Sermon “No Other Name” (no audio captured this week, sorry)
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
There is no other name by which we are saved. No name other than the name of Jesus. We read that in Acts 4:12. Jesus, according to the apostles, is the only one who brings life and salvation. He is the only one who has died for the sins of the world. He is the only one who has redeemed humanity to God. He is the only one who has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven. He is the only savior we have. He is the one who gives us reason to proclaim salvation no matter the cost. He is the one who leads the apostles to defy the Jewish authorities, to continue proclaiming the name of Jesus for salvation no matter the opposition, to give up their very lives.
What is it about this name of Jesus? Why did those early believers cling to their faith so stubbornly? Why did they give their time, their money, their possessions, their families, and their lives for the Gospel? They did it for one reason, and finally only one reason. There was no cultural pressure for the early Christians to live as Christians. It was considered abnormal, just like today. There was no economic benefit to living as a Christian. Quite the opposite. Being a Christian businessman in the first century meant risking poverty. Family pressures were against conversion to Christianity. It was considered foolish, even dangerous, to live as a Christian. So why did they do it? Because Jesus showed himself to be the savior. Jesus showed that he was the good shepherd who laid down his life for his people. Jesus is the one in whose name we are delivered from death and hell. He showed that when he died and captured the sin of the world. He showed that when he descended into hell and proclaimed his victory to the souls in prison like a victorious general makes a parade through the land he has conquered. He showed that when he rose from the dead as the firstfruits of the resurrection. He showed that when he ascended to heaven. He showed it when he sat down at the right hand of the Father in heaven. he shows it day by day as he lives to make intercession for the saints. Jesus, the good shepherd, is the resurrection and the life. No one comes to the Father but by him. There is no other name under heaven or on the earth or under the earth by which we may be saved. None other. Accept no substitutes! Jesus is the savior. He's the only savior. Nobody else will do.
I'm afraid there's a disconnect, though. It may be a serious one. Most of us in this room will confess that Jesus is the savior. But do we agree about how serious our state is without him? Do we agree about the desperate state of our world aside from Christ? Do we realize that apart from Jesus' blood and righteousness applied to us we stand condemned? Maybe we fall into that deadly trap, and it is a deadly trap, of thinking that the Church is some sort of a social organization. I've been told by well-meaning people that it's nice that I as a pastor am in the “helping professions” along with social workers, counselors, and people who run public food pantries. Maybe we think of the Church as that, just something that helps people get by. I've had people here, from this congregation, suggest to me that we should do mre counseling and point out that ours might be as helpful as that of the secular counseling center but that ours is free. Maybe people just need to come to church and it will fix all their problems. I have news for you. The business of the Church is the proclamation of Jesus, the savior of the world, whose forgiveness and cleansing is greater than all our sin and shame. The business of the Church is the proclamation of Jesus, the one who reconciled us to God. And if we are reconciled to God we may as well get used to the idea that as God's reconciled people we can live at peace with our neighbors also, even if they choose not to. The business of the Church is to point people to Jesus and his work for them. The business of the Church is to bring the help and hope that Jesus provides to our community. It isn't about the help and hope that we can provide. There's nothing in it about our human potential. It isn't our own strength, it isn't our own answers, it isn't our own wisdom, and it certainly isn't the wisdom of the medical community, the social science researchers, or the pharmaceutical manufacturers. None of those people are in the business of resurrection. Jesus is in the business of resurrection. Is our counsel free? It sure is. And it's effective, because it's God's wisdom, it's God's redemption, it's all about Jesus for you, not you changing yourself to be nice to the people you are in conflict with or about you changing your attitude about yourself. It is about God changing his attitude about you, giving you an identity as a chosen heir of the heavenly realms. It is about Jesus laying down his life for you. There's no other name by which we are saved. All the rest is window dressing.
Now before I make some of you stalk out in anger, please give me a moment. I know what I've been saying goes counter to what our society has taught us, particularly in the past forty years. During that time solid Christian faith has dropped off in some parts of our society. In fact, among average, working-class people, in the past forty years, during my lifetime, and during the lifetime of most of you, regular involvement in the body of Christ has decreased by about half. People are flocking away from the Church, saying it doesn't seem relevant to them. And the more we do to try to be engaging, the more we do to try to imitate our world's approach to social organizations, in short, the more we see ourselves as existing in the realm of the “helping professions” the more irrelevant we seem to be. We have lost the proclamation of the power of God. We need to recapture it. Was I saying that the secular counselor can't do any good? I wasn't saying that. Was I saying that the doctor who prescribes you a medication to help deal with some of the physical or emotional difficulties you are having can't do any good? I wasn't saying that. I was saying that we can't depend on those things alone. They are based on man's intuition. They are based on man's wisdom. They are temporal, not eternal. They are of limited usefulness. They generally deal with only part of the picture. Our Lord deals with the underlying issues. He's the one who created us. He knows us. And he has laid down his life for us.
So what is our response? Do we simply proclaim Christ crucified and leave everyone to work out the details? Do we proclaim Jesus as the resurrection and life and then try to live our lives as well as we can, leaving everyone else to live a life as well as he can? What did we see in 1 John? We see that we also lay our lives down for our neighbor. We also give our goods, our money, our time, all that we have in order to love and serve our neighbors. We serve as Jesus' instruments of grace to call our world to faith in him. What were the Jewish leaders upset about in Acts? They were upset that the apostles were preaching faith in Jesus. What did they bring the apostles in for? It was because they showed mercy to a person.
I want to challenge each and every person in this congregation today. And I'll probably keep challenging you in this way. Can you think of three people who you know, people who are in need of the mercy and grace of Jesus? People you can show that grace to? People you can love and serve for Christ? I'm sure you can. A few of you are looking at family members right now. So let me make it more difficult. Make those three people who are not involved in a faithful Christian congregation. Make sure they are people who you have no reason to believe are trusting in Christ. Take a moment and think of them. Maybe you want to write their names on your prayer list in the bulletin. Now here's the challenge. Pray for those people. Seek out ways to love them and serve them in Christ. Pray that the Lord will give you opportunity, and that you will take the opportunity, to talk with them, to let them know that you, as someone who trust in Jesus, the one who has reconciled you to God, will care for them no matter what, and that you would like to see them living at peace with the true God, the triune God, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, trusting in the name of Jesus, the one name under heaven and earth and under the earth by which we might be saved. Three people. What if they reject you? It's all right. How many times have we rejected Jesus? What if they believe? Then they see Jesus' redemption is for them as well.
Jesus has laid down his life for us. Let us lay down our lives for others. Yet as I close this sermon I am compelled to ask, do you see Jesus as the redeemer? Do you trust in him? Do you call upon his name as the only one by which we might be saved? If not, look to him in faith. He is the one who has laid down his life for you. And if you are realizing your need for him, if you are realizing that he is the one calling you to himself in repentance, cast your cares on him. He cares for you. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It was true when John wrote it in the first century. It was true when we proclaimed it at the start of the church service. And it's true now.
Now may the Lord of all mercy grant us his grace, in the blessed name of Jesus, our Savior, the one who reconciles us to God. Amen.
Showing posts with label Acts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acts. Show all posts
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Sermon for 4/15/12 "Stewards of Christ's Resurrection"
Sermon Stewards of Christ's Resurrection
Lord of all, who gathers us and joins us together into one body, grant us your grace so we may hear your word, believe you, and be good stewards of the Gospel, this we pray through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.
Stewardship Sunday – even hearing those words has been known to make me cringe in fright. And maybe it has the same effect on you. There's a habit in some churches of gathering everyone together, pointing out the budget to the congregation, discussing some of the goals we would like to accomplish to show our faithfulness to the Lord, and then pressuring people to make pledges which will cause them to give sacrificially, the more pain, the more gain. Give until it hurts! And the Scotsman in me says, “Aye, the very thought of givin' hurts.”
