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Oct 15, 2023
Good News | Acts 10:19-48
The One You Least Expect
God was blowing Peter’s mind! Not only was lobster, shrimp, and bacon now ‘on the table’ for Jewish Christians, but Gentiles (non-Jewish persons) were also welcome to become Christians. Until this point, there had only been Jewish believers. The Holy Spirit made Peter re-process the message of Jesus and how He is for all people, every tribe, and every tongue – anyone who will trust Him. It turns out that this has been God’s plan all along.
Songs for this week: Spotify
- Have you ever had the experience of worshiping with Christians from (or in) another country? Describe what that was like.
- Peter (along with the other Christians) was stuck in his ways, and God had to blast him out of them. Is there a chance you could be stuck in your ways? Is it possible that God is working at blasting you out of your old ways?
- Explain Peter’s words: “God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”
- Cornelius was a Roman Centurion, part of Team Evil, yet God chose to include him. Who represents ‘Team Evil’ in your life? Are you able to pray for God’s work in their life?
- What do you make of the Spirit’s work in this story (visions, power, tongues)? Do you find yourself longing for more of His involvement in our life together?
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Recent Sermons
Paul never recovered from God including the Gentiles in the salvation invitation.
Like some of us, perhaps, he felt like some people should be excluded by virtue of where they were born or how badly they have behaved.
More than included, Paul instructs that former ‘outsiders’ should be treated as precious insiders, treated even better than we would treat ourselves. What would it look like if love came to town?
Human beings need reminders about how to get along, and Christians are no exception. We especially need reminders about how to love each other while we disagree. Paul draws the believers' hearts and minds back to what Jesus has done, and that paves the way for loving each other well through conflict.
How do we live with Jesus in a society that opposes him? Paul tells us to wake up to our resurrection hope. When we do that, loving others and rejecting sin in our own lives makes sense.
Romans 12 is the description of what happens when God’s mercy overflows in a church’s life. Lifelong attitudes change, love becomes genuine, mocking enemies are not met with equal and opposite force but, quite the opposite, with peace and gentleness. Be praying even now for how God will speak uniquely to your small group.
All along, we’ve been saying that God’s heart is to see us INCLUDED. That’s why Jesus came, and that’s the subject of Paul’s letter to the Romans. At times, Christians forget God’s radical inclusion of them and go back to the old patterns of competing and comparing. Sadly, that was happening in the Roman Church. Paul has one powerful dose for that sickness.
The resurrection changed everything! The story includes an invitation, a blessing, and a commission for the first witnesses … and for us today.
