November 21-22, 2009: Peter's Vision

"I saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down from heaven by four corners. It came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth. There were also wild animals, reptiles, and birds. Then I heard a voice speaking to me. 'Get up, Peter,' the voice said. 'Kill and eat.'"

Peter's vision happened in Joppa, a city on the coast of Israel.

In the Old Testament, people were either Jews (followers of God), or Gentiles. Among the Gentiles, some were believers in God ("god-fearers"), but they could not become Jewish.

Foods were also divided into "clean" and "unclean" - but the meaning of this was "acceptable, special" vs. "common".

In Acts 10, two men receive messages from God: Cornelius & Peter.

Cornelius - God told him to send some men to Joppa to get Peter and invite him to his house.

Peter's vision was of a sheet being lowered onto a roof, filled with clean and unclean animals. Peter protests: I will not eat what is unclean. The voice answers: do not call anything unclean that God has made clean.

Peter is brought to Cornelius' house. Normally a Jew would not enter the home of a Gentile, but based on Peter's vision, he knows that God does not show favoritism and that salvation is for the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

What does this story teach us about God? In God's eyes - everyone is equal. That is, no one has special status because of their skin color, past, family, money, religious background, or anything like that. What if we really believed that?

This does not mean we are all the same. Rather, that differences don't make people any less.

Think about the people you associate with. Then think about who you don't or wouldn't associate with. We often draw distinctions for pointless reasons.

When Peter takes the story back to Jerusalem, that he has shared the gospel and had fellowship with Gentiles, the disciples believe he's done a bad thing (violated the Law) until Peter explains his vision. How many of us would have that courage if we were confronted about hanging out with the wrong sort of people?

When you can look at all sorts of faces - colors, rich vs. poor, disabled vs. normally able - and see dignity and value in each one, you have the mind of God.

November 14-15, 2009 - Saul's Conversion

Saul (who would become Paul) stood by at the stoning of Stephen. He was a good Jew, who kept all of the law. In other words, he was an enemy of the early Christians.

This made Saul an unlikely choice to be God’s messenger!
Abraham Lincoln was raised in a log cabin, his mother died when he was 9, he didn’t finish high school or college, he lost 8 of 13 elections in his life. Yet, he was elected President of the United States.
In a similar way, God used someone we wouldn’t expect in a very important way.

Video: “Peter & Paul - Saul’s conversion”

Saul had to overcome his reputation as a man dangerous to Christians and regain their trust: first, with Ananias, then with the disciples in Jerusalem.
At the same time, his own standing among the Jews took a hit: he had to escape from Damascus, and then angered the Jews in Jerusalem. The apostles sent him by ship to Tarsus.

Paul would go on to suffer greatly for standing up for Jesus - see 2 Corinthians 11.

Paul had great knowledge and kept the law - but it was his encounter with the living God that actually changed him.

Nov. 1 - Stephen and Persecution of Christians

In the book of Acts, we see the gospel message spreading - and like a trick birthday candle, whenever attempts are made to extinguish it, it just keeps coming back:

The Jewish leaders told the disciples to stop speaking...Peter refused
They threw the apostles in jail...an angel let them out
They threatened and whipped the apostles...the Holy Spirit made them bolder

Acts 6-7 tell the story of Stephen...Stephen was chosen as one of seven who were to oversee the church's distribution of food to the needy. "The Body is a unit, made up of many parts....so it is with Christ." In the church, we divide responsibilities because no one person can do it all - yet everything that is done is important and necessary.

Stephen was arrested and accused of speaking words against the Jewish religion, specifically teaching against the laws of Moses and the temple.
To the Jews, three things were important:
1. Living in the land God had promised them
2. Following strictly the law God gave through Moses
3. Building and maintaining the temple, the house of the Lord

Stephen, in his defense, says the Jews are missing the point, which is the Messiah - God promised him through the prophets, but the prophets were ignored. He calls them "stiff-necked" (stubborn) people, who rejected and killed the Messiah. This makes them angry and they stone him to kill him.

Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr - someone who is killed for an idea

There are still martyrs today - "closed" countries in which practicing the Christian faith is dangerous or illegal. (See www.kidsofcourage.com for some great information on where persecution is happening)

After Stephen's martyrdom, the believers are spread, but the threat of death doesn't kill the movement, it makes them bolder!

Standing by at Stephen's death is Saul, who will shortly become Paul, the great Christian missionary.