Today's readings, though, give us a different view of stewardship. The first reading, not Old Testament during this time of the year, is from Acts. It tells about the gathered Christians. How are they showing their stewardship? They are caring for one another out of the abundance that the Lord has blessed them with. Nobody twisted their arms. Nobody had to push any pledge cards at anybody. There was none of this, “You write on the card and I'll tell you what to write. Need me to steady your hand for you?” Not anything of the sort. We saw that “there were no needy people among them.” But does that mean that everyone was prosperous in business? No, it doesn't. We see that some people who had means occasionally sold an asset or made some other sort of profit and gave the proceeds to the apostles so they could distribute it as it was needed. There were needs, but the believers helped one another.
How has our church done with this? Are we being good financial stewards? Last year somehow went by without a very active stewardship committee. I'm probably not the only person who was at the council meetings and found it humorous that for several months there was no report from the stewardship committee. And we finished calendar year 2011 with an intriguing financial picture. You who have seen the 2011 annual report know that we wrapped up the budget year with offerings below budget and expenses even a little farther below budget. I wonder if anyone has been watching this year's numbers? We passed a smaller budget this year. So what would we predict? Nobody has been twisting anybody's arm for offerings. I even forgot about an offering at one of the midweek services this year, I think it was the Ash Wednesday service. Our budget is smaller. Does anybody know what's happened to the offerings? It sounds like we might be in big trouble, right? Actually, offerings this year are up compared to last year and we are right on track with the budget to date. Giving as of the end of March was above budget. That doesn’t mean that we should cut back on our giving. It means that the Lord is providing for you, his people, and you are bringing out of your abundance to meet the needs of others. If we have too much in the coffers we’ll be able to increase some of the mission giving we have for here and other places in our world.
But financial stewardship is not the do-all, end-all of stewardship. I don't know why we seem to have this idea that stewardship has to do with money and only money. It isn't the case at all. Throughout history, what has a steward done? The steward takes care of the master's possessions and household. There is an important role of money, but there's a lot more than that. The steward also guards the master's plans, his goals, his values, his priorities. It's a lot like being an ambassador. What other kind of stewardship do we see in today's readings?
In our epistle reading from 1 John we see that the believers are being encouraged to be good stewards of the resurrection. Their lives have been changed by the risen Lord. That change, the realization that Jesus is the one proclaimed to them, results in prayers, forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Jesus is the one who took our sins. He is the one who intercedes for us. He is the one who was a sufficient sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but the sins of the whole world. We realize that no matter what our sin is, we can confess it before the Lord and he will forgive it. Jesus is in the business of cleansing us from all sin. What sin is it that you bear today? Is anything too difficult for our Lord? What kind of sin do you confront at your workplace, in your home, in your friends and neighbors? Are any of those sins that the Lord has not given himself for? We saw in 1 John 2:2 that Jesus gave himself for the sins of the whole world. And he is the sufficient sacrifice who makes peace with God. That word that the NIV translates as “atoning sacrifice” is a difficult one. There's some debate about how to translate it. And the reason is that it's an unusually meaningful word. It indicates the one who dies but whose death is sufficient to either take away the cause of offense or cover the cause of offense so that it can no longer be found, and who does it on the behalf of someone else. That's not something we want to pull into our translation of the Scripture in the places the word shows up. So the NIV editors made it an “atoning sacrifice.” Some translations have made it say “a propitiation.” And then some people argue with one another about the meanings of the words “atonement” and “propitiation.” They can be viewed theologically as opposite sides of the same coin. The fact is, when you believe Jesus, you get the whole coin. That's the great thing about coins, after all. When you get one side, you also get the other side. Jesus takes away our sin. Jesus also takes away the offense that our sin causes God. He does it all.
Through faith in Christ, we are made stewards of that news. We are representatives of Jesus in this world. We are the people who carry the news of the work of Christ on our behalf. And we do it, not through our own strength or righteousness but simply as we are made witnesses of Jesus. One of the ways we are his witnesses is through our generosity and care for others. As God has loved us, we love one another. As Jesus gave himself for us, we give ourselves for one another. And it isn't a matter of law-keeping. Nobody twisted your arm and made you give generously to meet the needs of God's people. Nobody twisted your arm and made you pledge more money for our missions program this year than last year. Not at all. It's a matter of being a steward of the message of the resurrection. Jesus has called us his children, his friends, his fellow heirs. We just act like the forgiven, cleansed, and renewed people that we are, and we walk in his paths, since he has laid them open to us.
But what of the times we are bad stewards? Maybe we find that we are too often like Thomas, that apostle who ran away and didn't believe Jesus was raised from the dead. Maybe we're like those people we've been reading about in Judges as we have followed the Bible reading challenge – the people who were rescued and then gladly returned to their old ways, the worship of idols, setting priorities that couldn't be distinguished from the nations around them. Knowing that God is the God of deliverance doesn't always get the message through to us, does it? What did Jesus do for Thomas? He came to Thomas. That's just what Thomas needed. Thomas was doubtful. Actually, Thomas was unbelieving. That's what Jesus says of him. He didn't believe the resurrection. But far worse, even if he did come to believe the resurrection, he didn't believe it was for him. What did Jesus do for Thomas? He did an astounding thing. He came to speak with Thomas. He knew what Thomas had been saying. Unless he saw the wounds and touched them he would not believe. This is a high standard of proof, isn't it? Can you show your friends and neighbors the wounds that Jesus bore for him? No, you can't and I can't either. And there are some people for whom no amount of proof of the resurrection will be adequate. When talking to someone who denies that Jesus could have risen from the dead sometimes we want to ask what information would be adequate. If the person we're talking to says that there's no way we can convince him that Jesus rose from the dead, the conversation is over. We may as well talk about lawn mowers or hybrid soybeans or Cajun cooking. That person is like unbelieving Thomas.
What got through to Thomas? The power of Jesus in his resurrection. Remember that Thomas would not believe unless he touched the wounds of Jesus? What did Jesus offer? “Touch my wounds, go ahead.” What did Thomas do? He believed. He didn't need to touch the wounds. He needed to know that Jesus was raised from the dead. He needed the Holy Spirit to grant him faith. He needed the powerful message of the resurrection. Do we have that message? Yes, we do. Jesus has made us stewards of the Gospel. He has made us stewards of the message of Christ, crucified for sinners, raised again from the dead as the firstfruits of the resurrection. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! We preach Jesus, the power of God. The POWER of God! Salvation is of the Lord. And Jesus has given his Church the message of the Gospel to be proclaimed. Notice I say “proclaimed” rather than “argued.” I can't argue you to faith in Christ, any more than Peter, James, and John could argue Thomas to belief. I can't do it. Even the lawyers we have in the congregation, who are professionally trained in arguing can't do it. There's no amount of reasoning that can give us the Gospel. It is the proclamation of Jesus' victorious death, burial, and resurrection that gives us the Gospel. This is the deliverance we need. And this is the message that we received and that we carry as stewards for our Lord. We proclaim the Gospel in Word through the liturgy, the reading of the Word, and the preaching, Sunday after Sunday. We proclaim the Gospel in the sacrament of baptism when we have the opportunity. One pastor I know refers to baptism as his opportunity to make Christians. It struck me as odd at first. But he's right. We confess that baptism saves you, giving you the pledge of a clear conscience before God. We confess that it washes sins away. This is the Gospel. We proclaim the Gospel in the sacrament of the altar, where we confess that Jesus is truly and bodily present to deliver the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through his body and blood under the bread and the wine. We proclaim the Gospel in the Parish Education classes – Sunday school and adult Bible class and the other opportunities we have for training. Those are opportunities to see how the Gospel applies to us, to receive the encouragement that God’s Word gives us grace, to find out how we can bring the grace of our Lord to our world. Do we have open discussion? We sure do, especially in the Bible classes. But all in all, we don't argue it about the Gospel, we proclaim it. We let the Holy Spirit do the arguing and convince people. And we confess that we are recipients of all these promises of grace, given to us by one and the same Lord.
As recipients of the promises of God we then become stewards of his promises. May the Lord make us faithful stewards of his resurrection, looking in hope to the time when we will rise with him. Amen.
