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Acts 8: The Diaspora
1. “And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” Try to imagine 5,000 people meeting one day and the next there are only 12. Everyone else has left. Moved out and leaving everything behind. That is the picture here. It is like what…
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Strengthen What Remains
When do we start thinking about the finish line? It happens most often when we reach a certain stage of life but that stage is, of course, different for everyone. For some, they begin considering last things or finishing well when still young. For others, it may be much later. For me, it began when my grandson asked me, “How old are you, Papa?” When I said nearly 78 he was astonished. “What? And you are not dead yet?” That was my turning point for considering what time for me is left and how to use it. John’s words to the church at Sardis took on a new meaning for…
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The Camino
The final miles of the Camino de Santiago leading into Santiago De Compostela, Spain are not grueling but just a steady incline that seems to have no end – especially in the rain which was our fellow traveler on the pilgrimage in May. You finally reach the narrow street that funnels into the broad plaza and having taken a photo celebrating the finish you look for the Pilgrim’s House where you claim your certificate for having completed your walk. Before you receive it there is a brief survey and one of the questions is, “What was your motivation for doing the Camino?” Your choices are religious, non-religious and other. Standing…
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Eulogy for Gerry Dunlap
Eulogy for Gerry Dunlap June 12, 2024 The Apostle Paul says in Philippians: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Many years ago I taught junior high school. One day a student asked me, “Mr. Smith, what is a eulogy?” I told him it was a time when we say…
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Acts 2: Pentecost
1. The lesson for this morning is Acts 2 and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It’s difficult to understand the meaning of Pentecost (Greek for 50th day) unless we look first at the chapter that precedes it. What is the context of the 50th day? While there were a number of feasts and festivals in the life of Jews, there were three main solemn feasts in Jewish life for which every adult male we required to make the trip to Jerusalem. The first was Passover, the second was the Feast of Weeks seven weeks later and, third, in the fall the Feast of Tabernacles. To each of…
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The Ambitious Priest
Even the purest religions go astray in time. In the book of Judges is a story which opens with the mother whose son returns money he has stolen from her. Overjoyed, she thanks the Lord and then vows she will use a portion of the returned money to make an idol dedicated to the Lord. An idol dedicated to the Lord? What was she thinking? How does this happen? How do people get turned around when the commandment is so clear? It is not just making an idol but thinking the idol is a way to worship God. It is still true today, isn’t it? We have people (even religious…
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The Gentle Slope
In the earliest days after Israel entered the Promised Land there was no plan for a single leader following Moses and Joshua. Everything was tribal by design. No President. No King. No standing national armies. There would be no United Tribes of Israel – just Tribes. There was only the common mission of completely driving out the Canaanites and observing the Law. The assumption was every tribe was capable of self-regulation for all had the same set of values in the Law. Such a system assumes people do not need external controls except in extreme circumstances. They were to look out for each other but not dominate or control. They…
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Judah and Tamar
If you read the last verse of Chapter 37, it would seem only natural to pick up with the first verse of Chapter 39. “Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharoah’s officials, the captain of the guard. Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharoah’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.” That would be the perfect and expected sequence – but it is not. Instead, there is this insertion of an incident that appears to have nothing to do with the larger story of Joseph. You would…
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Jacob’s New Name
A few years ago a very valuable missing painting was found. It had been used by the unknowing owner for wrapping fish. That’s how I feel about this story in a way. Why would such an extraordinary and pivotal account in the history of God and man be used to explain why Jews do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip? It makes me wonder how many other stories are being used to wrap fish and when we unroll them we are surprised and delighted at the irony of God to take something so precious and use it for such a common purpose. The beginning of…
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The Unexpected Good
You would expect those on the leading edge of making the world a better place through breakthroughs in technology, science, and now the advent of artificial intelligence to be those with the most hope for the future. After all, are these not all at the heart of the accelerating progress we are making not only in these fields but in the alleviation of poverty, hunger, disease, mental illness and a host of other applications? This is the essence of their faith in “effective altruism” that is focused not merely on the present but on problems needing solutions hundreds of years from now. These are brilliant and powerful people thinking long…
