normally respond to God’s calls? Immediately getting up and going?

Why do you think Paul responded quicker to the call to "go" than he had to the call to "stay away"?

How can we make ourselves more receptive to the guidance of the Spirit?

Even our best plans may not be God’s plan. We must always listen and be open to the idea that God may direct us in a way that we are not planning on. What are some potential problems that we may face when we assume that our plans are God’s plans?

Does doing God’s will preclude difficult experiences or hard work?

Just because we face difficulty in our ministry does not mean that God is redirecting us. So, what "voice" does God use to indicate His will?

How do we know the "voice" is God’s voice?

Notice the change in tense from verse 10 to verse 11. This begins one of the "we" passages in Acts. Scholars cannot agree on why these passages are in Acts. Some believe that Luke accompanied Paul on portions of his journeys. Some believe that Luke may have had access to Paul’s or Silas’s journals and copied portions directly from them. One commentary that I read even suggested that Luke may have been from Philippi and may have been the man in the vision calling Paul to his city. Regardless, Paul and his companions sail to Macedonia and the city of Philippi and spend some time there.

What do we know about Philippi? Philippi was an important city "an leading city in the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony." Philippi was named after the father of Alexander the Great. The Romans placed "colony" cities at strategic locations throughout the Empire. Retired soldiers were encouraged to live in the colony cities by being exempt from taxes. These colonies of Roman citizens helped maintain stability in regions remote from Rome.

What was Paul’s normal course of action once he entered a new town?
He normally went and shared his message at the local synagogue.

But what does he do at Philippi?
He went to a place of prayer next to the river.

This indicates that there may not have been enough of a Jewish population at Philippi to warrant a synagogue. Also note that verse 13 says that they spoke to women gathered there. Jewish law required at least ten men in a community to form a synagogue. Their law would not allow an all female synagogue. The first century Jewish attitudes toward women make Paul’s willingness to teach them worth noting. Remember that Paul was a Pharisee and was taught the law his whole life. Yet Paul’s grasp of grace seems to be greater than that of those who lived with Jesus during His years of ministry. Paul sat and taught the women. The seated position was the traditional rabbinical teaching position. These women had an unofficial synagogue on the banks of the river with Paul as Rabbi.

The description of Lydia as a worshiper of God could have meant several things: she could have been born Jewish, a convert to Judaism, or a God-fearing Gentile like Cornelius in the lesson from October 23. She was not a Christian until she had the rebirth experience that is described in today’s scripture.

How many "God-fearers" do you think there are in the world who have not had their hearts opened to the gospel and taken that step toward becoming part of the Body of Christ?
How many in our community?
How should we reach out to these people?

What was Lydia’s response to this experience of grace that she had?

Is hospitality and a desire for fellowship a common response to the Gospel?

John Wesley would have thought that it was a necessary response.

These are some highlights from Wesley’s "A Plain Account of Genuine Christianity":

Who is a Christian...? What does that term properly imply?...
....remembering that God is love, he is conformed to the same likeness. He is full of love to his neighbor: of universal love....

His love to these, so to all mankind, is in itself generous and disinterested...

And this universal, disinterested love is productive of all right affective...It makes a Christian rejoice in the virtues of all, and bear a part in their happiness at the same time that he sympathizes with their pains and compassionates their infirmities...

Wesley lays out 15 paragraphs of descriptive commentary on Christian character. From the concluding paragraph:

This is the plain, naked portraiture of a Christian.....

Is it your own? Away with names! Away with opinions! I care not what you are called....
Do you not know that you ought to be such?...

Do you at least desire it? I would to God that desire may penetrate you inmost soul and that you are not only almost but altogether a Christian.

According to Wesley (and evidenced in Lydia’s example) one sure sign of a born-again Christian is a love for others and a desire for fellowship. In what ways can Lydia’s example challenge and encourage us?

What are some ministries of our church that are for the sole purpose of hospitality and service?

Lydia was a faithful worker, a servant, and an example for us all. She not only opened her heart to the Holy Spirit, but opened her home for the use of God’s people.

From the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, "Offering of Oneself", by Mac and Vicki Brantley, Nov. 4, 2005:

Hospitality gives a person the opportunity to be the hands, feet, and voice of Christ to those in our midst. Hospitality is an avenue of humility. It allows us to place another person before ourselves and to care for other’s needs. Like other expressions of Christ, the hospitable one receives as much or more than the person being helped...

This fall, many United Methodist congregations have taken the opportunity of helping countless persons from the Gulf Coast who were devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Evacuees have been blessed by the generosity and services that they have found in their new living quarters. Strangers have been blessed by individuals and churches that opened their doors and hearts to show their care. In an effort to care for others, many churches have been blessed by reaching out to others. But that’s what the church is all about.

Bishop Janice Huie challenged the churches of the Texas Annual Conference to turn their houses of worship into disciple-making homes. She stated that this transformation begins with radical hospitality. Here is how she described it:
"The first movement of disciple-making is radical hospitality. A hospitality that reaches across economic, racial, age, and gender lines. A hospitality that focuses on the stranger and those outside the community of faith. A hospitality that reaches people who don’t look or act like us. A hospitality that ministers to children not its own. A congregation making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is a congregation actively engaged in radical hospitality."

"Let us for each other care, each the other’s burdens to bear; to thy church the pattern give, show how true believers live" (Hymn 562, verse 4, UMH)

Hymn of the Week

hymn
(pr.: ‘him) noun
1: a song of praise to God
2: a song of praise or joy

“There’s no such thing as Christian music. There are just Christian lyrics...” Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life





"Return of the Revolution" by the O. C. Supertones from the album Loud and Clear












There ain’t no stopping us now
I’d like to say that from the outset
Not up in this business just to get what we can get
But bet that
We gonna bring it to you loud and clear
How loud
I gotta say it ’fore you people start to hear
I can name our problems
But I know a solution
Bring back the revolution.
The revolution comes and we all stand as on
Rises from the darkness and shines like the sun
As the sun gets higher, our church catches fire
Down from our pride and up from the mire.
It’s a dream that I’ve had and I hope it comes true
I forgot to say the revolution starts with you.
See wisdom and knowledge is one thing that we lack
You’ve been a christian how long and you’re still on similac
So I call on martin luther and all the reformation back
Then the common people couldn’t read god’s revelation
You had to be a monk or a priest or read latin
That was all before the revolution happened
But the fire cooled down ever since that generation
We put down the Bible and pick up the play station
And we can’t defend our faith ’cause we don’t even know it
We say we love his word but pick a funny way to show it.
The world walks by and we don’t have a thing to say
I call ’em as I see ’em
And that’s what I see today

