The Gospel Is for All

Introduction

Good morning. Welcome. Good to see all of you. we’re glad you’re you’ve joined us this morning. If you’re visiting, we especially want to welcome you and invite you back anytime you have an opportunity. We’ll meet again this afternoon at five for Bible classes for all ages, and then Wednesday at 730. Also, we invite you to join us anytime you can. We’re here to worship God, and for the next hour or so, we need to set aside the things of the world and focus on our worship to God. Let’s start with the word of prayer. Our Holy Father in heaven, we praise you, Father. We bow before you, recognizing our dependence upon you for our very lives. Thank you so much for the plan of salvation you’ve provided that gives us the hope that we have of living with you forever.

We pray as we enter this worship hour, Father, we’ll set aside the cares of the world and focus on you and bring pray that everything we do brings glory to your name and edifies us. Thank you for all the blessings you’ve provided for us, especially Jesus. Pray in his name.

This morning our songs will be centered around the gospel, its perfection, its life-giving power, and the gospel power to change our lives and what it looks at when Christ is in us.

Would you bow with me? Father, we thank you for this day. It is truly a blessing to come together with our brothers and sisters to praise your name and worship you. Let our worship edify and uplift each other so that our bond in you becomes even stronger. Help our faith to always be steadfast and true. Let our walk on this earth be a living testimony of who you are, the creator and giver of all. In your Son’s name we pray. Amen. This time we have an opportunity for the members here to make a contribution from the things that God has blessed them with in order to further the work of the church here. If you’re visiting with us this morning, we want you to know that your presence is sufficient for us.

If this is your first time here, we would appreciate getting a visitor card. But that is that’s all that we ask of you. We do have an obligation as members of this congregation, though, to support the work that it undertakes. As we prepare to do that, let’s pray.

As you have entrusted these things to us as stewards, we pray that you would help us to use those things in a way that reflects the will of our Master, that we might use these things as you would. Demonstrate our care and concern for your kingdom, your creation, and for those who are created in your image. For the contribution that we collect at this time, we pray that you would help it to be used effectively to spread your word and to build up your people. We ask these things in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Song number two hundred and seventy-three wonderful words of life.

Sing the Lord again to me, wonderful words of life, let me write seek, wonderful words of life, words of life and unity, teaching faith and divinity, beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life, beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.

Wonderful words of life. Sweetly echo the gospel of all wonderful words of life.

Wonderful words of life. Jesus only saved your sanctified forever. Beautiful words. Wonderful words. Wonderful words of life. Beautiful words. Wonderful words. Wonderful words of life. Scripture reading.

For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life? More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Jesus saves. At this time we’ll sing yet not I, but through Christ in me. This will be on slides only. Let us be standing for the song.

There is no more heaven now to give.

Oh, how strange and be high, I can see.

Or in my need, his hour is displayed.

And he was raised to overthrow the prey through this I hold my sin as empty Jesus now and never is my before chains are released. I can see I am free and not I but through price in me with every breath I want to follow Jesus, for he has said that he will bring me home, and make my day I know he will bring you until I stand with joy for the road through this I hope my hope is on me all the war me and more to grace is complete, so my lips shall be but through price in me.

All the glory ever to him when my grace is complete, still my lives shall be and not I but through prize in me when the race is home before shall be not I but through price in me but through price in me I but through price in me So far, we have been working on laying the groundwork for the book of Acts. And we’re moving into a section now that has to do more with the growth and expansion of the Ecclesia of the Jesus movement, the early disciples, where they’re heading and how they’re spreading into the world. And to do that, even though we’ve kind of made our way to chapter 8, I actually want us to go back to chapter 1. We’re not going to start all the way over, but I want to show some structural things in the text that are going to help us a little bit this morning as we’re moving into this next section of the text.

When Jesus is speaking to his disciples, they’re asking some things about the kingdom. Before he ascends to the Father, he says, Don’t worry about that. But in verse 8, he says, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

The book is built around this phrase here in verse 8 that has to do with the geographical locations of where the gospel is going to spread. And when we get to chapter 8, we begin to see that happening. Jerusalem is the foundation. And we’ve seen a lot about Jerusalem already. The Holy Spirit comes down on those who are there on the day of Pentecost, and they begin preaching and teaching, and many are converted, 3,000 the first day, and thousands more following that. And there’s this foundation that happens there in the early days of the church, where they are devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers, and great things are happening in Jerusalem. Everybody’s needs are met. And we’ve even looked a little bit as we did last time at some of the conflicts, the external conflicts with the Jews who are upset about this movement, the name of Jesus being proclaimed, and even some struggles from within with Ananias and Sapphira, and some of the problems that just happen whenever you have people in a group.

