To listen to the audio version, click here.
Tuesday, Feb. 3
Acts 12:1-11
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Dress yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."
I lead a men’s ministry called TEAM that meets at 6 AM every Friday morning from September through March. So I set my alarm for 4:15 AM on Friday mornings. In the 16 years I have been leading the TEAM ministry my alarm has only gone off three times, because I almost always wake up on my own at about 4 AM.
This past week I had to be out late on a Thursday night because my son had a high school basketball game and I got to bed somewhat later than usual. When my alarm went off at 4:15 AM I was in the middle of some kind of dream and was totally disoriented. I fumbled around in a fog trying to figure out where all the noise was coming from; and when I figured out it was my alarm going off I thought it was Saturday and I had just forgotten to turn my alarm off on Friday. Within a few seconds I came to my senses, realized it was Friday morning and I had slept longer than usual and my alarm had gone off for the third time in 16 years.
Have you ever woken up from a vivid dream and been a little unsure as to whether you were actually awake yet or still in the dream?
Most of us have had that experience and Luke tells us that Peter has that kind of experience as he sleeps in a dark prison cell.
Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Dress yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
This part of the story is both miraculous and somewhat humorous. Peter is in prison, bound with chains, and sleeping between two armed guards yet he is sleeping so soundly that the angel of the Lord has to smack him to wake him up! Even then Peter thinks he must still be dreaming.
Putting the humor aside the question that occurs to us is, why does God send an angel to rescue Peter yet allow James to be executed by Herod?
That’s a very disturbing and difficult question.
A few years ago my father had a very serious stroke. At first the doctors told us the damage to his brain was so great that there was “zero chance of meaningful recovery.” We were prepared to let him go. Then a second neurosurgeon looked at his MRI and determined that since the bleed was on the exterior of the brain that the damage could be reversed with a particular medical procedure. We authorized that procedure and my father eventually recovered completely. Within a month or so a woman came to me for prayer after one of our worship services. She said her father had a very similar stroke at about the same time as my Dad, but that her father had never recovered consciousness and had passed away.
She wasn’t asking me for an explanation, but, if she had, I wouldn’t have been able to offer anything even close to satisfactory.
The simple answer to the “why” question is, “We don’t know.”
Add yet we do know that God is good.
We know that God is sovereign.
We know that there is evil in the world because Satan is trying to destroy everything that God made.
We know that awful things happen to very good people.
We know that God promises to redeem our suffering into his good.
But from our human perspective we don’t always know why the bad things happen; and we can’t always see the good that God is going to do.
Romans 8:18-28 (selected)
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us... For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans... And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
We suffer because sin, death and evil are in the world.
We hope because we have been saved.
We wait for that hope.
And, sometimes, we pray with wordless groans...
Pastor Brian Coffey
Monday, February 2nd
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Monday, Feb. 2
Acts 12:1-25
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Dress yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."
When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, "You are out of your mind." But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, "It is his angel!" But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Tell these things to James and to the brothers." Then he departed and went to another place. Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, "The voice of a god, and not of a man!" Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
But the word of God increased and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
Sometimes it seems like there is just no end to the bad news. I picked up my local paper this morning and saw the following headlines:
“Scores dead in Nigerian city”
“Bomb threats in Atlanta”
“Japan stunned by video claiming hostage death”
“Man shot while walking along street in Elgin”
There was even a headline that said, “The astroid is coming.”
And, of course, we can’t forget the national crisis of deflated footballs!
The story we read today from Acts 12 begins with terrible news.
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword...
Scholars believe that it is most likely that Luke is telling his readers that James has been beheaded at the order of Herod the king.
This Herod is Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great who was king when Jesus was born and who ordered the infamous “slaughter of the innocents” (Matthew 2); which was the murder of all the male infants in the region after he was fooled by the Magi who had come to worship the child Jesus.
Herod was brought up in Rome and was an associate of the emperor Caligula, one of the most violent and power thirsty dictators in human history.
