I have been quiet on the interwebs lately because I am working on a complete digital facelift.  I am working my way through all of the ways I am connected on the internet, from Facebook to Twitter, from Linkedin to Google+, from email to my Google voice account to make sure that my presence is what I would like it to be and that I am utilizing the services in an appropriate way.

One of the reasons that I am doing this is I am trying to create a homebase for all my online activities.  I read through Michael Hyatt’s book Platform and it really spoke to me.  I realized that I really don’t have a platform, I really don’t have control over my online presence and I need to take control of that before someone else does.

As much as I have enjoyed my blog Lutheran Grilled Cheese and I beleive that it will always be a part of me in some way, shape or form.  I have decided that I am going to have my home base be Pastor Joe McGarry.com.  It is my name, it is simple and I believe it gives me more flexiablity moving forward.

I still believe that some of the ways God is calling me in this world is by seeking out the God Moments and to help people connect their life with their faith.  So on this new blog I will be living that out the best way that I can.  I am going to be talking about ways that people can live out their faith everyday, and I am going to encourage people to see that God is in everything that they do.  I will also be making connects of the Bible and the things that we learn in church to people’s lives.  I really enjoyed the series on the Book of Acts I did recently and I would like to do something like that again.

The other thing I would like to focus on is the idea of going paperless.  When I look around my home or my office all I see is paper.  Paper books, reports, magazines, scraps of paper, notebooks, sermons, etc.  I love the idea of keeping most everything in the could and on my computer.  The Less paper that I have to use on a daily basis I believe the more efficent and organized I will be.  My hope is that by the end of 2012 I will be as paperless as possible and I will be tracking that on my new blog.

Other things I will be doing is evaluating the connectivity of all my accounts on various websites, I will be changing emails and I will be moving towards having my Google Voice numbers be my primary numbers.

These are some of the major things I will be doing over the next several months.  Most of the major work will be done by September 1st and after that I will be tweaking and building upon the foundation that I set.

Digital Facelift is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

Kriss Szkurlatowski; 12frames.eu

Every great saga has an ending. Think of the series finales of your favorite shows (assuming they don’t get cancelled before they can tie up the loose ends).  Some shows end as if the next day will come, and we just won’t be there to see it. Others end the situation the characters we have come to love move on to other things. Sometimes one of the characters gets a spin-off show. Sometimes the things that confused us all along are brought into a new light as soon as we see the ending.  The Acts of the Apostles ends with all of these things in sight.

The apparent cliffhanger of chapter 27 and a shipwreck in Malta is soon rectified. The natives show kindness to those stranded on the island, and build a fire so they might warm themselves Things are starting to look like they might turn out alright after all. Yet as any great finale would do, another complication presents itself as we witness Paul bitten by a snake as we go to commercial, not letting him go, and he looks done for.

When we return form the break, the snake has not harmed him, and the natives are impressed. They know he is holy because the snake did not harm him, so they ask for Paul’s help to cure their friend the Father of Publius. Paul visits him, prayers for him and lays his hand upon him, curing him of his ill. As we go to the next commercial the natives have fixed the vessel and given them new provisions as they cast off toward Rome – time for another commercial break.

At the return of the break we see a brief scene as Luke records in his journal the last steps of the journey, to Syracuse and Rhegium and Puteli. Think Indiana Jones. As Luke speaks the voice over we see a map with a red line moving in on their final destination. They land in Rome and Paul is escorted out to meet with the Jewish leaders. Paul presents his case – how he was arrested and handed over to the Romans, how they wanted to release him, but his own people called for his life, and how he appealed to his Roman Citizenship to have a trial in Rome which brought him to this point in the journey. We see the Jewish leaders looking at one another unsure what to do as we head into the final commercial break.

The last scene brings us to the final climax – the Jewish leaders arguing about what to do about this crazed itinerant preacher – who speaks of Jesus as the Messiah, and does signs and wonders, and a few people storming off. But one last speech from Paul, filled with power of the Holy Spirit.

“Go to this people and say, ‘You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn and I will heal them.” (Acts 28:26-27)

We see the rest of the Jews run away, just as we see others start to surround Paul.  Words come on the screen as the cameras pull back detailing that tradition says that Paul was later executed, but for the time being he continues to preach and witness with boldness, as the church now starts to take on its worldwide mission. At the final close we see the city of Rome, the people coming and going amidst the busy day until it fades to black.