Lord of all, who gathers us and joins us together into one body, grant us your grace so we may hear your word, believe you, and be good stewards of the Gospel, this we pray through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.
Stewardship Sunday – even hearing those words has been known to make me cringe in fright. And maybe it has the same effect on you. There's a habit in some churches of gathering everyone together, pointing out the budget to the congregation, discussing some of the goals we would like to accomplish to show our faithfulness to the Lord, and then pressuring people to make pledges which will cause them to give sacrificially, the more pain, the more gain. Give until it hurts! And the Scotsman in me says, “Aye, the very thought of givin' hurts.”
Today's readings, though, give us a different view of stewardship. The first reading, not Old Testament during this time of the year, is from Acts. It tells about the gathered Christians. How are they showing their stewardship? They are caring for one another out of the abundance that the Lord has blessed them with. Nobody twisted their arms. Nobody had to push any pledge cards at anybody. There was none of this, “You write on the card and I'll tell you what to write. Need me to steady your hand for you?” Not anything of the sort. We saw that “there were no needy people among them.” But does that mean that everyone was prosperous in business? No, it doesn't. We see that some people who had means occasionally sold an asset or made some other sort of profit and gave the proceeds to the apostles so they could distribute it as it was needed. There were needs, but the believers helped one another.
How has our church done with this? Are we being good financial stewards? Last year somehow went by without a very active stewardship committee. I'm probably not the only person who was at the council meetings and found it humorous that for several months there was no report from the stewardship committee. And we finished calendar year 2011 with an intriguing financial picture. You who have seen the 2011 annual report know that we wrapped up the budget year with offerings below budget and expenses even a little farther below budget. I wonder if anyone has been watching this year's numbers? We passed a smaller budget this year. So what would we predict? Nobody has been twisting anybody's arm for offerings. I even forgot about an offering at one of the midweek services this year, I think it was the Ash Wednesday service. Our budget is smaller. Does anybody know what's happened to the offerings? It sounds like we might be in big trouble, right? Actually, offerings this year are up compared to last year and we are right on track with the budget to date. Giving as of the end of March was above budget. That doesn’t mean that we should cut back on our giving. It means that the Lord is providing for you, his people, and you are bringing out of your abundance to meet the needs of others. If we have too much in the coffers we’ll be able to increase some of the mission giving we have for here and other places in our world.
But financial stewardship is not the do-all, end-all of stewardship. I don't know why we seem to have this idea that stewardship has to do with money and only money. It isn't the case at all. Throughout history, what has a steward done? The steward takes care of the master's possessions and household. There is an important role of money, but there's a lot more than that. The steward also guards the master's plans, his goals, his values, his priorities. It's a lot like being an ambassador. What other kind of stewardship do we see in today's readings?
In our epistle reading from 1 John we see that the believers are being encouraged to be good stewards of the resurrection. Their lives have been changed by the risen Lord. That change, the realization that Jesus is the one proclaimed to them, results in prayers, forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Jesus is the one who took our sins. He is the one who intercedes for us. He is the one who was a sufficient sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but the sins of the whole world. We realize that no matter what our sin is, we can confess it before the Lord and he will forgive it. Jesus is in the business of cleansing us from all sin. What sin is it that you bear today? Is anything too difficult for our Lord? What kind of sin do you confront at your workplace, in your home, in your friends and neighbors? Are any of those sins that the Lord has not given himself for? We saw in 1 John 2:2 that Jesus gave himself for the sins of the whole world. And he is the sufficient sacrifice who makes peace with God. That word that the NIV translates as “atoning sacrifice” is a difficult one. There's some debate about how to translate it. And the reason is that it's an unusually meaningful word. It indicates the one who dies but whose death is sufficient to either take away the cause of offense or cover the cause of offense so that it can no longer be found, and who does it on the behalf of someone else. That's not something we want to pull into our translation of the Scripture in the places the word shows up. So the NIV editors made it an “atoning sacrifice.” Some translations have made it say “a propitiation.” And then some people argue with one another about the meanings of the words “atonement” and “propitiation.” They can be viewed theologically as opposite sides of the same coin. The fact is, when you believe Jesus, you get the whole coin. That's the great thing about coins, after all. When you get one side, you also get the other side. Jesus takes away our sin. Jesus also takes away the offense that our sin causes God. He does it all.
Through faith in Christ, we are made stewards of that news. We are representatives of Jesus in this world. We are the people who carry the news of the work of Christ on our behalf. And we do it, not through our own strength or righteousness but simply as we are made witnesses of Jesus. One of the ways we are his witnesses is through our generosity and care for others. As God has loved us, we love one another. As Jesus gave himself for us, we give ourselves for one another. And it isn't a matter of law-keeping. Nobody twisted your arm and made you give generously to meet the needs of God's people. Nobody twisted your arm and made you pledge more money for our missions program this year than last year. Not at all. It's a matter of being a steward of the message of the resurrection. Jesus has called us his children, his friends, his fellow heirs. We just act like the forgiven, cleansed, and renewed people that we are, and we walk in his paths, since he has laid them open to us.
But what of the times we are bad stewards? Maybe we find that we are too often like Thomas, that apostle who ran away and didn't believe Jesus was raised from the dead. Maybe we're like those people we've been reading about in Judges as we have followed the Bible reading challenge – the people who were rescued and then gladly returned to their old ways, the worship of idols, setting priorities that couldn't be distinguished from the nations around them. Knowing that God is the God of deliverance doesn't always get the message through to us, does it? What did Jesus do for Thomas? He came to Thomas. That's just what Thomas needed. Thomas was doubtful. Actually, Thomas was unbelieving. That's what Jesus says of him. He didn't believe the resurrection. But far worse, even if he did come to believe the resurrection, he didn't believe it was for him. What did Jesus do for Thomas? He did an astounding thing. He came to speak with Thomas. He knew what Thomas had been saying. Unless he saw the wounds and touched them he would not believe. This is a high standard of proof, isn't it? Can you show your friends and neighbors the wounds that Jesus bore for him? No, you can't and I can't either. And there are some people for whom no amount of proof of the resurrection will be adequate. When talking to someone who denies that Jesus could have risen from the dead sometimes we want to ask what information would be adequate. If the person we're talking to says that there's no way we can convince him that Jesus rose from the dead, the conversation is over. We may as well talk about lawn mowers or hybrid soybeans or Cajun cooking. That person is like unbelieving Thomas.
What got through to Thomas? The power of Jesus in his resurrection. Remember that Thomas would not believe unless he touched the wounds of Jesus? What did Jesus offer? “Touch my wounds, go ahead.” What did Thomas do? He believed. He didn't need to touch the wounds. He needed to know that Jesus was raised from the dead. He needed the Holy Spirit to grant him faith. He needed the powerful message of the resurrection. Do we have that message? Yes, we do. Jesus has made us stewards of the Gospel. He has made us stewards of the message of Christ, crucified for sinners, raised again from the dead as the firstfruits of the resurrection. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! We preach Jesus, the power of God. The POWER of God! Salvation is of the Lord. And Jesus has given his Church the message of the Gospel to be proclaimed. Notice I say “proclaimed” rather than “argued.” I can't argue you to faith in Christ, any more than Peter, James, and John could argue Thomas to belief. I can't do it. Even the lawyers we have in the congregation, who are professionally trained in arguing can't do it. There's no amount of reasoning that can give us the Gospel. It is the proclamation of Jesus' victorious death, burial, and resurrection that gives us the Gospel. This is the deliverance we need. And this is the message that we received and that we carry as stewards for our Lord. We proclaim the Gospel in Word through the liturgy, the reading of the Word, and the preaching, Sunday after Sunday. We proclaim the Gospel in the sacrament of baptism when we have the opportunity. One pastor I know refers to baptism as his opportunity to make Christians. It struck me as odd at first. But he's right. We confess that baptism saves you, giving you the pledge of a clear conscience before God. We confess that it washes sins away. This is the Gospel. We proclaim the Gospel in the sacrament of the altar, where we confess that Jesus is truly and bodily present to deliver the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through his body and blood under the bread and the wine. We proclaim the Gospel in the Parish Education classes – Sunday school and adult Bible class and the other opportunities we have for training. Those are opportunities to see how the Gospel applies to us, to receive the encouragement that God’s Word gives us grace, to find out how we can bring the grace of our Lord to our world. Do we have open discussion? We sure do, especially in the Bible classes. But all in all, we don't argue it about the Gospel, we proclaim it. We let the Holy Spirit do the arguing and convince people. And we confess that we are recipients of all these promises of grace, given to us by one and the same Lord.