So Herod was a man concerned primarily with his own power and therefore saw people as a means to either demonstrate his power or to magnify his position.
Herod was also an evil man.
James, the man Herod has executed, was the brother of John, who later wrote the gospel that bears his name. James and John were the sons Zebedee and were fishermen called by Jesus to be his disciples. Scripture indicates that Jesus gave them the nickname “sons of thunder,” perhaps (and this is just a guess) because they were strong personalities or were bold and rambunctious men.
Luke doesn’t tell us why Herod has James beheaded; we can only guess that James was a recognizable leader of the new Christian movement and Herod figured that killing him would serve to enhance his brutal reputation.
You can almost hear the questions that those who knew and loved James might have been asking in their shock and grief.
“Why is this happening?”
“Why James?”
“Why does a good and Godly man lose his life at the whim of such an evil man?”
These are the questions that swirl within us on a daily basis.
One of those news stories I mentioned earlier was about atrocities being committed in Nigeria by a terrorist group called Boko Haram. Just two days ago the Islamic extremists slaughtered over 40 people in seven villages; bringing number of deaths to an estimated 10,000 and many more kidnapped and forced into slavery. A few months ago Boko Haram kidnapped over 200 young girls that have not been seen since.
Evil.
Why does such seemingly random and wanton evil exist?
That’s a difficult and important question; a question the entire Bible was written to answer. But here’s a brief summary:
God created all that is in love and freedom.
Satan, once an angel of light, became proud and rebelled against God and has set himself against God.
God created human beings in his own image and for eternal relationship with himself.
But human beings also rebelled against God and sinned against him and against each other.
The result was the fall of all creation into sin and death.
All of that happens in the first 3 chapters of the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The rest of the Bible is the story of how God is redeeming this broken world through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Sin and evil are in the world because God created everything that is in love and freedom. That freedom was used for rebellion; sin and death followed.
The gospel is God’s remedy for our rebellion; for our sin; for evil in the world; and for death itself.
The Book of Acts teaches us that the gospel does not protect us from evil, rather, it enables us to triumph over evil through the redemptive work of Christ.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Monday, Feb. 2
Acts 12:1-25
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Dress yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."
When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, "You are out of your mind." But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, "It is his angel!" But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Tell these things to James and to the brothers." Then he departed and went to another place. Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, "The voice of a god, and not of a man!" Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
But the word of God increased and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
Sometimes it seems like there is just no end to the bad news. I picked up my local paper this morning and saw the following headlines:
“Scores dead in Nigerian city”
“Bomb threats in Atlanta”
“Japan stunned by video claiming hostage death”
“Man shot while walking along street in Elgin”
There was even a headline that said, “The astroid is coming.”
And, of course, we can’t forget the national crisis of deflated footballs!
The story we read today from Acts 12 begins with terrible news.
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword...
Scholars believe that it is most likely that Luke is telling his readers that James has been beheaded at the order of Herod the king.
This Herod is Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great who was king when Jesus was born and who ordered the infamous “slaughter of the innocents” (Matthew 2); which was the murder of all the male infants in the region after he was fooled by the Magi who had come to worship the child Jesus.
Herod was brought up in Rome and was an associate of the emperor Caligula, one of the most violent and power thirsty dictators in human history.
So Herod was a man concerned primarily with his own power and therefore saw people as a means to either demonstrate his power or to magnify his position.
Herod was also an evil man.
James, the man Herod has executed, was the brother of John, who later wrote the gospel that bears his name. James and John were the sons Zebedee and were fishermen called by Jesus to be his disciples. Scripture indicates that Jesus gave them the nickname “sons of thunder,” perhaps (and this is just a guess) because they were strong personalities or were bold and rambunctious men.
Luke doesn’t tell us why Herod has James beheaded; we can only guess that James was a recognizable leader of the new Christian movement and Herod figured that killing him would serve to enhance his brutal reputation.