But then.

A few more words fade in on the blackened screen…

(Just in case you wanted to know what that bold message was…)

A voice over comes in and it is Paul.

The blackness fades as we see a lamp start to illuminate a darkened room, and we see Paul’s back to us writing on a flat surface. A subtitle on the bottom of the screen tell us that he is writing his letter to the Romans years before….

His voice is full of vigor and strength.

“To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.  For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers,  asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you.  For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.  I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish—hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:7-17)

All goes black on the screen – as these last words fill the screen.

AND THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES CONTINUED…

…AND THEY CONTINUE WITH YOU.

_______________________________

What is your favorite series finale?

Has the ending of a program ever changed you? How?

What might it mean that the Acts of the Apostles Continue with you?

How might that change your understanding of this story?

What book of the Bible do you want to read next?

How Will it End??? {Acts 28} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

Remember what Jesus said at the beginning of the book of Acts – right before ascending to heaven? “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). That’s exactly what Paul is doing here. He is a witness, giving testimony to the power of God as seen through his own changed life.

Even before the beginning of time, God has been telling His story. He continues to write His story today in and through the lives of the people who call Him “Lord.” He is telling the greatest story of all through the lives of His people, weaving them into an epic work of art. And although “witnessing” has gotten a bad rap in recent history, all of us as Christ’s followers are witnesses, giving testimony to His grace, power, and peace. We do that with our actions, but we also do that with what we say. Paul demonstrates this in front of Felix and Agrippa.

I once heard it said that once you encounter the Living God, your life will never be the same. You are changed forever. That was certainly true about Jacob. He wrestled with an angel of the Lord (some argue it was God Himself) and left with a limp and a new name. When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, he left with a commission to lead God’s people out of bondage. And don’t get me started on the people who saw Jesus face to face. Even touching his cloak led to healing! When Paul came face to face with the risen Jesus, his life was changed forever. From that point forward, Paul couldn’t stop talking about how Jesus had changed him. And so when the opportunity presents itself with Felix and Agrippa, it’s no surprise that he begins at the beginning and shares how his life had changed. With Paul’s life essentially hanging in the balance, he pointed to Jesus.

Of course, this leads me to wonder, what am I doing to point to Jesus? Although I’m not on trial for anything, I still have an opportunity to point to Jesus with my words, actions, and attitude. Everything I say and do should reflect Him. Every day, I’m telling a story. Although I never breathed murderous threats against the church and approvingly stood by while a believer was stoned to death before knowing Jesus, my story is still a dramatic one. I, too, was once a sinner who has been saved by grace. I, too, deserved the death penalty because of my sinfulness. But I have been reclaimed for His glory.

Whose story am I telling? Is it mine?  Or am I allowing the Author of all things to use me to tell His story to a dying world who desperately needs Him?

So – what’s your story? How are you pointing to Jesus today? 

What’s Your Story? {Acts 23-26} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

I am amazed at the determination Paul shows in his journey to return to Jerusalem. It has been a difficult trip, to say the least. He has already said goodbye to some of his dearest friends in Ephesus (Acts 20:s6-38), confident that he was never going to see their faces again. And now he’s saying goodbye to his friends in Caesarea. And they’re begging him to stay away from Jerusalem. They know bad things will happen to him when he arrives in the city.

But Paul was determined. He knew God had plans for him in Jerusalem. They might not be pleasant, but God was going to achieve His will through him. He knew it would be difficult. He knew it was breaking his friends’ hearts. The whole experience was breaking his own heart. He knew it could cost him his life.

But he also knew that God was going to be glorified. Somehow, some way, Paul’s trials were going to help the good news of Jesus Christ be spread unhindered throughout the world. So he knew he had to say goodbye. In hindsight, we see in these chapters that the light of Christ was shining through Paul when he spoke before the Sanhedrin. We know the light of Christ was shining in the Roman courts.

We know that wouldn’t have happened if Paul hadn’t said goodbye.