That’s just a reality, and the Ecclesia has already faced that. But now the persecution grows.

In chapter 7. He’s there when Stephen is executed or killed before the people.

Story. Where the Jews and the Romans with them, they kill the Messiah. They kill Jesus. But in the process of doing so, they actually play into God’s hand, and everything that he had been working to accomplish is accomplished, even by means of their own evil and wicked behavior. Acts 8 is just another illustration of the same type of thing. The church is being persecuted. Saul is a big part of that, and we’ll see a transition coming with that here in that next chapter. But because of that, now the word of Jesus is spreading to the world. This is just a small indication of what had taken place. Really up till chapter 11. There’s more than just this. There’s actually more places the gospel has spread. But some of these are specifically mentioned in this text from chapter 8 through 11, or they already existed, as we see in the church in Jerusalem, and is implied that there were already saints in Damascus before Saul shows up there.

There’s churches already there, but in this section, as persecution is becoming increased, now the people are spreading out. They don’t remind, remain silent, they don’t give up, they don’t say, well, everything’s falling apart, so this Jesus thing just isn’t working out. We’re just going to go somewhere else and do something else. No, when they leave, when they scatter, they take the message of Jesus with them and they begin teaching others, and the word continues to multiply, as we’re told through various summaries that Luke gives us.

That this is going to happen a certain way. It’s going to start in Jerusalem and it’s going to begin to spread out. There’s actually other structure within here as well that we won’t spend a lot of time on, but I’ll just reference for you quickly. Peter is portrayed, and Paul will be the same way later. Peter is portrayed in ways that are much like Jesus. For example, he raises somebody from the dead, Dorcas. They come out and they’re bringing people out to him so that even his shadow will pass over them, they’re healed, much like people just teach touching the garments of Jesus and being healed. And so Peter kind of takes on this persona that is a lot like Jesus. He has the authority of Jesus, and he’s doing the same kinds of things that Jesus did.

And we’ll see the same thing with Paul in the second part of the book of Acts. And so there’s a message here that the name of Jesus and his power remains. And if you want that, you need to be a follower of Jesus. The stories in this section are many, and we can only focus on a few of them. But I’ll, some of them we’ve already seen. We’ve talked about Simon the magician in the last sermon. But Philip is it’s noted he’s going to Samaria. When there’s persecution and they spread, he decides to go and to preach the gospel to Samaria. And of course, Simon is converted there. He then goes and he meets an Ethiopian eunuch, and these are all really precise and important details for what was happening in the story of Acts.

And then Saul, who we’ve been introduced to, who is a persecutor of the church, he is speaking threats and murder against the way. He is then converted in chapter 9. He is baptized into Christ. Ananias, a different Ananias, comes and talks to him and reveals that this is Jesus that was revealed to him, and Jesus has a plan for him. And Saul changes his life and his name, and he begins following Jesus and the Jesus movement. There’s just a short little story. Aeneas. This is another one of those ones where Peter’s a lot like Jesus. Peter heals a paralyzed man, been paralyzed for eight years. And Aeneas is healed, and the people of Lydda and Sharon turn to the Lord and believe. And then there is the climax of this section, which is the story of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert.

As you saw on the first slide, I don’t think the message is all that complicated here, that the gospel is for all. And what I want to do is I think that is the importance of this section, but what does that mean? We need to get into some details about what is meant by the idea that the gospel is for all. It’s available to everyone. I don’t think that’s a complicated concept, but these stories are arranged and they’re told in such a way that I think we can take some principles from them that help us even today. That can help us with the way that we maybe view ourselves, the way we view the word of Jesus and the message that he has, and maybe open our eyes to some of the biases and some of the ways that we may be tempted to think that are not in alignment with a text like Acts 8 through 11.

1. The Gospel Is for All Cultures

I’m gonna kind of it’s sort of an arbitrary breakdown, and I could have done this a few different ways, and so ultimately it was just me deciding how I wanted to do it. I don’t see anything particularly in the text that tells me to divide this up in a certain way. for example, I’m gonna put Paul in the last point I’m gonna make this morning, he could have been in the second. But I do think there are some key principles that we need to take away from this that are important for us 2,000 years later. When we say the gospel is for all, we need to understand that the gospel is for all cultures, for all societies, for all time. Samaria is an interesting situation.

