Whether it is among family, at work, or in the justice system or government, favoritism or partiality can be a huge problem. The question that Peter answers, as he speaks to a crowd in the home of the Gentile Cornelius, is whether or not such a charge can be made against God as it often is against man. Peter declares to this crowd of people who are earnestly seeking God, but are outside of the Covenant of Abraham, that he is absolutely certain that "God does not show favoritism". How can this be when God has a Chosen People, a holy nation that has received the blessings of the Covenant? The answer, although radical to mind of the Jewish nation, is that God is willing to accept all people who "fear him and do what is right." Peter then proceeds to explain to the people that Jesus Christ has made this relationship with God possible through his death and resurrection.
The results of Peter's message are immediate and dramatic. The Holy Spirit comes upon those listening and confirms without a doubt that God is indeed amongst these Gentiles who demonstrated their faith by gathering to hear the word of God from Peter. Peter, along with the Jewish Christians who traveled with him from Joppa, can now see that the same Spirit of God has been poured out upon all who believe in Jesus, regardless of their past, race, or gender. Is there any favoritism with God, no, he gives grace to us all if only we will accept it.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Sermon Video: Peter and the Gentiles, Part 1 - Acts 10:1-29
Have you ever wondered how wide or how deep God's mercy is? Are there any sinners to vile to be saved? Are there any sinners who fall outside of the scope of God's redemption? In Acts, Luke answers the first question by showing the Saul of Tarsus could be redeemed even though his heart was full of murderous intent. The second question is answered when God calls Peter to go to Caesarea and share the Gospel with a Roman centurion named Cornelius.
The choice of Cornelius was not one that Peter made himself; he was doing great work for God in Joppa when God sent him a perplexing dream about clean and unclean animals. While Peter was trying to figure this vision out, wondering if God was being literal or metaphorical, messengers from Cornelius arrived to say that God had told Cornelius to send for Peter. Wait a minute; God had spoken to a Roman soldier?? This is actually the third time in Luke's account (which includes his Gospel) that a Roman centurion has played a key role, the other two being the amazing faith of the centurion from Capernaum and the centurion's proclamation at the foot of the cross. Now, God has once again found faith amongst the Gentiles by choosing this man, a man with a reputation of devotion to God and service for the poor, to be the recipient of Peter's first foray into sharing the Gospel outside of the Covenant people.
Cornelius sent for Peter without knowing what message he would bring, I'm not sure that Peter knew what he was going to say until he arrived at Cornelius' house. The message that Peter had to share will be in part 2 of this message, but his conviction that he must share the Gospel with them was made perfectly clear when Peter entered Cornelius' house to discover a large crowd of friends and relatives that had all gathered to hear what this messenger from God had to say.
There can be no boundaries to the Gospel, there can be no man, woman, or child that is off the list of potential believers. God's grace is deep enough, God's grace is wide enough to reach us all.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
The choice of Cornelius was not one that Peter made himself; he was doing great work for God in Joppa when God sent him a perplexing dream about clean and unclean animals. While Peter was trying to figure this vision out, wondering if God was being literal or metaphorical, messengers from Cornelius arrived to say that God had told Cornelius to send for Peter. Wait a minute; God had spoken to a Roman soldier?? This is actually the third time in Luke's account (which includes his Gospel) that a Roman centurion has played a key role, the other two being the amazing faith of the centurion from Capernaum and the centurion's proclamation at the foot of the cross. Now, God has once again found faith amongst the Gentiles by choosing this man, a man with a reputation of devotion to God and service for the poor, to be the recipient of Peter's first foray into sharing the Gospel outside of the Covenant people.
Cornelius sent for Peter without knowing what message he would bring, I'm not sure that Peter knew what he was going to say until he arrived at Cornelius' house. The message that Peter had to share will be in part 2 of this message, but his conviction that he must share the Gospel with them was made perfectly clear when Peter entered Cornelius' house to discover a large crowd of friends and relatives that had all gathered to hear what this messenger from God had to say.
There can be no boundaries to the Gospel, there can be no man, woman, or child that is off the list of potential believers. God's grace is deep enough, God's grace is wide enough to reach us all.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Can we get past the past?