He had to say goodbye to his colleagues and friends in the churches he had helped plant. He had to say goodbye to whatever comfort he might have had. He had to say goodbye to anything that was keeping him from doing what God was calling him to do wherever He was leading him to go. In Paul’s case, this meant going to Jerusalem. In our own cases, this could mean going halfway across the world to help preserve families in the villages of Ethiopia. It could mean walking across the street and building a bridge with your difficult neighbor. It could mean giving away more of our possessions or giving up a relationship that is holding us back from following Jesus more closely. It might be something that’s good that we need to give up for something better. Saying goodbye can be painful. But it can also be a refining process that allows the light of Christ to shine even brighter.

What are you holding onto that’s keeping you from pursuing Christ more closely? Maybe it’s time to say goodbye.

It’s Hard to Say Goodbye {Acts 21-23} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

Admit it – you have falling asleep in church before.  I hope you don’t do it often but maybe one Saturday night you stayed up a little too late, but decided  before you went to bed that you were still going to get up early and go to church.  That Sunday, maybe the air conditioning wasn’t turned on yet, maybe the pastor decided to preach extra long that day and between that and staying up late caused the perfect falling asleep in church storm.

I am sure you tried to stay away, you really did!!!  But you feel the sleep coming on so you start to doodle on the bulletin to keep moving, but then you feel the pencil start to fall out of your hand.  You realize that you are starting to fall asleep and you quickly wake yourself up.  You look around to if anyone is watching you — you are thankful because no one seemed to notice that you fell asleep for a quick second.  You start to really listen to the sermon and you figure out what your pastor is talking about…..then all of a sudden you fall asleep — the next thing you know the sound of the organ playing the hymn of the day wakes you up.  Embarrassed you look around again and this time Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are looking at you shaking their heads.  You feel like you want to curl up in a ball and just die.  Nothing could be worse.

Well actually,  a young man named Eutychus did die in church from falling asleep.  Eutychus was a young man around 10 years old who falls into a deep sleep during church, and dies…..

It all starts as Paul is about to set out on the last leg of his journey to Jerusalem, sailing directly from Achaia to Syria, he encounters a plot of the Jews against him.  Paul decided to changes his plans and moves overland back through Achaia and Macedonia. This way he avoids possible harm, even death, as a passenger aboard a vessel crowded with Jewish pilgrims heading to Jerusalem for Passover.

At the end of a week’s stay in Troas, Paul continues his ministry of encouragement in the context of a worship service.  It seems like this is one of the earliest reference to early church practice concerning Sunday worship, Luke tells us that on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.

The service went past midnight which meant that it was late for Eutychus.  The air in the room must of been thick with smoke from the lamps and Eutychus must of gone over to the window to catch his breath and perhaps to get some fresh air to stay awake.  But no matter how hard he tried he fell asleep.  Between the lateness of the hour, the hypnotic effect of the flickering lights and Paul’s lengthy sermon all probably contribute to his drowsiness. He loses his balance, falls out the window and is picked up dead.

The crowd rushes down to see what happened including Paul.  Feeling sad for the boy and sorry for the crowd Paul does what he can to bring comfort to the people.  Paul threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him.  The boy’s life returns, for Paul calls out, Don’t be alarmed. He’s alive!  Then Paul returns to the upper room, and continues worship.  In fact he continues his service until daybreak, then departs.

There are times when we may feel like we are too tired to go to church, or that we feel like we are going to fall asleep or we may even be day dreaming.  But take comfort that you do not fall asleep, then out a window!!  Take comfort that even if the  worse case happens that you are still loved by God.  Paul did not have to bring that young man back to life, he did because he cared for him — he loved him and in that the Gospel was proclaimed.

When was the last time you fell asleep in church?

Falling Asleep in Church {Acts 19 – 20} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

The book of Acts is exciting on so many levels but mainly because we get a glimpse of the early church trying to figure out what to do when Jesus is no longer physically with them. When Jesus was around, being the church seemed a little easier. Conflict resolution often ended when problems or disagreements were brought to Jesus attention, he would quote scripture or provide divine insight and that was the end of that. But now that Jesus is no longer physically present, the disciples, apostles, and early converts were trying to figure out how to be the church in a new era. They did not always agree. But as we will see, the Holy Spirit works through disagreements as well.

The entire chapter of Acts 15 is about disagreement. First there is disagreement on whether or not gentile converts should be circumcised in order to be saved and late in the chapter, disagreement between Barnabas and Paul on taking John Mark with them on mission.