You can almost hear the questions that those who knew and loved James might have been asking in their shock and grief.
“Why is this happening?”
“Why James?”
“Why does a good and Godly man lose his life at the whim of such an evil man?”
These are the questions that swirl within us on a daily basis.
One of those news stories I mentioned earlier was about atrocities being committed in Nigeria by a terrorist group called Boko Haram. Just two days ago the Islamic extremists slaughtered over 40 people in seven villages; bringing number of deaths to an estimated 10,000 and many more kidnapped and forced into slavery. A few months ago Boko Haram kidnapped over 200 young girls that have not been seen since.
Evil.
Why does such seemingly random and wanton evil exist?
That’s a difficult and important question; a question the entire Bible was written to answer. But here’s a brief summary:
God created all that is in love and freedom.
Satan, once an angel of light, became proud and rebelled against God and has set himself against God.
God created human beings in his own image and for eternal relationship with himself.
But human beings also rebelled against God and sinned against him and against each other.
The result was the fall of all creation into sin and death.
All of that happens in the first 3 chapters of the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The rest of the Bible is the story of how God is redeeming this broken world through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Sin and evil are in the world because God created everything that is in love and freedom. That freedom was used for rebellion; sin and death followed.
The gospel is God’s remedy for our rebellion; for our sin; for evil in the world; and for death itself.
The Book of Acts teaches us that the gospel does not protect us from evil, rather, it enables us to triumph over evil through the redemptive work of Christ.
Pastor Brian Coffey
Wednesday, Jan. 28
Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. - Acts 9:36-42
The outstanding characteristic of this woman, Dorcas, was grace and ministering in selfless love. She helped others. Her very name, both in Hebrew and Greek, means Gazelle (I’m guessing she went by the Aramaic version her name Tabitha, rather than the Greek version Dorcas). A gazelle is an animal characterized by grace. We are also told that she was a disciple, this means she was a sincere follower of Jesus and an important leader in that Christian community. The believers in Joppa have heard that the apostle Peter is in the neighboring village of Lydda, and in their grief they send for him to come to Joppa. We don’t know for sue if they thought that Peter could raise her from the dead, or if they only wanted the comfort he might provide in the midst of their loss.
The real question is, what is the purpose of this story? What is the account of this miracle meant to show us? Here again (just as in the previous miracle of the paralytic being healed) we get a story that shows us not only God’s power to heal physical disease and death, but His mighty power to bring us to life spiritually!
In the same way that a paralyzed person cannot take any steps toward Christ until He first heals him, neither can a dead person live a life pleasing to God until He first brings them back to life. The New Testament makes this point abundantly clear - we are DEAD in our sins until Jesus heals us and brings us to life.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world. - Ephesians 2:1-2
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. - Colossians 2:13
The name of Jesus is able to do what no amount of human persuasion or human power can ever do. He alone can impart strength and sensation to paralyzed legs. His power alone can raise a corpse from the dead. He alone can call a soul out of spiritual bondage and give it eternal life.
We are only His instruments, and if we think that any of the power depends on us, we misunderstand how He works. In fact, it is only when we sense our complete inability, as Peter surely did when he knelt and prayed for Dorcas to be raised, that we are in the place God wants us. If you have any confidence in your ability to lead a soul to faith in Christ, it is misplaced confidence. But if you cry out, “O Lord, who am I to raise the dead? But You can do the humanly impossible through me” - then, God will work wonders!
Jeff Frazier
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. - Acts 9:32-34
Here we have a story about the healing of paralysis of the body. For eight years it held this man impotent, unable to fulfill life as God intended human life to be lived. We don’t know much at all about this man. We are not told if he was a member of the church in Lydda, or if he was just some guy in the town. All we know is his name, Aeneas, which was a very common greek name in the first century. I think the point is that this could be anybody, this guy represents us all, he pictures the condition of humanity apart from Christ.