Chorus:
The revolution returns
The reformation lives on
The great awakening is now
Sleepers open your eyes
A war is on, our rally cry is no compromise
No compromise, yeah, no compromise
A war is on, our battle cry is no compromise
So throw your fist up and pray the revolution rise
A war is on, our rally cry is no compromise

Our hearts have grown so cold
And we’ve such numb souls
But shirts and bumper stickers
Man we got ’em by the truckload
Is true religion what you have around your wrist
What does the scripture say of this

They honor me with words
But their hearts are far away
I call ’em like I see ’em
And that’s what I see today
So I call on john edwards
Who preched us all awake
We try to be emotional but here is our mistake
As a church we lack repentance and we lack true affection
Not only in our minds but our hearts need correction
And man that’s true religion, resignation and contrition
To love each other so much that we’d die before division

(chorus)

So what about you
Will you join us
Will you admit that the waters around us have grown
You better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone
Do you stand with us or do we stand alone
It’s time that we stand up, enlist for the war
I’ve tasted battle and now I want moreI
’ve known the truth and been cut to the core
But I’m back in the game to even the score
And I mean to go out with both my guns blazing
Amazed at a God who’s so truly amazing
To triumph in battle as the spirit enables
Can’t turn back the clock but we can turn the tables

Loving sinners in the Wesleyan spirit

From "The New Creation: John Wesley’s Theology Today" by Theodore Runyon

....love must be extended to our enemies...and not only to our enemies....but even to those we deem to be "the enemies of God." To the enemies of God? But why? Because God loves them, and the heart of God yearns to overcome their separation from God. Hence, for those who are conduits of God’s love, there is no distancing themselves from sinners, because it is precisely sinners that divine love is seeking out.

From John Wesley’s Sermon #18: "The Marks of the New Birth"

A Third scriptural mark of those who are born of God, and the greatest of all, is love.......
The necessary fruit of this love of God is the love of our neighbour; of every soul which God hath made; not excepting our enemies; not excepting those who are now "despitefully using and persecuting us;" -- a love whereby we love every man as ourselves; as we love our own souls. Nay, our Lord has expressed it still more strongly, teaching us to "love one another even as He hath loved us." Accordingly, the commandment written in the hearts of all those that love God, is no other than this, "As I have loved you, so love ye one another." Now, "herein perceive we the love of God, in that he laid down his life for us." (1 John 3:16) "We ought," then, as the Apostle justly infers, "to lay down our lives for the brethren." If we feel ourselves ready to do this, then do we truly love our neighbour. Then "we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we" thus "love the brethren." (1 John 3:14) "Hereby know we" that we are born of God, that we "dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his" loving "Spirit." (1 John 4:13) For "love is of God; and every one that" thus "loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." (1 John 4:7) ........
so to love God, who hath thus loved you, as you never did love any creature: So that ye are constrained to love all men as yourselves; with a love not only ever burning in your hearts, but flaming out in all your actions and conversations, and making your whole life one "labour of love," one continued obedience to those commands, "Be ye merciful, as God is merciful;" "Be ye holy, as I the Lord am holy:" "Be ye perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."


Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."
(Luk 10:36-37 ESV)

From John Wesley’s New Testament Study Notes:
Luk 10:37 - And he said, He that showed mercy on him - He could not for shame say otherwise, though he thereby condemned himself and overthrew his own false notion of the neighbour to whom our love is due. Go and do thou in like manner - Let us go and do likewise, regarding every man as our neighbour who needs our assistance. Let us renounce that bigotry and party zeal which would contract our hearts into an insensibility for all the human race, but a small number whose sentiments and practices are so much our own, that our love to them is but self love reflected. With an honest openness of mind let us always remember that kindred between man and man, and cultivate that happy instinct whereby, in the original constitution of our nature, God has strongly bound us to each other.



From John Wesley’s Sermon #39 "Catholic Spirit"

love is due to all mankind, the royal law, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," carrying its own evidence to all that hear it: and that, not according to the miserable construction put upon it by the zealots of old times, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour," thy relation, acquaintance, friend, "and hate thine enemy;" not so; "I say unto you," said our Lord, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children," may appear so to all mankind, "of your Father which is in heaven; who maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust...
Is thy heart right toward thy neighbour? Dost thou love as thyself, all mankind, without exception? "If you love those only that love you, what thank have ye?" Do you "love your enemies?" Is your soul full of good-will, of tender affection, toward them? Do you love even the enemies of God, the unthankful and unholy?

From John Wesley’s Sermon # 4: "Scriptural Christianity"

He that thus loved God could not but love his brother also; and "not in word only, but in deed and in truth." "If God," said he, "so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (1 John 4:11); yea, every soul of man, as "the mercy of God is over all his works" (Ps. 145:9). Agreeably hereto, the affection of this lover of God embraced all mankind for his sake; not excepting those whom he had never seen in the flesh, or those of whom he knew nothing more than that they were "the offspring of God," for whose souls his Son had died; not excepting the "evil" and "unthankful," and least of all his enemies, those who hated, or persecuted, or despitefully used him for his Master's sake. These had a peculiar place, both in his heart and in his prayers. he loved them "even as Christ loved us."

No Oddballs Allowed

Depending on who is talking it is a time for either rejoicing or sadness in the United Methodist Church. On one side are those who would love to keep our churches untainted by "unclean" sinners. On the other side are those with an intense desire for cheap grace without discipleship.

Which side is right?

In my opinion, neither. Both sides have veered from the path and unless they regain their bearings will lose their way.

The problem I have with the "clean" side is that they want to pick and choose which sin is the dealbreaker. I understand that we are called to repentance and that the "unrepentant" will face judgement. But whose place is it to judge? Is repentance required prior to justification? This group is asking for repentance of one particular sin, when our churches are filled with folks that are unrepentant of other sins. It just makes me wonder that the hot-topic sin du jour just happens to be one that is practiced by less than 10% of the population. Much more prevelant sins are overlooked or even approved of.