There are a few things to take note of in this chapter as we see the events unfold. First (as throughout the book of Acts), there is always an account of the work of the Holy Spirit through individuals. Paul and Barnabas have returned to Antioch to find that some believers have been teaching the exact opposite of what they have preached. Paul and Barnabas have gone to great lengths to make sure that the gentiles (non jews) understood that they were accepted as members of the body of Christ because they have received the Holy Spirit. This became an issue for many of the Jewish converts because they still believed that the restoration of Israel was part of the work of the early church and they understood Christianity to be a new sect of Judaism. The disagreement is resolved after going to Jerusalem and meeting with the Apostles and elders. We cannot escape the magnitude of this resolution. If this had been decided differently, what would have happened to the church? Maybe more important though, we get a great glimpse of the church at work in deciding over issues of conflict and how these conflicts are managed. The process for discernment was not left to one individual but rather was discussed and developed through a council of elders and apostles. Brilliant! “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us….”(Acts 15:28) This is an important aspect to how the church went about making decisions.

However, at the end of this chapter we see a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas as they plan to “go back to visit each city in which they had previously preached.” (Acts 15:36) In discussing who their missionary partners would be, Barnabas includes John Mark, who had joined them on their first missionary journey (Acts 13). Paul disagrees with Barnabas’ suggestion of John Mark because John Mark had left to go back to Jerusalem in the middle of their last mission. We are unsure of why he returned to Jerusalem but enough can be inferred from the texts that Paul claims he is unfit for missionary work. Because of this disagreement, Paul takes Silas and heads to Syria and Cilicia while Barnabas and John Mark head to Cyprus. Yet we can see the Holy Spirit at work in the midst of this disagreement because the Gospel of Jesus Christ travels twice as far as what Barnabas and Paul had agreed to do in their next efforts by traveling back to all the churches they have already begun.

In the 16th chapter of Acts we experience what happens to Paul as the Holy Spirit prevents Paul and Silas from preaching in the province of Asia at that time. In attempting to go from place to place, Paul and Silas are directed by the Holy Spirit even if they are unaware of it. The Spirit continues to say no at their own leading until Paul has a vision to go to Macedonia. This leading would provoke God to use them in strange places to preach the Gospel of Jesus to places that might have been impossible in their own doing. From there Paul and Silas meet a woman whose heart was opened by the Spirit to receive their teaching, baptized her and her family, heal a demon possessed woman, get thrown in jail, set free by an earthquake, stop the jailer from killing himself and baptized his entire family. All in a days work.

Following their time in Macedonia and Thessalonica, Paul and Silas begin preaching in Athens. In a remarkable use of Paul’s gifts, God makes a way to make known to a the philosophers and debaters of that age, “the God that created the world and gives everything life and breath.” (Acts 17:24-26) While preaching about Jesus in the public places, Paul is requested to defend himself in front of the high council of Athens. It is here that Paul uses one of the Athenians own proclamations of a shrine that read “to an unknown God” as an opportunity to share the truth about the living God. Something Paul had personal experience of and was called for this very purpose.

In reflecting on these passages form Acts we may consider the similarities of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of individuals and the 1st century church and the work of the Holy Spirit in our own lives and the church of the 21st Century. The church of the 1st century was riddled with conflict on several issues, yet this church managed to grow because of their work through disagreements. Even Paul and Barnabas, the two great missionaries of the 1st Century carried the message of Jesus twice as far because they disagreed over taking John Mark with them. Remember their plan was to go back and meet with believers who already knew the message and hope of salvation. Paul experienced the joy and difficulty of when God says no. Yet that very no led to an amazing testimony and changed the lives of several. And creative Paul was in using something from the culture in which he was preaching to bring about the reality of the living God that he was preaching.

 Questions to consider:

• How do you manage conflict in your life? In your vocation?

• Can the Holy Spirit work a greater purpose through a disagreement?

• When have you experienced God’s ‘no’ to your own plans for your life?

• How can you use common culture to share the Good News of Jesus?

Disagreement, Dissent and Depositions {Acts 15-18} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

If you like a nice peaceful story, Acts 12-14 are definitely not for you. Full of murder, and violence, yet still the undertone of Jesus present in our lives.

A brief overview.