As recipients of the promises of God we then become stewards of his promises. May the Lord make us faithful stewards of his resurrection, looking in hope to the time when we will rise with him. Amen.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 11 Day 4
Our reading challenge for the day is Acts 25-28. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
Acts 25-26 Paul uses the court system for his protection. He uses it legitimately within the bounds of the law and in keeping with its intent - the protection of the life of a Roman citizen against unlawful prosecution. How do Christians view the courts? Do we treat them as our friends or our enemies?
Acts 27-28 Paul’s journey and his imprisonment in Rome once he arrives there are examples to us of how to view God’s providence in difficult times. Even though they were in peril, Paul, as the one with an eternal hope, carried on in faith, trusting that the Lord could use him to minister to the needs of those around him. How do we act when in trouble?
Acts 25-26 Paul uses the court system for his protection. He uses it legitimately within the bounds of the law and in keeping with its intent - the protection of the life of a Roman citizen against unlawful prosecution. How do Christians view the courts? Do we treat them as our friends or our enemies?
Acts 27-28 Paul’s journey and his imprisonment in Rome once he arrives there are examples to us of how to view God’s providence in difficult times. Even though they were in peril, Paul, as the one with an eternal hope, carried on in faith, trusting that the Lord could use him to minister to the needs of those around him. How do we act when in trouble?
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 11 Day 3
Our reading challenge for the day is Acts 21-24. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
Acts 21 - See how widespread and fully-functioning the Church is - all sorts of believers in many places. yest the servants of the Gospel are under attack by those zealous for the Law.
Acts 22 - The crux of the problem was that the Gospel was for all nations, not just Israel. This is what brings persecution onto Paul by the Jews.
Acts 23 - Though by its typical policy the Roman government was not friendly to Jews and did not distinguish Jews and Christians, still they had constitutional protections for citizens. Paul is not afraid to use them. Are we?
Acts 24 - Paul makes his testimony of Christ clear and also points out that Christians are peaceable people. May we have the same testimony.
Acts 21 - See how widespread and fully-functioning the Church is - all sorts of believers in many places. yest the servants of the Gospel are under attack by those zealous for the Law.
Acts 22 - The crux of the problem was that the Gospel was for all nations, not just Israel. This is what brings persecution onto Paul by the Jews.
Acts 23 - Though by its typical policy the Roman government was not friendly to Jews and did not distinguish Jews and Christians, still they had constitutional protections for citizens. Paul is not afraid to use them. Are we?
Acts 24 - Paul makes his testimony of Christ clear and also points out that Christians are peaceable people. May we have the same testimony.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 11 Day 2
Our reading challenge for the day is Acts 16-20. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
Acts 16 - See how when Paul drives a demon out of a girl and helps her he finds the city turning against him. That situation that looks very bad turns out for good. Not only is the girl healed, which is a good thing, Paul and Silas are released from jail and the jailer and his family are converted. See how quick Paul and Silas are to baptize the man and his household - in the middle of the night when he has first heard and believed on Christ.
Acts 17 - It’s the Jews from Thessalonica who cause Paul and Silas so many problems in Acts 17. I wonder what happened between that time and the time that Paul wrote his letters to the Thessalonians. Paul makes a very eloquent defense of the faith in Athens, but notice there are only a few who believe.
Acts 18 - Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1 that he determined to know only Christ crucified when he went to Corinth. A thriving church was established there, though not one that was without problems.
Acts 19 - In verses 1-7 some people see evidence for re-baptism. But many will see a difference between John’s baptism and Christian baptism. John’s baptism was as a result of repentance. It was a pledge that the believer made by receiving baptism. But Jesus’ baptism seems to be effectual, giving forgiveness, imparting the Holy Spirit. Christian baptism is not a mere symbol. This view is consistent with the supernatural character of God as we see in the remainder of the chapter. It’s this supernaturality of God which causes riots.
Acts 20 - As Paul speaks to the Ephesian elders he gives them commissions to continue to pass the Gospel on from generation to generation. Some churches consider elders as the equivalent of a board of directors rather than as people who engage in shepherding God’s flock. I wonder if we can recapture the idea of biblical eldership?
Acts 16 - See how when Paul drives a demon out of a girl and helps her he finds the city turning against him. That situation that looks very bad turns out for good. Not only is the girl healed, which is a good thing, Paul and Silas are released from jail and the jailer and his family are converted. See how quick Paul and Silas are to baptize the man and his household - in the middle of the night when he has first heard and believed on Christ.
Acts 17 - It’s the Jews from Thessalonica who cause Paul and Silas so many problems in Acts 17. I wonder what happened between that time and the time that Paul wrote his letters to the Thessalonians. Paul makes a very eloquent defense of the faith in Athens, but notice there are only a few who believe.
Acts 18 - Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1 that he determined to know only Christ crucified when he went to Corinth. A thriving church was established there, though not one that was without problems.
Acts 19 - In verses 1-7 some people see evidence for re-baptism. But many will see a difference between John’s baptism and Christian baptism. John’s baptism was as a result of repentance. It was a pledge that the believer made by receiving baptism. But Jesus’ baptism seems to be effectual, giving forgiveness, imparting the Holy Spirit. Christian baptism is not a mere symbol. This view is consistent with the supernatural character of God as we see in the remainder of the chapter. It’s this supernaturality of God which causes riots.
Acts 20 - As Paul speaks to the Ephesian elders he gives them commissions to continue to pass the Gospel on from generation to generation. Some churches consider elders as the equivalent of a board of directors rather than as people who engage in shepherding God’s flock. I wonder if we can recapture the idea of biblical eldership?
Monday, March 12, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 11 Day 1
Our reading challenge for the day is Acts 11-15. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
Acts 11 - Peter, surprised by seeing God’s grace come to the Gentiles, defends his actions before others who don’t think the Gentiles can receive Christ. What people do we think can’t believe and be saved from sin? Do we pray for them?
Acts 12 - Even as the Word of God is increasing, Christians are enduring hardship. See the irony of the prayer meeting, begging the Lord to deliver Peter from prison. When Peter is released from prison by the angel he interrupts the praying people, who don’t believe their prayers were answered. Yet God’s works in our midst should remain startling to us. He is never commonplace.
Acts 13 - Sometimes we want to look for miraculous signs. Yet see how in this chapter the greatest miracle is shown as the Lord calls people to himself in faith. Occasionally God uses a person to do a striking miracle but usually he quietly works repentance and faith in their hearts, the most incredible miracle we ever see, as it undoes the sin of our father Adam.
Acts 14 - Often we think of persecutions in the church coming from the pagan government. Here we are reminded that it was the Jews who persecuted Christians. The pagans had a tendency to accept the claims of Jesus. See how Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in the churches - the elders seem to have a pastoral role but we know very little about how they were prepared, only that they served by appointment.
Acts 15 - I’m struck by how many different people are involved in leadership at this point - many who are not among the Twelve. The message remains the same - salvation by grace through faith. It is not through circumcision or culturally becoming Jewish. See how Paul and Barnabas both seem to be considered apostles and how they receive and follow directives made by others, including possibly some who are not among the Twelve. The structure of the early Church was quite interesting.
Acts 11 - Peter, surprised by seeing God’s grace come to the Gentiles, defends his actions before others who don’t think the Gentiles can receive Christ. What people do we think can’t believe and be saved from sin? Do we pray for them?