The other side of this issue is also missing the point, in my opinion. Yes, grace is available to all, but you must remember that grace comes with a price. You cannot live a life of discipleship when matters of the flesh are at the forefront in your mind. You are not expected to live a perfect life prior to coming to Christ, but justification is only the beginning of life in the Spirit. We must move on toward becoming the people of God that we are called to be. Taking up our cross may mean leaving certain desires behind, not fighting to make them acceptable.

Putting Brother Wesley's Preaching Into Practice

Our Thursday morning group began reading "Sermon #28: Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount Discourse 8" by John Wesley yesterday morning. We were very put off by some of the language in this particular sermon.

For example:

"If a man pursues his business that he may raise himself to a state of honour and riches in the world, he is no longer serving God in his employment, and has no more title to a reward from God than he who gives alms that he may be seen, or prays that he may be heard of men."

and:

"Consequently, whoever owes no debts, has food and clothing for himself and his household, and possesses enough money to carry on his earthly business, but still seeks an even greater amount of wealth, is one who habitually lives in the open denial of the Lord that brought him. In effect, that one "has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever."

Wesley is preaching from Matthew 6:19-23:


"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

Well let me tell what happened this morning.

I am an electrical contractor. This morning I was buying some materials for a job that we are going to start Monday morning. After determining that the best price for the stuff I needed was at Lowes, I went to make the purchase. When I got back to my shop and reviewed the reciept, I realized that the cashier had made a mistake and undercharged me. I had purchased 24 recessed light housings @ $6.97 each. She had only entered a quantitiy of 4.

As I see it, I had two choices:

1. Celebrate the extra $140 profit that I will now make off of this job by taking the family out for a meal and a movie.

or..

2. Go back to the store and pay for the other 20 fixtures.

Oh, one more thing to consider: This store is 35 miles one-way from my shop.

What would you do?

I thought it was bad when Brother Wesley kept pointing his finger at me as we read that sermon yesterday. Now he's following me around and shouting at me.

What's So Amazing - Week 11 - Part Two

The questions:

Why does the Church fail at extending grace toward those most in need of it?

Jesus gave us the perfect example, why can't we follow His lead?

"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
(Joh 17:20-23 ESV)

Jesus calls for us to witness His mercy and grace. How is the Church doing at that?

What’s So Amazing About Grace - Week 11 - “We’re all bastards but God loves us anyway!”

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
(Rom 3:21-24 ESV)

Yes we are and yes He does!

The problem is that we (when I say we, I am speaking of the Church) think that the only bastards are those whom we view as immoral or whose beliefs that we find repulsive.

Well, guess what, those folks think we are bastards, too.

So does God, but He loves us anyway.

There is no distinction. A sin is a sin. Whether it is the current hot-button sin-of-the-week that all the preachers are dooming to hell or the sin that is in us so-called righteous folks.

BUT GOD LOVES US ANYWAY!!!


that’s amazing

Barnabas Church

At Charge Conference yesterday, our District Superintendent urged our church to become a "Barnabas" Church.

A Barnabas Church is a church that, after paying 100% of it's apportionments , offers to pay part or all of the apportionments for another church in the district which may be having difficulty paying their own. Our district is in a poor, rural area. There are many small-membership churches that probably cannot spare any funds for connectional ministries.

Our church began a couple of years ago paying our apportionments in ten equal 10% payments, so we are paid 100% by October. If we could make one more payment in November, that extra 10% would more than likely be enough to completely pay the apportionments for one of the smaller churches in our district. With our support they may be encouraged to increase their giving in future years. They may even eventually become a "Barnabas" themselves.

Remember, if not for the support and encouragement of Barnabas, Paul may have remained a content layman like many of us.

Sunday School Lesson: Breaking the Gospel Barriers

Purpose: To acknowledge our prejudices and commit to overcoming them through God’s grace.

Scripture: Act 10:1-48




Have you ever wanted God to speak loudly and clearly to you, to let you know without a doubt His desires?
God does speak to us, but usually in very subtle ways.

Have you ever had an experience that you thought was just a coincidence but later realized that through that experience you became closer to God or gained a better understanding of some part of the Gospel?
This is one of the methods that the Holy Spirit uses on all people. We call this Prevenient Grace. Prevenient literally means "coming before". This is any experience of grace that comes before a profession of faith or before any conscious growth in faith. Any time we are awakened to sin in our lives or awakened to new challenges and opportunities we have experienced Prevenient Grace.

When we get into the scripture for this week, we will see several instances of the Holy Spirit working in peoples lives prior to a change in belief or attitude. The Holy Spirit’s presence in this story of Peter and the Cornelius is obvious. This presence is not always so obvious in events in our lives, but many times looking back we can see that obviously the Spirit was at work on us or in us.

This lesson is in a way a coincidence of the Holy Spirit teaching some of us in this church, especially me. As we will see the main point of this passage is of Peter overcoming a personal and cultural prejudice and opening the Gospel to everyone. This is not the first lesson I have had this week on this very topic.

Our Wednesday night book study group has been reading What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey. Yancey is a journalist who writes a column for Christianity Today magazine and has also written about a dozen books. This week we read chapter ten, "The Arsenal of Grace". This chapter tells of several instances of grace overcoming prejudice, some as dramatic as Peter in today’s lesson.

From page 123 of What’s So Amazing About Grace:
Walter Wink tells of two peacemakers who visited a group of Polish Christians ten years after the end of World War II. "Would you be willing to meet with other Christians from West Germany?" The peacemakers asked. "They want to ask forgiveness for what Germany did to Poland during the was and to begin to build a new relationship."

At first their was silence. Then one Pole stood up. "What you are asking is impossible. Each stone of Warsaw is soaked in Polish blood! We cannot forgive!"

Before the group parted, however, they said the Lord’s Prayer together. When they reached the words, "forgive us our sins as we forgive...." everyone stopped praying. Tension swelled in the room. The Pole who had spoken so vehemently said, "I must say yes to you. I could no more pray the Our Father, I could no more call myself a Christian, if I refuse to forgive. Humanly speaking I cannot do it, but God will give us His strength!"

Eighteen months later the Polish and West German Christians met together in Vienna, establishing friendships that continue to this day.

Can you see in that instance how the Holy Spirit spoke to these people through the words of a prayer taken directly from scripture?