First we start with chapter 12 — James is Killed by Herod’s violence, Peter is put in jail, yet God brings Peter to freedom. After going to May’s house, he stood and knocked until someone recognized his voice allowing him access (see voice print isn’t a new invention). We also hear of the soldiers who were guarding Peter were put to death by Herod, so Peter could escape, a parallel to Paul? Shortly after this Herod dies for not giving glory to God.

Chapter 13 turns from the violence to commissioning and the power of God against those who were false prophets. Paul and Barnabas also start traveling to share the history, lineage, and salvific voice of God through Jesus.

Chapter 14 is a short travel log of where Paul and Barnabas went and what they did in various places. It also lays groundwork for missionary work, eluding to the setting up of churches, laying on of hands, prayer and fasting, and leaving these elders in leadership. After they finished they returned to Antioch to be fed and to rest.

I think these Acts 12-14 offer us great opportunity to see God’s action at work, to build up the church, and to help us see the importance of sharing God’s message in the world. Paul and Barnabas were not sent out to start churches, or for mission starts rather they willingly went out to proclaim God’s word, and the churches started as a result of their proclamation of God’s word.

This section of Acts also allows us to see the need to return to wherever gives us rest, and respite, and peace, that our ministry cannot encompass our entire lives. We all know the signs and the symptoms of “burnout” however many times we just push through.  But there needs to be a time for rest.  Acts chapter 14 Luke writes “When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. And they stayed there with the disciples for some time.”  Through the Gospel’s and Genesis, we overlook, neglect, or ignore, the important part of our ministry which is that we ourselves need to rest and to be fed by God’s word.

Violence and Rest {Acts 12-14} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

This Sunday, Lutheran churches (as well as other churches) will celebrate Pentecost Sunday. It is a day where the church celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Jewish people in the beginning of Acts. It is a familiar passage in the beginning of Acts, but most people do not remember that this is not the only Pentecost that happens in Acts.

Before the Ascension, Jesus’ gives the disciples the charge to go into the world to baptize, teach, and preach from Judea to Jerusalem to the ends of the Earth. The book of Acts moves in the same exact sense, hence multiple Pentecost happenings. The first was for the Jewish people and in Acts 10, we get the Pentecost for the Gentiles with the narrative of Peter and Cornelius.

The fact that Gentiles were to be included into this new church was mind blowing to Peter, so much so that in the vision he receives from God, he argues against what he is to do. Read that again. Peter ARGUES WITH GOD! He doesn’t do this just once and done, but rather 3 times, he argues about what God is commanding him to do. You would think after the last three time questioning, Peter would have learned his lesson. But, Peter has some gusto, you gotta give him that.

Peter learns about Cornelius having a similar vision as he has had and as Peter is teaching about Christ, the Holy Spirit descends choosing Cornelius and his family and household as fellow Christians. What is interesting to note in this passage is that there is no repentance of sin or anything like that in this passage (nor the Eunich passage for that matter), so if you get someone saying you MUST have repentance before Baptism, just show them the Cornelius passage and remind them the Holy Spirit chooses, not man.

Thinking everyone will be excited by the news, Peter heads back to share, but is immediately criticized. Yes, hear that again. Instead of being happy that the church has now reached a whole new population, the Jewish followers are angry at Peter that the Spirit would let them in. How many times as a church do we act more like the ones complaining rather than the ones who rejoice when the Holy Spirit chooses new people to belong to the people of God?

The church continues to spread in spite of the persecution that the church faces. Peter is arrested and then comes one of the funnier passages in Acts in my opinion.

As the church prays for Peter’s release, their prayers are answered with an angel. Peter is released from jail and is on the lamb. He runs to Mark’s mother’s house (the introduction of Mark BTW) and Rhoda is so glad to see Peter that she leaves Peter outside of the gates while those on the inside argue whether or not a miracle has occurred. I always imagine the scene with Peter sneaking through the shadows, ducking in and out of alleys, knocking on the gate, feeling relief, and then realizes he has just been left outside! “Uh guys, this isn’t funny. Romans are trying to KILL me. How about you open the door, NOW.” Funny stuff.