He was paralyzed; he could not move. This can happen to the spirit as well. In fact it does happen to many of us. Some of you are suffering from paralysis of the will, from paralysis of the spirit. There are things you have been wanting to do, knowing that you ought to do them. For years you have been saying, "Oh, I wish I could do that. I'd like to. Someday I want to do it." But you never have. You are suffering from paralysis of the will because you are looking to your own resources. You hope that someday, somehow you will get some new desire, and then when you feel motivated, then you will do it.
The truth is that apart from the power of Jesus Christ, you and I can no more take steps to change our sinful condition than a paralyzed man can get up and walk! It is to this very condition of the soul that this story makes its appeal. Jesus Christ says to you, "Rise, and begin to live. Do what I’ve called you to do, and do it in my name!” That is what this account is for - to show us that Jesus Christ can heal us from the paralysis of death.
It is very interesting to notice that the miracle Jesus does through Peter here in Acts 9, closely parallels a miracle that Jesus Himself performed in Matthew 9 - And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” - Matthew 9:2-6
In this account, not only does Jesus also heal a paralytic, but He actually gives us the reason for why He healed him. He is showing the religious leaders, and us, which is the greater miracle! I think we have a strong tendency to focus on the wrong things. We too often focus our hopes on the material world and the on the hope of a physical healing, but the greater miracle is not the fact that Jesus can make a lame person walk or a sick person well, it is the healing that Christ does in our hearts; the forgiveness of our sins and our redemption through the Cross!
Jeff Frazier
Monday, Jan. 26
In the last year or so of Paul's life, when he was imprisoned in Rome, he wrote a letter to his son in the faith, Timothy. And, looking back across the years of his ministry, he spoke of the coming of our Savior Christ Jesus, "who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (2 Tim. 1:10). That is the great and central fact in the good news about Jesus Christ: He has done what no other can ever do - he has abolished death. That is what is unique about the gospel!
Death has many forms. We actually begin to die long before we take our last breath. Death seizes us in many areas of our life other than the physical. There are many forms of death. Boredom is death. Sickness, of course, is death, but despair is also death. Fear and worry are forms of death. Mental illness is death, but so is bitterness of spirit. Death can seize our life while we live, and rule over great areas of our life long before we ever die. We know that from experience. But the great good news of Jesus Christ is that he has come to abolish death, death in every form, whatever it may be.
In Acts 9 we see two stories of healing from two different kinds of death. We will see how in each case the power of Jesus Christ abolishes death. The first incident is a picture of death's power to paralyze.
Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. - Acts 9:32-34
If you have ever been to Israel, you have probably been to Lydda. If you fly into Israel that is where you land. The airport outside Tel Aviv is at the ancient town of Lydda. It was to this village that Peter came on his way down from Jerusalem, visiting among the new churches of Judea and Samaria. The church had been thrust out from Jerusalem and pockets of Christianity had begun in all the villages in Judea and Samaria. In Lydda he finds a man who had been paralyzed for eight years.
Now Peter was no faith healer. He was not like the TV faith healers in America today who make grandiose claims of possessing powers to heal people. Peter never said that he had any power to heal anyone. "Jesus Christ heals you," he says. Peter was but the instrument and channel of his healing power. This man was made well instantaneously. As we have seen before in Acts, these physical miracles are a picture of the spiritual miracle that God wants to perform in every human spirit. God heals physically. He still does, and there are numerous perfectly valid instances of modern healings. But one thing is true of those today, just as in New Testament days: God heals physically only selectively. He never heals everybody that is sick. Jesus did not even when He walked the earth. He healed selectively, because it is intended to picture the healing of the soul. That is what God really wants. Any healing of the body is, at best, temporary.
Every one who was ever healed in New Testament days died later on. The healing of their bodies was just temporary because it was designed to be a picture. It is God's wonderful way of illustrating the healing of the sinful heart which would be eternal and which is really what God wants!