That is an instance of grace preceding a reconciliation. Prior to reconciliation some bitter prejudices had to be eliminated.

How do cultural and religious barriers hinder growth in our faith?

Who are we most likely to witness our faith to, or invite to share our faith, or invite to church?
Those who are most like us and have the most in common with us.

Let’s get into this weeks scripture:
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside." When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
(Act 10:1-8 ESV)

What can we know about Cornelius from this passage?

• He lived in Caesarea, the Roman capital of Judea.
  
• He was a centurion, the commander of a century, a group of one hundred Roman soldiers.
  
• His century was part of the "Italian Cohort". A cohort was six hundred soldiers, one tenth of a legion.
  
• He "feared God with all his household, gave alms generously...., and prayed continually."
  

With just these few facts, what do you think the average Jew in Palestine would have thought of Cornelius?

• They probably would not have had very much respect for him. They may have shown respect out of fear of Cornelius’ position, but probably would have inwardly despised him.
  
• As an officer in the Roman army, Cornelius represented those who forcefully occupied the Jewish homeland.
  
• As a gentile, Cornelius was considered impure and any type of relationship between Jew and Gentile was off-limits according to Jewish interpretation of the Law.

What does it mean to say that Cornelius "feared God"?

• He believed the Jewish tradition of "One God". He probably accepted the Mosaic law and participated as much as was allowed in Jewish worship.
  
• Cornelius "feared God, ..gave alms, ..and prayed", obviously very devout and religious.

But what did his religion lack?
His religion did not offer salvation. Many people, even today, are confident that their character and religion are the way of salvation. While everyone who truly seeks out the Lord will not receive a visit from an angel, if they truly seek they will find. Grace is at work in all people, but sometimes is applied more readily on those who place themselves in it’s path.

Cornelius was not at this point a Christian, as he had not yet even heard the gospel.

How do you know when God is speaking to you?

• Cornelius was visited by the angel.
  
• The Polish man in the other story knew that God was speaking through a prayer from scripture.
  
• I am pretty certain that God has spoken to me by giving me two lessons in one week on the same subject.

When you know that God is speaking to you, when should you act?
Without hesitation. This angel did not give Cornelius any explanation as to who Peter was or the purpose for summoning him. He was spoken to and responded immediately.

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has made clean, do not call common." This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
(Act 10:9-16 ESV)

What was Peter’s first reaction to his visit from the Spirit?
"By no means, Lord...."

How often do you think the Spirit is answered with something similar?

Should we wait for understanding before obeying?

Even when what we are asked to do is totally confusing and contrary to popular beliefs?

On first observation what seems to be the message in Peter’s dream?
It could be understood as God repealing the dietary laws of the old covenant, but in actuality this message goes far beyond the diet. God has made clean all that was considered unclean under the old laws. Those laws were not intended to literally declare lists of clean and unclean. Those laws were intended to establish an identity for God’s chosen people. God’s people could be recognized as different from all others because of their ritual practices. God now declares that all who are saved by grace through faith are His chosen people.

How easy is it in today’s world to recognize God’s chosen people?

Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them."
(Act 10:17-20 ESV)

Did Peter immediately recognize the significance of his vision?

Here is one of those Holy coincidences that sometimes help one to understand that grace is working in one’s life. Peter was shown in a vision, now he will be shown in reality.

How do you think Peter felt when told to kill and eat unclean food?

How do you think Peter felt when asked to accompany "unclean" Gentiles to the home of another Gentile who also happened to be a Roman Centurion?

What are some reasons that we avoid or reject some people?

So Peter accompanies them back to Caesarea:

And he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me."
(Act 10:28-29 ESV)

Peter understands that the vision was not limited only to unclean food.

And Cornelius said, "Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.' So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord." So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),
(Act 10:30-36 ESV)

Peter proceeds to tell those gathered the Gospel story and:

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
(Act 10:44-48 ESV)

Did Luke tell this story to explain the conversion of Cornelius or the conversion of Peter?
The Body of Christ was changed by these two men who responded to their respective visions. Cornelius, a God-fearing man, learned of Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, confessed faith and was baptized into the Body. Peter, who prior to this event despised the Gentiles, rejected the Jewish purity laws and opened the Gospel to the Gentiles. This story tells the beginning of the Body of Christ as we know it today.

How should the church treat visitors or seekers who are different from the rest of the congregation?

How can we show or prove our acceptance of those who are different?

Another excerpt from What’s So Amazing About Grace:
I grew up a racist. (Yancey is speaking of his own experience.) Although not yet fifty years old, I remember well when the South practiced a perfectly legal form of apartheid. Stores in downtown Atlanta had three rest room: White Men, White Women, and Colored. Gas stations had two drinking fountains, one for Whites and one for Colored...

(In speaking of his childhood church)....it was there I learned a twisted theological basis for my racism.

In the 1960's the church deacon board mobilized lookout squads, and on Sundays these took turns patrolling the entrances lest any black "troublemakers" try to integrate us. I still have on of the cards the deacons printed up to give to any civil rights demonstrators who might appear:

"Believing the motives of your group to be ulterior and foreign to the teaching of God’s word, we cannot extend a welcome to you and respectfully request you to leave the premises quietly. Scripture does NOT teach "the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God." He is the Creator of all, but only the Father of those who have been regenerated....."

(Yancey goes on to tell how the South and the Nation changed. There are many African-Americans involved in all levels of business, culture, and politics. Even folks like George Wallace asked forgiveness for former acts and attitudes....)

Even my childhood church learned to repent......The church seemed cursed, blighted. It had tried new pastors and new programs, but nothing worked. Though the leaders sought African-American participation, few in the neighborhood responded.

Finally the pastor, a classmate of mine from childhood, took the unusual step of scheduling a service of repentance.......publicly, painfully, with African-American leaders present, he recounted the sin of racism as it had been practiced by the church in the past. He confessed- and received their forgiveness.

Although a burden seemed to lift from the congregation after that service, it was not sufficient to save the church. A few years later the white congregation moved out to the suburbs, and today a rousing African-American congregation....fills the building and rattles its windows once more.

Is it possible that his childhood church may have survived if they had preached from the Gospel instead of from their prejudices?