Now comes a passage that people may look over, but Luke is really sticking it to Herod. Luke is known for recording speeches. Acts is full of speeches. Yet, when Herod speaks, nothing. Luke doesn’t even bother to record his words. He is supposed to be the head honcho big time man, but Luke leaves him no honor in his death. Luke chooses to say Herod speak and dies and is eaten by worms. Awesome! No love for Herod because he was a pretender to God and was not God.

As I read these passages, questions that come to mind are:

1. How often does the church argue over miracles rather than just rejoicing in them?

2. Do we see that the Holy Spirit chooses the people of God or do we still think we have a hand in that choice?

3. Are you still surprised by all that God does?

The Other Pentecost {Acts 10-12} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

 
Persecution is good for the Church! The message of Jesus Christ has always flourished in places where people are hurting the most. In the former Soviet Union Christianity grew underground despite persecution. In Romania, for example, the Lutheran Church was severely persecuted for their faith. People were taken from their homes in the middle of the night and threatened with death if they did not denounce their Christian faith. However, the Church survived and grew underground. Now upon leaving worship they greet the pastor with the words, “A mighty fortress is our God.” Having lived under tyrannical rule they have experienced firsthand the power of God in their lives. One could make the argument that the demise of Christianity is that it became officially part of the empire with Constantine’s conversion. Once Christianity is co-opted into the power structures of the world it ceases to be a place for the least among us.
 
In Acts 8 it is persecution that begins the Church’s evangelical mission beyond Jerusalem. “That day severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostle were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.” From here we pick up the story of one of those evangelists, Philip. We see through his story how the church, driven by the Holy Spirit, is being called to the wider world. Every movement is away from being just a church of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem to a Church on the move. The power of the message of Jesus Christ is converting hearts. It is moving people away from magic and exclusion to the kingdom of God.
 
I wonder what the people who belonged to the church in Jerusalem felt about the persecution. They must have been terrified. We are told that Saul (Not yet converted to Paul) was “ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women. My guess is they were wondering why this was happening to them. They did not understand why God had left them to die or be thrown in prison? It must have been a bleak time for the church. And yet God was at work in ways that they could not see or understand. God was on the move. And through this persecution God was doing a new thing. God was moving them out into the world and in doing was converting the church.
 
The evangelism stories of Philip center around two stories. One is Philip’s confrontation with a man named Simon who was wowing everyone in town with his magic tricks. Philip confronts him with the real God who does not win us over with magic, but with good news of the kingdom of God. We can see all the time that sometimes we prefer the magic trick to the real good news. I think of all the people on television selling us “true happiness” or “fulfillment” if we only buy their product. Philip draws us back to the real truth that it is the good news of Jesus Christ that brings real lasting happiness, not the snake oil salesmen. This is confirmed when Simon tries to buy his way into the Holy Spirit. Peter (who comes to Samaria to see what God was doing through Philip) is clear that money cannot buy God’s gifts they are freely given! We can’t buy God’s love and it is not magic. It is simply the free gift given through the Holy Spirit. It is there for all.
 
This is confirmed in the Spirit’s moving of Philip to a wilderness road where he meets a eunuch who is reading from the prophet Isaiah. Just to review, a eunuch is someone who was castrated at an early age, and their sexual orientation is appeared to have changed. It is forbidden for a eunuch to enter the temple. (“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 23:1) The Eunuch is someone who is excluded from the rites and ceremonies of the people of God. The exchange between him and Philip is interesting for many reasons. One is that the eunuch needs help with interpretation. Reading and meditating on the text by himself is not enough for understanding. I would agree that we cannot understand the Bible by ourselves in isolation from the community. At Bible study people often say to me, “Pastor how are we supposed to know what this means?” My response is always that is why we are in Bible study to interpret and understand what the text is saying to us. Outside of the community of God is hard to know what the text is saying.
 
The other interesting part of this is that the eunuch’s inclusion (through an impromptu baptism by the river), the inclusion of the Samaritans, and eventually Paul’s mission to the Gentiles all serve as the fertile ground of the church. As Nadia Bolts Weber (The pastor of All Saints and Sinners in Denver, Colorado) preached this is not the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch. This is about the conversion of the Church. It is about how we, the supposed insiders, are constantly being converted by the outsiders, those about to hear the good news. Acts 8 is about the ever widening scope of the church and its mission.
 