Acts 12 - Even as the Word of God is increasing, Christians are enduring hardship. See the irony of the prayer meeting, begging the Lord to deliver Peter from prison. When Peter is released from prison by the angel he interrupts the praying people, who don’t believe their prayers were answered. Yet God’s works in our midst should remain startling to us. He is never commonplace.
Acts 13 - Sometimes we want to look for miraculous signs. Yet see how in this chapter the greatest miracle is shown as the Lord calls people to himself in faith. Occasionally God uses a person to do a striking miracle but usually he quietly works repentance and faith in their hearts, the most incredible miracle we ever see, as it undoes the sin of our father Adam.
Acts 14 - Often we think of persecutions in the church coming from the pagan government. Here we are reminded that it was the Jews who persecuted Christians. The pagans had a tendency to accept the claims of Jesus. See how Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in the churches - the elders seem to have a pastoral role but we know very little about how they were prepared, only that they served by appointment.
Acts 15 - I’m struck by how many different people are involved in leadership at this point - many who are not among the Twelve. The message remains the same - salvation by grace through faith. It is not through circumcision or culturally becoming Jewish. See how Paul and Barnabas both seem to be considered apostles and how they receive and follow directives made by others, including possibly some who are not among the Twelve. The structure of the early Church was quite interesting.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sermon for 3/10/12 "Clear for Action"
Sermon “Clear for Action” (Exodus 20, John 2, 1 Cor. 1, Acts 1-10)
Lord, let us hear your word and respond with a whole heart, growing in grace and the knowledge of You, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Today we heard God's commands, his holy commands. There we have the first principles of the Christian faith. I recall when my older daughter was in third grade one of the songs her class sang at a school program was about the ten commandments. The teacher wanted to be sure that her students would learn God's commands so they could live a life in accordance with God's high calling. We were blessed to have a Christian school where God's word was taken seriously and where the teachers would encourage students in the faith. And this is a great blessing. I don't think it's a secret to anyone here that I'm wholeheartedly committed to Christian schooling, and am a supporter of home schooling. This is one way parents can work to nurture their children, showing them how all of life is centered on God's word, and how the Lord has created and sustains all things by his gracious command. So we teach our children God's commands. The perfect ten! God's commandments which will never pass away reveal some of his character to us. They tell us how to live an upright life in our society. As Lutherans we may well be familiar with the terms “curb” “guide” and “mirror.” The Law of God hinders evil. It's a curb. It shows us what is pleasing to God. It's a guide. And it shows us our sin, as we look at ourselves in light of the Word. It's a mirror. So we uphold God's commands. We teach them to our catechism class. Our adult class ran into them earlier this year as well, as I've been encouraging people who are not in confirmation class to consider a portion of the catechism each week, just like the confirmands. If we all nourish ourselves on God's Word and wise Christian teaching together we will find that we are able to encourage one another in the faith. So we hear the commandments. We strive to do the commandments. Like Mrs. Jones taught her third grade class, and may still be teaching them today, as far as I know, God's commands are good. They will not pass away.
Yet I need to ask you a question. Is that all there is to life? Is that all there is to the Christian faith? Keep God's commands? Where's the love of God in all this? Of course we could argue, and argue well, that God's love is shown as he uses his commands to guard us from evil and to show us what is pleasing to him. But then there's that annoying fact of the mirror. You know how the mirror works, right? I wonder how many of you have ever walked into a dance studio? You really find out what a mirror does there, because usually at least three walls of the rehearsal space are covered with mirrors. I know what the mirror does for me. They say a mirror puts ten pounds onto you. I'd like to think then that having a dozen mirrors makes me look a hundred and twenty pounds overweight and that I'm really skinny. Afraid that's not so. But you know it and I know it. The mirror shows our flaws. It points out to us what others might miss. And we tend to be more concerned about ourselves than others are. Married men all know this feeling. Our wives ask us if their hair is all right. Then they want to know if we looked carefully enough. The fact is, most of you aren't nearly as conscious of my hair, face, or clothes as I am when I look in a mirror. And I'm not as aware of your appearance as you are when you check yourself in the mirror. God's Law acts as a mirror, and it shows us our flaws. If God's law is all there is to life, we are in deep deep trouble. He turns on the light of his word and shows up all our faults, at least all that we can stand to see. This is why people come to me and look ashamed, telling me about sin before I ask. God's word shows our sin. And if we end there, we are condemned. We are hopeless. We realize that we are sinners. And we confess – thought, word, deed, commission, omission – it's all there. We're condemned.
Ah, God's perfect law. When we have a sermon title like “Clear for Action” we probably think the sermon will be about casting out sin, getting it out of the way, clearing the decks so we can do righteous works. But now we've spent about half the sermon (I know you're watching your watches, some of you decided not to have breakfast before church) talking about God's Law but not seeing how it prepares us to live a victorious life. That's actually exactly the problem I had with the third grade class and their song about God's perfect ten commandments. What were they prepared to do? Go and live according to God's commandments? How? Either they would be end up lowering their view of the commands so as to convince themselves they were obeying them or they would be driven by despair to see that they could never live a life pleasing to God.
So how are we going to clear the decks for action? We've got this burden of sin. It's weighing us down. If we can't get rid of it we're bound to capsize. We saw in our Gospel reading that the solution our Lord provided was that of sacrifice. He gives offerings which can carry our sin, releasing us. And as you read in the Bible this week, wrapping up the book of Numbers, release from sin is a messy process. It's full of death, the death of many animals on your behalf, again and again. So the people of Israel were engaged in this life of offering, of sacrifice, with the priest taking an animal and killing it before God on behalf of the sinner who needed release from sin. Out of kindness people had begun selling sacrificial animals at the temple. After all, some people had to come a long distance. Would their animals be acceptable when they arrived? So it is a good thing for people to be able to exchange money for an acceptable animal. Money travels pretty well. Yet once again, God's law, the law of sacrifice, did its work as a mirror. What did the people who sold sacrificial animals do? They agreed with the banking industry to accept only certain types of money, which would often have to come from the bank branch which they set up in front of the temple. They also agreed with the priests that the priests would accept only certain sacrificial animals, those sold in the temple courts. So a famer could count on the livestock he raised being rejected. Instead, he would have to exchange it for money where he lived, take the money, possibly exchange it and pay an ATM fee, buy an offering at the temple, and then make his sacrifice. The result? An expensive offering which may have been a substandard animal, and a profit for the money changer and the person who sold animals for sacrifice. Sin once again weighs us down. We need to be cleared of this. Thanks be to God, Jesus comes into the courts and condemns the selfishness of those people. They aren't enabling worshipers to come before God. They are hindering them.
All our works, all our attempts at obedience – are they evil? No, not really, but the sin in our lives makes our attempts, even our most faithful attempts corrupt. We are not able to save ourselves by any of our obedience. We need something different. We need the renewal of the Holy Spirit. We need a sacrifice substituted for us. We need Christ crucified for sinners. We need just what Paul was talking about in our reading from 1 Corinthians 1. We need just what we read about in the Bible reading challenge as we read the beginning of the book of Acts. Because what we saw there, in Acts 1:8, was that God promised he would recreate his disciples. He said they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they would be his witnesses.
So now is the time I tell you to clear the decks for action. Sweep out your sin and shame by the power of the Holy Spirit. Go and be witnesses! But there's still something missing. Leaving you like that would be, well, wrong. It would leave you with a command to keep those commandments. You can't make the Holy Spirit clean you. You can't make yourself be a witness. And what's more, when Jesus tells his disciples they will be witnesses, he is not making a command. So when the pastor of the independent church I used to belong to told us to obey this verse by going, he was wrong. So was the Assembly of God pastor. So was the pastor of the Evangelical Free church. So was the Southern Baptist pastor. So was the Presbyterian pastor. I hate to say it, but so was the Lutheran pastor. In Acts 1:8 there are no verbs which make commands. The verbs are descriptive. In grammar we call them “indicative” verbs. They indicate something that is happening. They are not “imperative,” verbs, which make commands. Those have a different form. Here's what Jesus is saying. He is saying to his disciples that they will be people who have the power of the Holy Spirit and that they will be people who can be described as witnesses. That's who they are. It isn't what he commands them to do.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus takes the burden off of the disciples. He says they are going to live their lives, and because of his work in them, their lives will be lives that testify to him. What happens? They receive the power of the Holy Spirit. They live out their Christian life, talking about what comes naturally to those who have been changed by God – they talk about God's wonderful works, about what the Lord says in the Scripture. They live lives together, doing good. And their lives are testimonies to the Lord. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, he determined to know nothing but Christ crucified when he went to Corinth. This was a different message. It was the message of a life recreated by Jesus' love.