All people, regardless of race, ethnicity, language, culture, age, socio-economic class, gender, or other man-made divisions must be told the truth of the Gospel. The truth that God loves them. Peter had a vision sent by the Holy Spirit to help him overcome his cultural prejudice. How can we overcome whatever prejudices that may be holding us back from sharing the Good News with people who are different from us?

What’s So Amazing About Grace - Week 10 - The Power of Grace Over Racism

It’s funny how sometimes things happen to coincide. In my last post I told how two different groups were discussing very similar subjects at the same time. Also in the last week I learned that someone had a question on a subject that I had posted on that very day. Then I heard a question that concerned the relationship between our conscience and the Holy Spirit. I had just the night before read a chapter in a book on that very subject. (I will report on this soon.) Today I began to read our next chapter in What’s So Amazing About Grace. This chapter continues the discussion on forgiveness and reconciliation, but with a specific emphasis on racism. Then I read over next week’s Sunday School lesson. It also deals with racism.

Coincidences? Maybe, maybe not. These may be instances, like our conscience, where the Holy Spirit uses the world around us to make a point. This is the experience corner of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.

Being a child of the deep South, I am aware that racism exists. There is no denying it. I have heard racial slurs my whole life. I heard one Saturday. I wish I had the strength and confidence to take a stand every time I hear someone speak poorly of another race.

I thank God that I was born in the generation that I was. I am of the generation of integration. Our local schools integrated the year I entered the second grade. I have from that time to the present had daily contact with the race that the prior generation had tried their best to beat down. We learned to read and write in the same classrooms. We played kickball and hide-and-seek and dodgeball on the same playgrounds. We grew up and graduated together. We entered the same workforce. The only difference is the shade of our skins and the histories of our ancestors.

Philip Yancey tells of his childhood church, which went so far as to make an action plan for the possibility of African-Americans attempting to worship with them. Their plan was to turn any “black troublemakers” away. From a card that was printed by his church and to be given to those “black troublemakers”:

“.......we cannot extend a welcome to you and respectfully request you to leave the premises quietly. Scripture does NOT teach ‘the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God.’ He is the Creator of all, but only the Father of those who have been regenerated.”

His childhood church is no more, and I think I can understand why. I think his church was “regenerated”.

I am proud to say that, according to a member who grew up in Friendship UMC, that a similar meeting was held here but with a totally opposite result. According to my source, our church decided that if at any time anyone desired to worship with us that we would welcome them. We have been a “Welcoming Congregation” much longer than the title has existed.

Hey, maybe that’s another coincidence.

Report of the Council on Ministries for the Charge Conference

We have had another busy and exciting year at Friendship United Methodist Church. The Council on Ministries began the year with a Planning Retreat. This was held at the Breckenridge’s cabin at Kirkland Creek. We again thank them for the use of their beautiful location.

Our evangelism programs continued successfully with local advertising daily on WGMK-FM radio and weekly newspaper ads in the Donalsonville News. We used materials from the Igniting Ministries campaign with local modifications. This was our second year of advertising and it seems to have been noticed throughout the community. We received an Igniting Ministries grant from the District office and used the funds to replace the signs on the major roadways entering Donalsonville. We continued for a second year our “Muggers” campaign. Every first-time visitor to our church is visited at home and is presented with a coffee mug imprinted with our church logo and the Igniting Ministries logo and filled with brochures describing our various areas of ministry. We continue to receive positive feedback from all of these programs.

Friendship UMC was for the second year straight recognized as a “Welcoming Congregation”. This recognition is given after documenting all that we do to welcome visitors. Again, we were among only a few churches in our conference to receive this recognition. This is a recognition that we could have received every year if it had been available. We didn’t have to do anything that we have not always done. For this effort and all the evangelism work we have to give thanks to Jean Trice for her dedication as Evangelism Chairperson.

September marked the one year anniversary of our Way C.O.O.L. Sunday School program. During the summer of 2004 we totally remodeled the upstairs of our Sunday School Building and changed from standard Sunday School curriculum to a rotation model curriculum for our children three years old through the eighth grade. After one year we have had a 20% increase in attendance for children’s Sunday School.

We produced and presented a Passion Play with many members and the choir participating. Two performances were offered to large crowds during Holy Week. Others activities around Easter included an egg hunt for the children at the Reese’s home, a community Sunrise Service, and our second annual “Resurrection” fish-fry on the Sunday following Easter.

We had a weekend Vacation Bible School with 35 children participating. The pastor conducted a confirmation class with 8 participants. Several of these attended a Confirmation Retreat at Epworth-by-the-Sea.

Friendship UMC again had a team participate in the local Relay for Life event. We have had a team every year since this began locally. Our team this year raised over $5000 for the American Cancer Society.

Many of our youth participated in conference sponsored camps and mission projects. The tuition for these and for the Confirmation Retreat was paid for by the United Methodist Men. The men held their second annual Men’s Bake Sale and raised over $3000 which is 100% dedicated for youth activities.

Like I said at the beginning: this has been a very busy and exciting year. I have tried to remember all of our Ministry activities. For those I have forgotten, please forgive me.

Comments

For those of you who may read my ramblings there is a comment button at the bottom right corner of every post. You can respond with your comments on what I have posted by clicking and following the instructions. And then I can comment on your comments and then you can.....

Just know that all comments will be very much appreciated.

(And don't be too hard on me if you happen to not agree with me.)

Thanks

Tony

The Sermon on the Mount as a guide for the 21st Century?!?!

Could we?

Should we?

Would we?

Bill and I have been faced with similar questions from two fronts. We both participate in a book study group which has been reading What’s So Amazing About Graceby Philip Yancey.
For four weeks the topic of discussion has been forgiveness. We all agree that forgiveness is an unnatural act for us. After all, why should we forgive? What’s the payback?

We have also been confronted with similar issues in another small group that we are part of. This is a group of five men who meet every Thursday morning at 6:30 AM. Our current Thursday morning pastime is reading the sermons of John Wesley.
We are on the second of three volumes in this series. This volume includes thirteen sermons, all from the Sermon on the Mount as told in Chapters 3-5 of The Gospel of Matthew.
Unlike the book study group, this group doesn’t read at home and get together to discuss. We read the sermons aloud, together on Thursday mornings. The group consists at present of a United Methodist minister, a Church of Christ minister, a United Methodist Youth Director, and Bill and I.