Of course the church in the United State of America in 2012 is not being persecuted. But we can all agree that there is a seismic shift going on in the Church. Some people are scared. Some people are wondering why God has abandoned us. Some people believe that these are bleak times for the church. Acts 8 teaches us that when things look at the worst God is really just moving us to a new place. God is forcing us out of our comfort zones into uncharted territory. God is converting us to hear the good news again. God is challenging us to confront theologies of magic, and the idea that money can buy us anything worthwhile in this world. God in this time and place is on the move and forcing us to go with God into places that widen the mission and ministry of the Church. Thank God for persecution!

Persecution is good for the Church {Acts 8-11} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!

The church council in the Lutheran church acts like a board of directors.  They are elected by the congregation to serve as the governing body of the church.  There is an executive team that runs meetings and sets the tone of the council.

When you talk with a pastor about their church council you will get one of three responses.  The first is someone telling you how wonderful and active their council members are.  They will tell the wonderful ministry that the church is doing and how the council has stepped up to take responsiblity for the ministry of the church.  Usually this pastor is either lying or exaggerating the truth (I am sure their council is really doing well but maybe not THAT well).

The second response is a lukewarm response.  This is the pastor that say that there are some good things happening but there are some issues too.  This is where I feel most pastors and churches are.

The third is the pastor who has nothing good to say about their council.  They are frustrated with the leadership and they either are counting down the days until another one is elected or they are ready to get out-of-town.

In Acts chapter 6 the “first church council” was appointed.  One of the men that was chosen to serve was Stephen.  Even though Stephen tried to remain faithful to what he felt God was calling him and the rest of the community to do something however the rest of the council was not listening.  They did not want to hear what Stephen had to say.  So in Acts chapter 7 Stephen tries to give his defense.

The method that he chose was to retell the story of salvation from Abraham to Jesus.   Here are some of the highlights of what Stephen says: 

• Abraham — God appeared to Abraham and called him to “Leave your country and your people, and go to the land I will show you” and Abraham was obedient.  God gave Abraham no inheritance, but promised that his descendants would inherit and possess the land.  God foretold the future of the nation which would come from Abraham.  God made a covenant of circumcision with Abraham.  From Abraham came the patriarch Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
• Joseph — Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt but became a ruler in Egypt. During a famine Joseph brought his family to Egypt where they grew into a great nation in spite of their oppression.
• Moses — Moses was saved from death as an infant and was educated in the Egyptian palace. When he grew up he identified with his own people and wanted to help them, but he killed an Egyptian and fled to Midian for 40 years.  After 40 years God called to him from the burning bush to send him back to Egypt and bring the people of Israel out of bondage.  Moses led the people out of Egypt to Sinai where they received the word of God and rebelled. After their rebellion they wandered 40 years in the wilderness, but they had among them the Tabernacle of the presence of the Lord.
• Joshua — Joshua brought them into the Land of Israel after the Death of Moses.
• David —  David enjoyed God’s favor and desired to build a temple to God, but it was Solomon who actually built the temple.  God does not live in houses built by men for Heaven is His throne, and earth is His footstool.

I believe talking about this stuff is great!!  However, Stephen takes it one step further.  He starts to call the others “Stiff- necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears!” He accuses them of resisting the Holy Spirit, persecuting the prophets, and killing the Righteous one.  He concludes: “You have received the law that was put into effect through angels, but have not obeyed it.”

Well I think they heard his message loud and clear and it infuriated them.  What threw them over the edge is when Stephen saw a vision of the Son of man Standing at the right hand of God —  they were in no mood to hear anymore. They dragged him away and began to stone him.

I think is scene is something that council people might be afraid of if they were to speak out! So many people have great ideas but to put themselves out there like Stephen did is scary.  To stand up for what you believe in or to go against the powers that are in place in any congregation is tough.  It is easier to let things go, and just to blend into the crowd.

However, I believe that if we as the church are going to move forward we are going to need to be more like Stephen, we need to speak out when we feel like God is telling us something ,even if it is not the most popular idea.  We need to risk ourselves, and at times maybe even our lives for the Gospel. When we speak the truth we are remaining faithful to the church and the mission of God.

Church Council Stoning {Acts 7} is a post from: Lutheran Grilled Cheese. Thanks for checking it out! More cheesy goodness is coming your way soon!