Does this mean we ignore God's commands? No, we've still got that curb and guide. It delights our Lord when we take his commands seriously. But salvation is not, and has never been, by the works of the Law. It has always been by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us. He is the one who recreates us. He is the one who fills us with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who makes us his witnesses. And he is the one who goes on through the book of Acts to do all those mighty deeds, turning the world upside down, brringing people to himself in faith. He uses his witnesses, people just like you and me. But he is the one who does it all.
Stand with me, if you can, in prayer. Lord, you have created a people for yourself. You have made witnesses in this community, and you have made them right here. Grant that we may walk as your faithful witnesses in our community, rejoicing in your word, seeing, knowing, and showing that it is by your grace that we are saved from all our sin and shame. Grant us repentance and faith, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, let us hear your word and respond with a whole heart, growing in grace and the knowledge of You, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Today we heard God's commands, his holy commands. There we have the first principles of the Christian faith. I recall when my older daughter was in third grade one of the songs her class sang at a school program was about the ten commandments. The teacher wanted to be sure that her students would learn God's commands so they could live a life in accordance with God's high calling. We were blessed to have a Christian school where God's word was taken seriously and where the teachers would encourage students in the faith. And this is a great blessing. I don't think it's a secret to anyone here that I'm wholeheartedly committed to Christian schooling, and am a supporter of home schooling. This is one way parents can work to nurture their children, showing them how all of life is centered on God's word, and how the Lord has created and sustains all things by his gracious command. So we teach our children God's commands. The perfect ten! God's commandments which will never pass away reveal some of his character to us. They tell us how to live an upright life in our society. As Lutherans we may well be familiar with the terms “curb” “guide” and “mirror.” The Law of God hinders evil. It's a curb. It shows us what is pleasing to God. It's a guide. And it shows us our sin, as we look at ourselves in light of the Word. It's a mirror. So we uphold God's commands. We teach them to our catechism class. Our adult class ran into them earlier this year as well, as I've been encouraging people who are not in confirmation class to consider a portion of the catechism each week, just like the confirmands. If we all nourish ourselves on God's Word and wise Christian teaching together we will find that we are able to encourage one another in the faith. So we hear the commandments. We strive to do the commandments. Like Mrs. Jones taught her third grade class, and may still be teaching them today, as far as I know, God's commands are good. They will not pass away.
Yet I need to ask you a question. Is that all there is to life? Is that all there is to the Christian faith? Keep God's commands? Where's the love of God in all this? Of course we could argue, and argue well, that God's love is shown as he uses his commands to guard us from evil and to show us what is pleasing to him. But then there's that annoying fact of the mirror. You know how the mirror works, right? I wonder how many of you have ever walked into a dance studio? You really find out what a mirror does there, because usually at least three walls of the rehearsal space are covered with mirrors. I know what the mirror does for me. They say a mirror puts ten pounds onto you. I'd like to think then that having a dozen mirrors makes me look a hundred and twenty pounds overweight and that I'm really skinny. Afraid that's not so. But you know it and I know it. The mirror shows our flaws. It points out to us what others might miss. And we tend to be more concerned about ourselves than others are. Married men all know this feeling. Our wives ask us if their hair is all right. Then they want to know if we looked carefully enough. The fact is, most of you aren't nearly as conscious of my hair, face, or clothes as I am when I look in a mirror. And I'm not as aware of your appearance as you are when you check yourself in the mirror. God's Law acts as a mirror, and it shows us our flaws. If God's law is all there is to life, we are in deep deep trouble. He turns on the light of his word and shows up all our faults, at least all that we can stand to see. This is why people come to me and look ashamed, telling me about sin before I ask. God's word shows our sin. And if we end there, we are condemned. We are hopeless. We realize that we are sinners. And we confess – thought, word, deed, commission, omission – it's all there. We're condemned.
Ah, God's perfect law. When we have a sermon title like “Clear for Action” we probably think the sermon will be about casting out sin, getting it out of the way, clearing the decks so we can do righteous works. But now we've spent about half the sermon (I know you're watching your watches, some of you decided not to have breakfast before church) talking about God's Law but not seeing how it prepares us to live a victorious life. That's actually exactly the problem I had with the third grade class and their song about God's perfect ten commandments. What were they prepared to do? Go and live according to God's commandments? How? Either they would be end up lowering their view of the commands so as to convince themselves they were obeying them or they would be driven by despair to see that they could never live a life pleasing to God.
So how are we going to clear the decks for action? We've got this burden of sin. It's weighing us down. If we can't get rid of it we're bound to capsize. We saw in our Gospel reading that the solution our Lord provided was that of sacrifice. He gives offerings which can carry our sin, releasing us. And as you read in the Bible this week, wrapping up the book of Numbers, release from sin is a messy process. It's full of death, the death of many animals on your behalf, again and again. So the people of Israel were engaged in this life of offering, of sacrifice, with the priest taking an animal and killing it before God on behalf of the sinner who needed release from sin. Out of kindness people had begun selling sacrificial animals at the temple. After all, some people had to come a long distance. Would their animals be acceptable when they arrived? So it is a good thing for people to be able to exchange money for an acceptable animal. Money travels pretty well. Yet once again, God's law, the law of sacrifice, did its work as a mirror. What did the people who sold sacrificial animals do? They agreed with the banking industry to accept only certain types of money, which would often have to come from the bank branch which they set up in front of the temple. They also agreed with the priests that the priests would accept only certain sacrificial animals, those sold in the temple courts. So a famer could count on the livestock he raised being rejected. Instead, he would have to exchange it for money where he lived, take the money, possibly exchange it and pay an ATM fee, buy an offering at the temple, and then make his sacrifice. The result? An expensive offering which may have been a substandard animal, and a profit for the money changer and the person who sold animals for sacrifice. Sin once again weighs us down. We need to be cleared of this. Thanks be to God, Jesus comes into the courts and condemns the selfishness of those people. They aren't enabling worshipers to come before God. They are hindering them.
All our works, all our attempts at obedience – are they evil? No, not really, but the sin in our lives makes our attempts, even our most faithful attempts corrupt. We are not able to save ourselves by any of our obedience. We need something different. We need the renewal of the Holy Spirit. We need a sacrifice substituted for us. We need Christ crucified for sinners. We need just what Paul was talking about in our reading from 1 Corinthians 1. We need just what we read about in the Bible reading challenge as we read the beginning of the book of Acts. Because what we saw there, in Acts 1:8, was that God promised he would recreate his disciples. He said they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they would be his witnesses.
So now is the time I tell you to clear the decks for action. Sweep out your sin and shame by the power of the Holy Spirit. Go and be witnesses! But there's still something missing. Leaving you like that would be, well, wrong. It would leave you with a command to keep those commandments. You can't make the Holy Spirit clean you. You can't make yourself be a witness. And what's more, when Jesus tells his disciples they will be witnesses, he is not making a command. So when the pastor of the independent church I used to belong to told us to obey this verse by going, he was wrong. So was the Assembly of God pastor. So was the pastor of the Evangelical Free church. So was the Southern Baptist pastor. So was the Presbyterian pastor. I hate to say it, but so was the Lutheran pastor. In Acts 1:8 there are no verbs which make commands. The verbs are descriptive. In grammar we call them “indicative” verbs. They indicate something that is happening. They are not “imperative,” verbs, which make commands. Those have a different form. Here's what Jesus is saying. He is saying to his disciples that they will be people who have the power of the Holy Spirit and that they will be people who can be described as witnesses. That's who they are. It isn't what he commands them to do.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus takes the burden off of the disciples. He says they are going to live their lives, and because of his work in them, their lives will be lives that testify to him. What happens? They receive the power of the Holy Spirit. They live out their Christian life, talking about what comes naturally to those who have been changed by God – they talk about God's wonderful works, about what the Lord says in the Scripture. They live lives together, doing good. And their lives are testimonies to the Lord. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, he determined to know nothing but Christ crucified when he went to Corinth. This was a different message. It was the message of a life recreated by Jesus' love.