So many questions ........

Are the teachings of Jesus meant to be taken literally as a guide for Christian lifestyle?

Or..

Are the teachings of Jesus only meant to show us how life will be in the Kingdom of Heaven?

But...

Once we are baptized by water and the Spirit, aren’t we then citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven?

As citizens of the Kingdom, how are we to live?
This kind of thinking makes my head hurt.

We are the salt of the earth. How do we show our saltiness? Have we lost our saltiness? Have we hidden our lamp under a basket?

Let’s just see what the Sermon on the Mount tells us about forgiveness.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
(Mat 5:7 ESV)

Will we not receive mercy if we are not merciful?

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
(Mat 5:38-41 ESV)

Is this possible? How long would we last if we just lay down and let the bad guys rough us up? Where is the justice in that? After all, justice is the American way, right?

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
(Mat 5:43-45 ESV)

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
(Mat 5:9 ESV)

That’s two separate references that mentions “Sons of God” along with a call to make peace or forgive your enemies. If we don’t forgive our enemies or work for peace, are we disqualified from being “Sons of God”?

Here’s a hard one:

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
(Mat 6:14-15 ESV)

With the basis of all Christian doctrine being forgiveness of sin, how can we resolve this thought? Is my forgiveness of others a prerequisite of my forgiveness by God?

And finally:

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
(Mat 7:1-2 ESV)

I read a very interesting article about a year or so ago. I can’t even remember where. This article was written during the time everyone was all riled up because of attempts to remove monuments of the Ten Commandments from public buildings, specifically from courthouses. The article made a valid point: If we really wanted to show the world that we are a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles, instead of placing monuments of the Ten Commandments, we should place monuments dedicated to the Sermon on the Mount. Can’t you just imagine, emblazoned across the wall behind the bench of every courthouse:

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
(Mat 7:1-2 ESV)

and:

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
(Mat 5:7 ESV)

If you were a juror, what effect would that have on you? If Christians lived this way, what effect would it have on the world?

Hymn of the Week

hymn (pr.: ‘him)
noun
1: a song of praise to God
2: a song of praise or joy

“There’s no such thing as Christian music. There are just Christian lyrics...”
Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life




The Slam
by Tobymac

from the CD Welcome to Diverse City

We saw Toby live last October and again in February. At the February show he said that he wrote this song in the parking lot of the cinema after watching The Passion of the Christ

The Slam

God's in this life if you like it or not
So rip the knob off the volume when you give this a shot
And raise your hands as the slam starts to thicken the plot
Openin eyes to the lies of the enemies lot
So run like the wind from the sin of your past
Keep your eyes on the prize when they put you on blast
It's the Christ on the cross, it's humanity's shot
It's a worldwide call to everything that we're not

This is the slam, this is the one
This is the slam, this is the one
This is the slam, this is the one

We gonna do it like it ain't been done before
This is the slam, this is the one
We gonna bring it like it ain't been brung
This is the slam, this is the one
We gonna do it like it ain't been done before
This is the slam this is the one
We gonna spring you like you ain't been sprung

They came from the cities and towns all around
To see the longhaired preacher from the desert get down
Waist high in water, never short on words, he said
Repent, the kingdom of heaven can be yours
But he stopped in the middle of his words and dropped
Down to his knees and said, behold the Lamb of God
He's the one, the slam, don't you people understand?
You're staring at the son, God's reaching out his hand

The father slammed it like Shaq
For Latinos and Blacks
Packin' them straps
And Caucasians hooked on
Ecstasy and the crack
Stacked the sins of this world to his body
And conquered evil and hell
Then snatched the keys of death in one breath and unlocked the cell
He rose on the third I'm tellin' you partner, its actual fact
Just like TOBYMAC and Boney Soprano up on this track
We slam dunkin and keep it jumpin like jumper cables
And keep the crowd rowdy like Jesus tossin' them temple tables




These are some photos of our youth at the Tobymac concert in February:

It's Amazing!

Our book study group is currently reading Philip Yancey's book "What's So Amazing About Grace".

This book has lead to some great and thoughtful discussion.

One quote that we keep returning to is on the back cover and repeated in the book:


"There is nothing we can do to make God love us more.
There is nothing we can do to make God love us less."

Either statement alone goes against human reason. Both statements together just boggle the mind. Just think about it.

"There is nothing we can do to make God love us more."
What about all the means of Grace.
Praying.
Fasting.
Worship.
Tithing.
Singing Praises.
Doing charity work.
Observing Holy Communion.
Baptism.

Doesn't living a life of piety bring me closer to God?

Doesn't God love the faithful Christian more than the heathen sinner?

It just doesn't seem fair, does it?

It is simple math. You cannot add more to an infinite value. That's how much God loves us. All of those pious acts are just a response to the fact that God loves me at all.


"There is nothing we can do to make God love us less."

But what about sinning?

God doesn't love sinners, does He?

He better, because He doesn't have anyone else to choose from.

So even though I sin, God still loves me infinitely?

Absolutely.

Even if I am a thief?

Yes.

A murderer?

Yes.

A homosexual?

Absolutely, positively, infinitely.

The next question is:
How are you going to respond to that Grace?

Walking

There are several Walk to Emmaus weekends coming up in the next several weeks in our area. My prayer is that each and every pilgrim on each and every walk will see Jesus in every face.

Our church will have three ladies at two seperate walks on the same weekend. This will be great for them and great for our church, although it may create a slight logistics problem for those of us who would love to go and support all of them. You just can't be in two places at the same time. Oh well, we'll figure something out.

Sunday School Lesson: Christians Without Borders

Lesson: Christians Without Borders

Purpose: To recognize that obstacles can be turned into opportunities for ministry and mission.

Scripture: Acts 8:4-25

Following the death of Stephen at the hands of the elders and scribes in Jerusalem, Saul went on a rampage, arresting both men and women of the believers. This persecution actually aided the spread of the Gospel. Many Christians fled Jerusalem. They ran from brutality but carried the Word with them. The very fact that some folks were willing to kill them for what they believed and that they kept on believing probably lent some credibility to their witness. Very few people would be willing to die for what they knew was a lie. With extreme bravery and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, these dispersed members of the first church took the Good News even to cities which had been enemies of the Jewish people for hundreds of years. God gives us opportunities every day to use what seems to be defeats and turn them into victories.