I was working on my sermon for this week, from Acts 10:1-29, where God is in the process of convincing Peter that Gentiles deserve to hear the Gospel too. Peter, and the rest of the Jewish-Christians of the Early Church, had a blind spot in their thinking that made Jesus' prediction that the Gospel must go to the ends of the earth hard to digest. These sincere believers were victims, some through their own prejudices, some through simply living in an era where this was the prevailing thought, of the inability to see that God was planning on massively expanding his outreach effort. God was ready to move forward, his people needed to be shown the Truth so that they would follow.
Earlier in the day I was taking a look at the extra verses in Daniel that are part of the Bible of Catholics and Orthodox, but not Protestant, Christians. This split goes all the way back to Martin Luther and is now so caught up in our theological differences (especially over Purgatory) that it seems likely that Protestants will never see the value of the Apocrypha with clear eyes. Are these writings on par with CS Lewis, useful but not Scripture, or are they ancient writing from Godly men that were considered part of Scripture for centuries that we've thrown out for the wrong reasons? How can a Protestant hope to answer that question without getting mired in the theology that the Catholic Church has built upon these texts? In case you're wondering, the Catholic Church has the same, "we do this because the Protestant do that" problem as we do, just in reverse. I don't have any problem seeing us all as part of the family of God, I've known enough siblings who act this way.
The same sort of observation could be made in many of the translation issues, cultural issues, and theological issues that often are so intertwined with our own thoughts and preferences that we have our minds made up long before we weigh the evidence, or we only weigh the evidence that conforms with what we're hoping for. Do we all do this, is it just the guys in the church across the street, or is that a problem here too?
In the end, are we any different than Peter? We may look back at silly ol' Peter and thank God that we're not like him, we don't have blinders on, but are we just kidding ourselves? What message is God trying to get through to us, what plan is he itching to set in motion, if only we would hear him and obey?
Earlier in the day I was taking a look at the extra verses in Daniel that are part of the Bible of Catholics and Orthodox, but not Protestant, Christians. This split goes all the way back to Martin Luther and is now so caught up in our theological differences (especially over Purgatory) that it seems likely that Protestants will never see the value of the Apocrypha with clear eyes. Are these writings on par with CS Lewis, useful but not Scripture, or are they ancient writing from Godly men that were considered part of Scripture for centuries that we've thrown out for the wrong reasons? How can a Protestant hope to answer that question without getting mired in the theology that the Catholic Church has built upon these texts? In case you're wondering, the Catholic Church has the same, "we do this because the Protestant do that" problem as we do, just in reverse. I don't have any problem seeing us all as part of the family of God, I've known enough siblings who act this way.
The same sort of observation could be made in many of the translation issues, cultural issues, and theological issues that often are so intertwined with our own thoughts and preferences that we have our minds made up long before we weigh the evidence, or we only weigh the evidence that conforms with what we're hoping for. Do we all do this, is it just the guys in the church across the street, or is that a problem here too?
In the end, are we any different than Peter? We may look back at silly ol' Peter and thank God that we're not like him, we don't have blinders on, but are we just kidding ourselves? What message is God trying to get through to us, what plan is he itching to set in motion, if only we would hear him and obey?
Sermon Video: The early ministry of Saul - Acts 9:23-31
Do thinks that start poorly, always end poorly? In our lives, and throughout history, we see examples of things that didn't start well, but in the end were a success, the ministry of the newly converted Saul is no different. Three years after his conversion, Saul is in Damascus, but he has somehow worn out his welcome with his fellow Jews who have now decided that they should kill him. Saul manages to escape Damascus and flee to Jerusalem, but this isn't exactly a stellar start to the career of a man that God has designated as his "chosen instrument". In Jerusalem things aren't any better, the disciples are afraid to meet with Saul because they can't be sure that his conversion is genuine and not a trick. It appears as if Saul's second attempt to serve God will also end in failure.
At this moment of potential despair, a man steps in who will become a life-long friend and missions partner of Saul, Barnabas. For reasons we aren't told, Barnabas decides to risk his own reputation by vouching for Saul. Not only does Barnabas take Saul to the apostles, but he testifies on his behalf that his conversion and preaching in Damascus were genuine. Thanks to Barnabas, Saul finds acceptance among the original disciples of Jesus, perhaps things are finally looking up for Saul.
After preaching in Jerusalem to the Grecian Jews, Saul once again faces death threats. This is the second time he has tried to preach to his own people about Jesus, and the second time the response has been rejection of the message (by most) and a desire to kill the messenger. Is the problem with the people Saul is witnessing to, or is the problem with Saul? If violence follows you wherever you go, wouldn't you start to think that you might be taking it with you?