Jeff Frazier
Friday, January 23rd
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Friday, January 23
Acts 10:44-48
While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
Sometimes I like to read the headlines in the tabloid newspapers that line the check-out aisle in the local grocery store.
I get a chuckle out of headlines like, “Man Gives Birth!” or “Aliens Build Hotel in Manhattan!” or “Elvis is Alive!”
Imagine the headlines in the local tabloid of Caesarea the day after this story takes place.
“Romans Receive the Holy Spirit!”
“Romans are Baptized!”
I think we can scarcely imagine the shocking and even revolutionary nature of this story!
While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
I love that last line, “the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.”
I’m a Gentile and you are too, unless, of course, you were born into a Jewish family. Luke is saying that there was a time when we Gentiles were considered extremely unlikely to respond to the gospel.
“...the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.”
That makes me smile! We, who tend to consider ourselves as insiders, were once considered to be such outsiders that it was seen as a miracle when one of us came to faith!
I think there are several things we can take away from this story.
First of all, gratitude. We know the joy of salvation and the grace of Christ because of Peter and Cornelius. Cornelius is regarded traditionally as the first Gentile convert to Christ.
We are his descendants.
Second, as followers of Jesus, we are now commissioned to play the role of Peter. We are be the one who is willing to reach across boundaries, to break the social and religious rules of the day, in order to share the good news with those who are hungry for truth.
Who do we regard as unclean?
Who do we regard as unlikely to respond?
What prejudices or attitudes do we carry that effectively keep people as outsiders?
Peter listened to God. Peter put aside his own prejudices and assumptions. Peter went to the home of Cornelius. Peter shared the gospel and the Holy Spirit took over from there.
What a great story!
May it be our story!
Pastor Brian Coffey
Friday, January 23
Acts 10:44-48
While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
Sometimes I like to read the headlines in the tabloid newspapers that line the check-out aisle in the local grocery store.
I get a chuckle out of headlines like, “Man Gives Birth!” or “Aliens Build Hotel in Manhattan!” or “Elvis is Alive!”
Imagine the headlines in the local tabloid of Caesarea the day after this story takes place.
“Romans Receive the Holy Spirit!”
“Romans are Baptized!”
I think we can scarcely imagine the shocking and even revolutionary nature of this story!
While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
I love that last line, “the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.”
I’m a Gentile and you are too, unless, of course, you were born into a Jewish family. Luke is saying that there was a time when we Gentiles were considered extremely unlikely to respond to the gospel.
“...the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.”
That makes me smile! We, who tend to consider ourselves as insiders, were once considered to be such outsiders that it was seen as a miracle when one of us came to faith!
I think there are several things we can take away from this story.
First of all, gratitude. We know the joy of salvation and the grace of Christ because of Peter and Cornelius. Cornelius is regarded traditionally as the first Gentile convert to Christ.
We are his descendants.
Second, as followers of Jesus, we are now commissioned to play the role of Peter. We are be the one who is willing to reach across boundaries, to break the social and religious rules of the day, in order to share the good news with those who are hungry for truth.
Who do we regard as unclean?
Who do we regard as unlikely to respond?
What prejudices or attitudes do we carry that effectively keep people as outsiders?
Peter listened to God. Peter put aside his own prejudices and assumptions. Peter went to the home of Cornelius. Peter shared the gospel and the Holy Spirit took over from there.
What a great story!
May it be our story!
Pastor Brian Coffey
Thursday, January 22nd
To listen to the audio version, click here.
Thursday, January 22
Acts 10: 34-43
So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Picture the scene.
Cornelius, the Roman soldier who serves a pagan emperor, has invited a bunch of his Roman friends and family to his house so they can all hear what a Jewish man named Peter has to say about God.
Peter, the Jewish fisherman who became a disciple of Jesus, and who once tried to kill a Roman soldier with his sword, is being led to Cornelius’s house.