The city of Samaria had been the capital of Israel during the days of the divided kingdom. In 722 B.C. the Assyrians conquered Israel and relocated most of the people. Those who were left intermarried with the foreigners who were moved into their land by the king of Assyria. The "pure" Jews who remained in the Southern kingdom of Judah considered these folks "half-breeds" and "mongrels". They came to be known as Samaritans. The label "Samaritan" evolved into a derogatory racial slur, much like some that are used in the modern world.

When we hear the word Samaritan, we usually think of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. The phrase "Good Samaritan" is now used to identify any person or group who practices sacrificial charity. To the Jews of the first century there was no such thing as a "good" Samaritan.

Who would we consider the "Samaritans" in our world using the first century Jewish definition of "Samaritan"?

Jesus’ use of a Samaritan in His parable was a definitive message that loving our neighbor was not so simple as loving those we were comfortable with. Our "neighbor" includes everyone regardless of race or background, even those that our culture would have us look down upon and despise. "Loving our neighbor" means much more than feelings of affection. Loving our neighbor requires action and effort to meet their needs, regardless of how distasteful those needs may seem to us.

Who are the "Samaritans" in our world using Jesus’ definition?

Another definitive statement is made in this passage from Acts. Today’s lesson is in effect a report of the first missionary of the church. Up to this point the group of believers known as Christians was centered in Jerusalem. Beginning on Pentecost the church in Jerusalem had experienced a rapid growth. This growth had created a need in the church for the Apostles to appoint people to help with the day-to-day duties required by the type of communal worship, meals, and living arrangements that was practiced by the early church. They appointed seven men to carry out these duties which essentially amounted to distributing meals to widows. Last week we learned of Stephen, one of these seven. An amazing witness to the power of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the fact that Stephen, essentially a table waiter, off the top of his head preached a sermon that so enraged the Jewish elders that they, in a fit of rage, carried him out of the city and stoned him to death.

In the fear that gripped the church following the death of Stephen we learn of Philip, another of the seven "table waiters". Philip flees Jerusalem, and where does he choose to go?

Samaria, of all places.

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.
(Act 8:4-8 ESV)

"Much joy"; what a perfect description of any Spirit-filled group of believers. Would you describe your church as a place of "much joy"?

I’ve already discussed some of the differences between Jews and Samaritans. These differences would have to have created obstacles to acceptance of Philip and his Gospel. How did Philip and the Samaritans overcome these obstacles? Where was their common ground?
Both Philip and the Samaritans had suffered persecution form the Jews. But.... a common enemy is not always the best foundation for a friendship.

The Samaritans knew of and believed the Old Testament prophesies of a coming Messiah. The story in John of Jesus speaking to a woman at a well at Sychar in Samaria supports this:

The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."
(Joh 4:25-26 ESV)

The Samaritans may have remembered that visit from Jesus.

The signs, healings, and other evidence of the Holy Spirit in Philip obviously had a great impact on the Samaritans.

How many of us, after fleeing our home for fear of persecution, would immediately begin proclaiming the very Gospel that triggered the persecutions?

How many of us carry the Gospel with us and proclaim it wherever we go?

How many of us convey the Gospel through our actions wherever we go?

How many of us conceal the Gospel as soon as we exit the church on Sunday morning?

How many of us are willing to carry the Gospel into parts of our world that we may find uncomfortable?

How many of us are willing to carry the Gospel into parts of our world that may be hostile to us and our message?

Philip carried the Gospel and proclaimed it in an area hostile to all Jews and those people who under normal circumstances would have been hostile "listened eagerly" and wanted what Philip had to offer.

But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great." And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
(Act 8:9-13 ESV)

Simon had for a long time amazed the people of Samaria. Their amazement with Philip apparently eclipses their long-time amazement with Simon. Do you think that modern missionaries encounter "Simons" in the areas they carry the Gospel?

Do you think the tendency of these "Simons" would be supportive of their "Philips"?

What is the difference in "magic" and "signs and miracles"?
Answer: The power of the Holy Spirit.

Why do you think signs and miracles were important in the early church?
They made people sit up and take notice.

In the absence of signs and miracles, what can we do today to ensure that the Gospel is heard and accepted?
We must live what we profess. Our lives must match the Gospel we preach.

Do you see any similarities to Simon in modern religious leaders?

What is needed to show others God’s power?

While we may not be able to perform miraculous healing, our message is one of healing. Our world is full of people in need of healing. Their needs may be physical, mental, emotional, relational, financial, or spiritual. When we meet real needs and maintain a focus on Jesus the results can seem near miraculous to everyone involved.

What is not needed to show others God’s power?

Flashy displays and empty promises may attract some attention, but what’s going to happen when a Philip comes along?

Remember that Philip was not one of the Apostles. Philip, like Stephen, was a worker in the church, taking care of some of the more mundane tasks of the congregation. The most effective leaders are not always flashy, high-profile, or charismatic.

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
(Act 8:14-17 ESV)

Beginning at Pentecost and throughout the book of Acts faith was always made apparent through gifts of the Holy Spirit. Why in this instance the Spirit did not come upon the believers until Peter and John came is not made clear. This may have been the case partly to help convince Peter and John that the Gospel was not just for the Jews. Jesus told them to take the Gospel to Samaria and to all the world, but there are several instances in Acts where Peter needs a little reminder in this area.

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." And Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me." Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
(Act 8:18-25 ESV)

Let’s go back to verse 13:

Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

What does it mean that "Simon himself beleived"?

What did Simon believe?

What was the basis of his faith?

Apparently, the basis of Simon’s faith was not the Word of God, but the miracles of Philip. Simon continued with Philip, not to hear the Word and learn more about Christ, but to witness more miracles and possibly to learn how they were done.

Was Simon’s heart right before God?

What does it mean for one’s heart to be right before God?

Do we see any evidence of people attempting to "buy" faith, or buy God’s favor?

What are some examples?

Simon is told by Peter to repent. His response indicates that he was more concerned with avoiding judgement than repenting and living in relationship with Christ.

Simon came so close. He heard the Gospel, saw miracles, even professed faith and was baptized, and yet never obtained true faith as evidenced through fruits of the Spirit. Simon attempted to short-circuit the process and buy faith.