Unfortunately for Saul, the apostles have had enough of the violence associated with this fiery preacher and they send him back to his hometown of Tarsus. The text of Acts seems to flow quickly, but much time will lapse before we see Saul again. In fact, it will be nine years until Saul is once again asked by the apostles to be a part of their missions efforts, until then he's on his own. There is, however, a word of encouragement in that message for Saul when it finally arrives because the messenger who will bring to Saul word of the work that needs to be done in Antioch will be none other than his friend Barnabas.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
At this moment of potential despair, a man steps in who will become a life-long friend and missions partner of Saul, Barnabas. For reasons we aren't told, Barnabas decides to risk his own reputation by vouching for Saul. Not only does Barnabas take Saul to the apostles, but he testifies on his behalf that his conversion and preaching in Damascus were genuine. Thanks to Barnabas, Saul finds acceptance among the original disciples of Jesus, perhaps things are finally looking up for Saul.
After preaching in Jerusalem to the Grecian Jews, Saul once again faces death threats. This is the second time he has tried to preach to his own people about Jesus, and the second time the response has been rejection of the message (by most) and a desire to kill the messenger. Is the problem with the people Saul is witnessing to, or is the problem with Saul? If violence follows you wherever you go, wouldn't you start to think that you might be taking it with you?
Unfortunately for Saul, the apostles have had enough of the violence associated with this fiery preacher and they send him back to his hometown of Tarsus. The text of Acts seems to flow quickly, but much time will lapse before we see Saul again. In fact, it will be nine years until Saul is once again asked by the apostles to be a part of their missions efforts, until then he's on his own. There is, however, a word of encouragement in that message for Saul when it finally arrives because the messenger who will bring to Saul word of the work that needs to be done in Antioch will be none other than his friend Barnabas.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Sermon Video - The Conversion of Paul, Part 2 - Acts 9:10-22
Most people know that Saul/Paul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus, we're familiar with that part of the life changing event we call conversion. Less people remember that there was a second person that Saul needed to meet before he could move forward toward becoming the famous Apostle Paul. That second man wasn't famous, we hardly know anything about him other than his reputation as a respected devout observer of the law. While Saul was sitting in darkness, literally, and not eating or drinking for three days, God was talking to one of his obedient servants, a man named Ananias. What was Ananias' reward for a life lived in faith on obedience? He was asked to follow in the footsteps of Jonah by giving mercy to his enemy.
Ananias objected to God's initial call, we all would have, and actually tried to explain to God that Saul was a villain, not someone you'd want to help. That God knew all about Saul long before he called Ananias to help him is obvious, and yet throughout the Bible others have also tried to explain to God why the mission he is sending them on is a mistake. Ananias joins a list with names such as: Moses, Gideon, Elijah, Jonah, and Zechariah, all of whom struggled to make sense of God's plan. The missing piece of their puzzle was of course the power of God. When God tells you to do something, his power will see it through if we but obey.
In the end, Ananias listens to God's command and takes to Saul not only the message about his future ministry, but just as importantly the words, "Brother, Saul". If Ananias had not welcomed Saul into the Christian community in Damascus, if he had not offered to him forgiveness, love, and support during this crucial phase in his life, what would have become of Saul? History remembers the great man, the Apostle Paul, but those of us who serve the Lord realize that behind every great person or powerful movement stands a host of unsung heroes who simply listened to the voice of God, and obeyed.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
Ananias objected to God's initial call, we all would have, and actually tried to explain to God that Saul was a villain, not someone you'd want to help. That God knew all about Saul long before he called Ananias to help him is obvious, and yet throughout the Bible others have also tried to explain to God why the mission he is sending them on is a mistake. Ananias joins a list with names such as: Moses, Gideon, Elijah, Jonah, and Zechariah, all of whom struggled to make sense of God's plan. The missing piece of their puzzle was of course the power of God. When God tells you to do something, his power will see it through if we but obey.
In the end, Ananias listens to God's command and takes to Saul not only the message about his future ministry, but just as importantly the words, "Brother, Saul". If Ananias had not welcomed Saul into the Christian community in Damascus, if he had not offered to him forgiveness, love, and support during this crucial phase in his life, what would have become of Saul? History remembers the great man, the Apostle Paul, but those of us who serve the Lord realize that behind every great person or powerful movement stands a host of unsung heroes who simply listened to the voice of God, and obeyed.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
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