Does this mean we ignore God's commands? No, we've still got that curb and guide. It delights our Lord when we take his commands seriously. But salvation is not, and has never been, by the works of the Law. It has always been by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us. He is the one who recreates us. He is the one who fills us with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who makes us his witnesses. And he is the one who goes on through the book of Acts to do all those mighty deeds, turning the world upside down, brringing people to himself in faith. He uses his witnesses, people just like you and me. But he is the one who does it all.
Stand with me, if you can, in prayer. Lord, you have created a people for yourself. You have made witnesses in this community, and you have made them right here. Grant that we may walk as your faithful witnesses in our community, rejoicing in your word, seeing, knowing, and showing that it is by your grace that we are saved from all our sin and shame. Grant us repentance and faith, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 10 Day 5
Our reading challenge for the day is Acts 6-10. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
Acts 6 - Are these seven men deacons? They seem to do the work noted for deacons in the Epistles. See that their duty is to serve the needs of the saints and enable the apostles to be devoted to prayer and “ministry of the word.” The service of these seven men has an impact on the Christians which goes far beyond what they are actually doing themselves.
Acts 7 - Stephen, one of the seven from chapter six, acts in many ways like one of the apostles. He teaches boldly about Jesus, even though he is arrested and killed for his testimony. In his testimony notice that Stephen talks about God’s works, not about his own response to God’s mercy.
Acts 8 - Despite opposition the work of the Gospel continues. God is continuing to use those people according to his decree in Acts 1:8. They are his witnesses and he uses them wherever they go.
Acts 9 - Saul the Pharisee is confronted by Jesus. We’ll notice later he makes claims that he received revelation directly from Jesus and that he saw Jesus just as truly as the other apostles. God can take the most evil people and use them for his purposes.
Acts 10 - It was a huge surprise to Peter when Cornelius’ household received the Holy Spirit. Why was this? Because they were not certain you could believe on Jesus without becoming a Jew first. The Holy Spirit dwells in all who believe on Jesus.
Acts 6 - Are these seven men deacons? They seem to do the work noted for deacons in the Epistles. See that their duty is to serve the needs of the saints and enable the apostles to be devoted to prayer and “ministry of the word.” The service of these seven men has an impact on the Christians which goes far beyond what they are actually doing themselves.
Acts 7 - Stephen, one of the seven from chapter six, acts in many ways like one of the apostles. He teaches boldly about Jesus, even though he is arrested and killed for his testimony. In his testimony notice that Stephen talks about God’s works, not about his own response to God’s mercy.
Acts 8 - Despite opposition the work of the Gospel continues. God is continuing to use those people according to his decree in Acts 1:8. They are his witnesses and he uses them wherever they go.
Acts 9 - Saul the Pharisee is confronted by Jesus. We’ll notice later he makes claims that he received revelation directly from Jesus and that he saw Jesus just as truly as the other apostles. God can take the most evil people and use them for his purposes.
Acts 10 - It was a huge surprise to Peter when Cornelius’ household received the Holy Spirit. Why was this? Because they were not certain you could believe on Jesus without becoming a Jew first. The Holy Spirit dwells in all who believe on Jesus.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Bible Reading Challenge Week 10 Day 4
Our reading challenge for the day is Acts 1-5. I’ll hit a few highlights. You make comments too and fill in the gaps. What strikes you as specially significant?
In those first five chapters of Acts we see that the Lord is true to his word. He says that he will make the disciples witnesses. And that is exactly what he does. The believers go about their natural business, but they are transformed by the Holy Spirit so that they are witnesses to Christ. It is not a matter of them going and deciding to be witnesses. In fact, when Jesus tells the disciples in Acts 1:8 that they will be witnesses, he is not making a command. The verb is indicative. It describes what they are, rather than commanding them what to do.
How do we see ourselves, followers of Jesus, being made into witnesses? What do people see? Do they see Jesus in us? Or do we try to hide him? The disciples who were used by the Holy Spirit to turn their world upside down were simply being the people they were created to be. May the Lord use us the same way.
In those first five chapters of Acts we see that the Lord is true to his word. He says that he will make the disciples witnesses. And that is exactly what he does. The believers go about their natural business, but they are transformed by the Holy Spirit so that they are witnesses to Christ. It is not a matter of them going and deciding to be witnesses. In fact, when Jesus tells the disciples in Acts 1:8 that they will be witnesses, he is not making a command. The verb is indicative. It describes what they are, rather than commanding them what to do.
How do we see ourselves, followers of Jesus, being made into witnesses? What do people see? Do they see Jesus in us? Or do we try to hide him? The disciples who were used by the Holy Spirit to turn their world upside down were simply being the people they were created to be. May the Lord use us the same way.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
"Acts"
"Acts" Carson & Moo pp. 285-330
Acts serves in a way as the second volume of the gospel according to Luke, but in a way as the historical document cataloging the progress of the gospel from its roots at the time of the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem to the middle of the first century, by which time it had spread to a significant portion of the Roman empire. Carson and Moo outline as follows beginning on p. 286.
p. 286 "Prologue: foundations for the church and its mission (1:1-2:41). Luke begins by rooting the church and its mission in Jesus' acts and words.
p. 286 "The church in Jerusalem (2:42-6:7). Luke begins this section with a summary of the characteristics of the early church in Jerusalem."
p. 287 "Wider horizons for the church: Stephen, Samaria, and Saul (6:8-9:31).
p. 287 "Peter and the first gentile convert (9:32-12:24).
p. 288 "Paul turns to the Gentiles (12:25-16:5). From Peter, luke turns now to Paul, who dominates the remainder of the book. Paul's significance for Luke lies in his being used by God to pioneer an extensive ministry to Gentiles, to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth, and to show that the gospel was no direct threat to the Roman government.
p. 288 "Further Penetration into the Gentile world 916:6-19:20). It seems a bit odd that we should divide Luke's story at this point. Yet by the care with which he shows how Paul was directed by God's Spirit step-by-step to take the gospel into Macedonia (16:6-10), Luke implies that we have reached a decisive stage."
p. 289 "On to Rome (19:21-28:31). Again we may feel that it is rather artificial to insert a major break in the midst of Paul's stay in ephesus. But Luke again suggests such a break with his first indication that Paul was determined to go to Rome (19:21-22).
AUTHOR
The Traditional Case - throughout history it has been broadly held that Luke was the author of both Luke and Acts. p. 291 "The tradition that Luke, a companion of Paul, was the author of the third gospel and of Acts is early and unchallenged: The Muratorian Canon (C. a.d. 180-200?), Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. 3.1; 3.14.1-4), the anti-Marcionite prologue (end of second century), Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 5.12), Tertullian (Adv. Marc. 4.2), and Eusebius (H.E. 3.4; 3.24.15).
The Case against the Tradition
Arguments from the external evidence don't seem to hold much weight. They are advanced but are not overly persuasive. Even the alleged differences in theological orientation between Paul as revealed in his letters and Paul as described in Acts are not differences which can't be harmonized.
Conclusion - Carson and Moo do not find a convincing reason not to conclude that Luke was the author of Acts.
DATE
Dates suggested range from about A.D. 62 to the second century. A second century date originated with the Tubingen school, dating it from the first outside reference to the book. This view has fallen out of favor and is no longer held by many scholars. More scholars suggest that Acts was written in the 80s. It is suggested that it should be dated quite a while after the gospel, which is typically dated no earlier than 70. The book tends to have a fairly optimistic view of Roman government, which would be less likely during a period of state persecution. A date before 70 can be supported by the abrupt ending which leaves Paul in the year 62 without resolving his imprisonment, despite the fact that Paul appears to have been released from prison for a period about 62 before being imprisoned and executed around 64 or 65. For this reason, Carson and Moo suggest a date in the early to mid 60s.