Hymn of the Week

hymn (pr.: ‘him)
noun
1: a song of praise to God
2: a song of praise or joy

Freely, Freely

by Carol Owens

God forgave my sin in Jesus' name,
I've been born again in Jesus' name,
And in Jesus' name I come to you
To share His love as He told me to.

Chorus:
He said, Freely, freely you have received;
freely, freely give.
Go in my name and because you believe,
Others will know that I live."

All power is given in Jesus' name,
In earth and heaven, in Jesus' name;
And in Jesus' name I come to you
To share His power as He told me to.

Chorus

The View

This is the view from our front yard. Purty, aint it?

Sunday School Lesson: Stephen the Faithful Servant

Lesson: Faithful Servant

Purpose: To help us recognize and be grateful for the Spirit’s gift of leadership in the church.

Scripture: Act 6:8-15, 7:53-60

Background:
The infant church had been growing rapidly. This growth was not only in the number of believers and their faith, but also conflicts inside the church and persecution from the outside.

One conflict which may not seem very significant to some of us appears in Acts 6:1-7. We learned in previous lessons how the community of believers lived in fellowship, sharing meals and possessions. In this passage we learn that one group of believers felt that they were being slighted in the daily distribution of food. By this time, in this rapidly growing congregation, the twelve Apostles realize that they cannot handle every task personally. They need help.
Verse 2b: "It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables."

Needing help is not a bad problem to have in any congregation, but it is a problem that has to be dealt with. Our Leadership Committee has been meeting for the past six weeks making sure that we have a person for every job in the church for next year and that every person willing and able has a job. This is my first year on this committee and it is not as easy as you would think. We cannot simply toss everyone’s name in a hat and start drawing names to fill the positions. We have to make sure that each nominee is paired with a position which will compliment the person as well as the person benefit the position.

In Acts 6, the twelve essentially appointed a Leadership Committee. The task was to appoint seven men "to wait tables." They asked the congregation to select "men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom..." Qualities that we still look for today. One of the seven selected was Stephen, the faithful servant of today’s lesson.

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us." And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
(Act 6:8-15 ESV)


It’s difficult to tell, but the accusations may have been coming from one synagogue or from several. Jewish history claims as many as 400 synagogues in and around Jerusalem in the first century. The Freedmen were descendants of emancipated Jewish slaves. One interesting note is that some of the protesters were from Cilicia, the home country of Saul (later known as Paul) who is also mentioned in our next passage. We know that Saul was a Pharisee. Could he have been one of those who brought the original complaint against Stephen?

What position in our church would be equal to "waiting on tables"?

How would you describe the folks in our church who do the everyday jobs?

How is Stephen described in verse 8?
"Full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people."

What reaction do you think we would get from the world around us if everyone in every position in the church "did great wonders and signs among the people"?

Would the reaction be positive or negative?

Do you think that much of the problem was simply because these people could not understand such wisdom coming from a "table waiter"?

What does it mean to be "full of God’s grace and power"?

Why is that many times people become their angriest when confronted with truth?

The biggest problem I see today is that many (if not most) folks deny that there is "truth". Many people believe that the only definition of truth is what each person thinks is true, so there are as many definitions of truth as there are people defining it. When confronted with "THE TRUTH" those who hold to their own personal truth cry the "I" word. Intolerance. "THE TRUTH" is seen as intolerant to the idea that all values and truths are considered equal. Many people place a blanket label on Christians as intolerant, homophobic, or bigoted. Many are, but most are not. Most of us truly do "hate the sin, but love the sinner". This is a concept that many find difficult to understand.

But then there are the folks with the idea that if they are not making people mad, that they are not serving God properly. They believe that the Gospel is and should be offensive. The more they offend through their witness, the more righteous they think they are. Baloney. If you ARE righteous, you may possibly be persecuted for it. But when folks retaliate to your obnoxiousness do not claim that you are being persecuted for righteousness sake.

When his accusers were unable to defeat Stephen with debate, what did they do?
They resorted to deceit, conspiracy, and lies.

What are some ways that modern Christians handle disagreements?

When we read the next section of scripture we’ll see an example of Christian love that would be difficult for anyone to live up to.

Acts 7:1-53 is the longest sermon in the book of Acts. Basically Stephen gives a history lesson of Israel. The theme is that throughout their history the Jewish people rejected those who God sent to lead them. They rejected Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, they practiced idolatry in the desert and disobeyed God by building a Temple. The ultimate rejection was of Jesus. This same Sanhedrin to whom Stephen gives this history to is the same as the one who condemned Christ not long before.

How much time did Stephen have to prepare his sermon?

Did all of this detailed knowledge of the Old Testament come off the top of his head?

How well would any of us do, off the top of our heads, telling the story of the Old Testament?

"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."
(Act 7:51-53 ESV)

This is the conclusion of the sermon. Based on this paragraph how would you describe Stephen?
Courageous? Brave? Crazy for Jesus? Sold out to God?

you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it." Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
(Act 7:53-60 ESV)

Stephen did not fight back or vow to get even. Why is it important that Christians not respond in vindictive anger when facing opposition?
We should always remember the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and the example of Jesus on Calvary.

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.
(Jam 1:19-20 ESV)

The main point of contention between the Sanhedrin and Stephen is very similar to what they accused Jesus of. They claimed that Stephen said things "against this holy place (the Temple) and the law."

How do we as Christians feel when someone (even someone from within the church) challenges one of our doctrines or traditions, or the indisputable, absolute, factuality of scripture?

Is it possible that certain doctrines or traditions could hinder spiritual growth among believers?

Many people see truth in the scriptures, yet have problems accepting as absolute fact a six day creation, or a virgin birth, or a worldwide catastrophic flood.

Should these folks be stoned?

But they are challenging our basic doctrines and beliefs.

Should we exclude them from worship and communion?

But they don’t accept every statement of our creeds.

Should they be rejected and told that they are not Christians?

But they are rejecting us. (Just like Stephen rejected the Council.)

In what ways should we be like Stephen?

How many Christians today are willing to die for what they believe?

We can narrow that one down a lot by asking: How many Christians today are willing to live what they profess?

God does not call all of us to be martyrs, but he does call all of us to be "living sacrifices". In some respects, it may be harder to live for Christ than to die for Him; but if we are living for him, we will be prepared to die for Him if that is what God calls us to do.