Just a few days earlier Peter would have considered it a sin to enter the house of a Roman. Just a few months before Peter would have hated Cornelius without even meeting him, simply because he was a Roman.
Peter preaches the gospel of Jesus to a room full of people that he would have regarded as unclean and unreachable “outsiders” just days earlier.
It’s a crazy and completely miraculous scene; one that simply could not have happened without God’s intervention and design.
God has arranged for an Apostle of the good news to be in the same room with a Roman spiritual seeker along with his friends and family.
God led Cornelius to Peter; and God led Peter to Cornelius. He brings them together by the power of the gospel and for the purpose of the gospel. Peter summarizes the gospel like this:
To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
I think this story is an example of what some call a “divine appointment.”
As pastor I have the privilege of hearing lots of stories like this.
Our church has a very active food ministry, called “Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry.” Many of our clients happen to be Spanish speaking. We are also getting ready to launch a church-wide 8-week small group experience called “The All Time Best Seller Book Club” and encouraging people to invite friends who may never have read the Bible to join the experience. Well, Erin Wise, who is the Director of Shepherd’s Heart Ministries, made sure to put a few Spanish versions of the New Testament on a table near the food pantry where they could be easily seen. Soon some of the Spanish speaking people coming for food started asking about the All Time Best Seller book Club, and before we knew it we had 17 families signed up for a Spanish speaking study group! And guess what? A couple of months ago we hired a new worship leader named Eli Munoz who happens to be bi-lingual. So Eli is leading our first ever Spanish speaking Bible study group!
That feels like a “divine appointment” to me! That feels like a Book of Acts story to me.
I could share many more stories just like that but the real question is, “What’s your story?” or, “What divine appointment might God have for you today?”
Pastor Brian Coffey
Thursday, January 22
Acts 10: 34-43
So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Picture the scene.
Cornelius, the Roman soldier who serves a pagan emperor, has invited a bunch of his Roman friends and family to his house so they can all hear what a Jewish man named Peter has to say about God.
Peter, the Jewish fisherman who became a disciple of Jesus, and who once tried to kill a Roman soldier with his sword, is being led to Cornelius’s house.
Just a few days earlier Peter would have considered it a sin to enter the house of a Roman. Just a few months before Peter would have hated Cornelius without even meeting him, simply because he was a Roman.
Peter preaches the gospel of Jesus to a room full of people that he would have regarded as unclean and unreachable “outsiders” just days earlier.
It’s a crazy and completely miraculous scene; one that simply could not have happened without God’s intervention and design.
God has arranged for an Apostle of the good news to be in the same room with a Roman spiritual seeker along with his friends and family.
God led Cornelius to Peter; and God led Peter to Cornelius. He brings them together by the power of the gospel and for the purpose of the gospel. Peter summarizes the gospel like this:
To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
I think this story is an example of what some call a “divine appointment.”
As pastor I have the privilege of hearing lots of stories like this.
Our church has a very active food ministry, called “Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry.” Many of our clients happen to be Spanish speaking. We are also getting ready to launch a church-wide 8-week small group experience called “The All Time Best Seller Book Club” and encouraging people to invite friends who may never have read the Bible to join the experience. Well, Erin Wise, who is the Director of Shepherd’s Heart Ministries, made sure to put a few Spanish versions of the New Testament on a table near the food pantry where they could be easily seen. Soon some of the Spanish speaking people coming for food started asking about the All Time Best Seller book Club, and before we knew it we had 17 families signed up for a Spanish speaking study group! And guess what? A couple of months ago we hired a new worship leader named Eli Munoz who happens to be bi-lingual. So Eli is leading our first ever Spanish speaking Bible study group!
That feels like a “divine appointment” to me! That feels like a Book of Acts story to me.
I could share many more stories just like that but the real question is, “What’s your story?” or, “What divine appointment might God have for you today?”
Pastor Brian Coffey
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