GENRE, ADDRESSEES, AND PURPOSE
Genre - Luke's writing fits generally into the realm of historiography, though it has a strong element of the gospel.
Addressees and Purpose - Acts is addressed to Theophilus, probably a patron of Luke. Finding how much broader the intended audience might have been depends on Luke's purpose, which is not clearly stated in the text. He may have written to seek conciliation between different factions of early Christianity. He may have been writing to provide examples of evangelistic and apologetic works. The work includes some strong theological elements which may suggest that Luke is intending to clarify orthodox doctrine. And the theme of edification of the Christian is pervasive, indicating that Luke may well have desired to strengthen Christian communities through a narrative of the early events of the Church.
SOURCES
We do not have much information about the sources Luke may have had. He is clear that much of his material comes from research, and that research may include written and oral sources. Some of the material comes from his own eyewitness account, apparently, as there are the "we" passages of the text.
TEXT
The text of Acts is intriguing as there are two distinct text traditions. One of the two, the Western tradition, is approximately ten percent longer than the text in the Codex Sinaiticus. It is unclear at many points which may have been closer to the original text.
ACTS IN RECENT STUDY
Carson and Moo survey recent research about Acts, much of which focuses on finding the purposes which Luke may have held in writing. A great deal of effort has also gone into identifying whether Luke's writing is as historically accurate as other ancient historians. Since the mid 1960s Luke as the theologian has emerged.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF ACTS
Acts has been shown again and again to be a reliable and definitive text to inform us about the events of the early Church. Where events mentioned by Luke are mentioned by other historians Luke appears to be sound and accurate. Our expectation would be that he is a credible witness to other events as well. p. 321 "Perhaps Luke's most important contribution is precisely this careful linking of the apostolic proclamation of the Word of God with the word that Jesus both taught and fulfilled. The "Word of God" thus binds together Luke's two volumes, as the salvation that the angel first announced on the night of Jesus' birth on a Judean hillside is brought finally to the capital of the Roman Empire. Luke focuses on six key theolgoical themes, identified by Carson and Moo on pp. 322 and following.
1) The Plan of God
2) The Presence of the Future
3) Salvation
4) The Word of God
5) The Holy Spirit
6) The People of God
All these themes are illustrative of the ongoing work of the Gospel in the people of the primitive Church.
This chapter points up that in a book like Acts there is more than meets the eye at first. We can look to the text on many different levels.
Acts serves in a way as the second volume of the gospel according to Luke, but in a way as the historical document cataloging the progress of the gospel from its roots at the time of the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem to the middle of the first century, by which time it had spread to a significant portion of the Roman empire. Carson and Moo outline as follows beginning on p. 286.
p. 286 "Prologue: foundations for the church and its mission (1:1-2:41). Luke begins by rooting the church and its mission in Jesus' acts and words.
p. 286 "The church in Jerusalem (2:42-6:7). Luke begins this section with a summary of the characteristics of the early church in Jerusalem."
p. 287 "Wider horizons for the church: Stephen, Samaria, and Saul (6:8-9:31).
p. 287 "Peter and the first gentile convert (9:32-12:24).
p. 288 "Paul turns to the Gentiles (12:25-16:5). From Peter, luke turns now to Paul, who dominates the remainder of the book. Paul's significance for Luke lies in his being used by God to pioneer an extensive ministry to Gentiles, to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth, and to show that the gospel was no direct threat to the Roman government.
p. 288 "Further Penetration into the Gentile world 916:6-19:20). It seems a bit odd that we should divide Luke's story at this point. Yet by the care with which he shows how Paul was directed by God's Spirit step-by-step to take the gospel into Macedonia (16:6-10), Luke implies that we have reached a decisive stage."
p. 289 "On to Rome (19:21-28:31). Again we may feel that it is rather artificial to insert a major break in the midst of Paul's stay in ephesus. But Luke again suggests such a break with his first indication that Paul was determined to go to Rome (19:21-22).
AUTHOR
The Traditional Case - throughout history it has been broadly held that Luke was the author of both Luke and Acts. p. 291 "The tradition that Luke, a companion of Paul, was the author of the third gospel and of Acts is early and unchallenged: The Muratorian Canon (C. a.d. 180-200?), Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. 3.1; 3.14.1-4), the anti-Marcionite prologue (end of second century), Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 5.12), Tertullian (Adv. Marc. 4.2), and Eusebius (H.E. 3.4; 3.24.15).
The Case against the Tradition
Arguments from the external evidence don't seem to hold much weight. They are advanced but are not overly persuasive. Even the alleged differences in theological orientation between Paul as revealed in his letters and Paul as described in Acts are not differences which can't be harmonized.
Conclusion - Carson and Moo do not find a convincing reason not to conclude that Luke was the author of Acts.
DATE
Dates suggested range from about A.D. 62 to the second century. A second century date originated with the Tubingen school, dating it from the first outside reference to the book. This view has fallen out of favor and is no longer held by many scholars. More scholars suggest that Acts was written in the 80s. It is suggested that it should be dated quite a while after the gospel, which is typically dated no earlier than 70. The book tends to have a fairly optimistic view of Roman government, which would be less likely during a period of state persecution. A date before 70 can be supported by the abrupt ending which leaves Paul in the year 62 without resolving his imprisonment, despite the fact that Paul appears to have been released from prison for a period about 62 before being imprisoned and executed around 64 or 65. For this reason, Carson and Moo suggest a date in the early to mid 60s.
GENRE, ADDRESSEES, AND PURPOSE
Genre - Luke's writing fits generally into the realm of historiography, though it has a strong element of the gospel.
Addressees and Purpose - Acts is addressed to Theophilus, probably a patron of Luke. Finding how much broader the intended audience might have been depends on Luke's purpose, which is not clearly stated in the text. He may have written to seek conciliation between different factions of early Christianity. He may have been writing to provide examples of evangelistic and apologetic works. The work includes some strong theological elements which may suggest that Luke is intending to clarify orthodox doctrine. And the theme of edification of the Christian is pervasive, indicating that Luke may well have desired to strengthen Christian communities through a narrative of the early events of the Church.
SOURCES
We do not have much information about the sources Luke may have had. He is clear that much of his material comes from research, and that research may include written and oral sources. Some of the material comes from his own eyewitness account, apparently, as there are the "we" passages of the text.
TEXT
The text of Acts is intriguing as there are two distinct text traditions. One of the two, the Western tradition, is approximately ten percent longer than the text in the Codex Sinaiticus. It is unclear at many points which may have been closer to the original text.
ACTS IN RECENT STUDY
Carson and Moo survey recent research about Acts, much of which focuses on finding the purposes which Luke may have held in writing. A great deal of effort has also gone into identifying whether Luke's writing is as historically accurate as other ancient historians. Since the mid 1960s Luke as the theologian has emerged.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF ACTS
Acts has been shown again and again to be a reliable and definitive text to inform us about the events of the early Church. Where events mentioned by Luke are mentioned by other historians Luke appears to be sound and accurate. Our expectation would be that he is a credible witness to other events as well. p. 321 "Perhaps Luke's most important contribution is precisely this careful linking of the apostolic proclamation of the Word of God with the word that Jesus both taught and fulfilled. The "Word of God" thus binds together Luke's two volumes, as the salvation that the angel first announced on the night of Jesus' birth on a Judean hillside is brought finally to the capital of the Roman Empire. Luke focuses on six key theolgoical themes, identified by Carson and Moo on pp. 322 and following.
1) The Plan of God
2) The Presence of the Future
3) Salvation
4) The Word of God
5) The Holy Spirit
6) The People of God
All these themes are illustrative of the ongoing work of the Gospel in the people of the primitive Church.
This chapter points up that in a book like Acts there is more than meets the eye at first. We can look to the text on many different levels.
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