I don’t know what would be exactly comparable to us today. But the Samaritans are made up of people, you have the exile to Assyria, and they begin bringing in when the Assyrians took people captive. They would take people from different areas and they would sort of bring them in and force them to live in different places. So Samaria was not just the nation of Israel that was left there. They were taking people from other areas and bringing them in. Still very Jewish in thinking, although there is some assimilation to the pagan world around them. And many of the Samaritans would have considered themselves Jewish. Yet the reality is, and maybe sort of a harsh way to say this, is they are mixed breeds, particularly in the eyes of the Jews.

They are ethnically mixed. And the Jews would not have seen them as Jews. They were seen as less than. They were not the kind of people you associate with. The Samaritans, even the woman at the well, when Jesus comes to her, she recognizes why are you asking me for water? Jews don’t have any dealings with Samaritans. Why are you talking to me? It’s not that she doesn’t want to talk to him or she doesn’t have any interest, but Jews don’t normally talk to us. That’s the point she’s making. Jews would purposely route themselves around Samaria so they wouldn’t go through the land of the Samaritans. There are certainly some ethnically and culturally difficult scenarios that surround the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. Of course, Jesus is aware of this.

And led the way in this sort of thinking that’s taking place even here in Acts chapter 8, well before the time of Philip going into Samaria and preaching. And so we have the story of the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman. Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan. In Luke 10, the Samaritan is placed in this positive light that the Jews would have disliked in a very big way. But now as persecution spreads the gospel, Philip makes his way into Samaria. Kind of an odd choice. Why would you go to the Samaritans? And they are religiously corrupt. They do the wrong things. They worship at the wrong mountain. They don’t even worship Yahweh correctly. Why would you go talk to them about all of this?

Doesn’t seem much chance they’ll want to listen. That might be the human perspective or their human mentality. Philip, for whatever reason, whether it was through inspiration or because he’s just a good guy who understands the mission of the kingdom, decides he’s going to go to Samaria. And of course, you know the story because we talked about it last week. There’s this guy, Simon, who everybody thinks is great. And when Philip comes and he talks to them and he begins working miracles, not only do the people believe, but Simon believes.

They believed the message of the gospel. They accept what Philip is telling them, and they are baptized into Jesus Christ. Even Simon himself being baptized, the text tells us. And then we have this summary that comes later in the text. That the Ecclesia, the church, as we often translate it, through all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Acts 9 and verse 31. Philip begins this process, but then Jerusalem hears about it. The apostles hear about it. And now Peter and John are sent to Samaria. I want you to think again about how I introduced this concept. People in Jerusalem are now sending people to Samaria, the place they used to navigate around, because they didn’t want to be there.

So Peter and John come and they confirm this reality that the Samaritans belong as part of the people of God. They are not second class citizens, but they are equal in Christ. Paul goes on to talk about this in the letter to the Galatians and the letter to Rome. There’s no unequal status. You don’t have some who are above others. There’s not going to be a Jewish Christianity and a Samaritan Christianity.

No, there’s only one kingdom. And the Samaritans are solidified as equal in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. They’re not different. They’re not lower. And so these people who were once at odds are now brought together and they are at peace in Christ. I want us to think about that whole scenario. And think about the division that exists even among so-called Christians in our culture. And I want us to understand that in the story of Acts, when it is talking about the people of God and those who are following Jesus, there are no brands, there are no branches of Christianity. It is one unified group, even among people who were very different, had completely different backgrounds. Once they had been in opposition to each other, and now they are brought together through the message of Jesus.

There are not ways, there is the way. The way is simple. You follow Jesus. And that doesn’t mean there won’t be cultural influences on our actions and the way that we do things. Certainly that’s the case. Anyone who’s done a little bit of traveling will realize that we do things certain ways in the United States, and they may be done differently in Italy or other places in Europe in Romania and Asia. And I think Jesus actually has given us quite a bit of freedom in how we carry out various aspects of what he wants us to do. But that being the case, we don’t need to have the American church and the European church and the Asian church. No, we are the ecclesia of Jesus Christ.

We are one body, we are unified under one message. And the basic gospel message does not change because you’re from some different location or you have different cultural background. God became flesh and he dwelt among us. He died and was resurrected to new life so that we could do the same thing, and we do it now, and we’re baptized into Christ. We die with him. This is the idea of why we do this. We die and then we’re resurrected to new life, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a Jew or you’re a Samaritan, it doesn’t matter what your background is, it is the same message every time.

Worship is essentially the same, no matter where you are, or at least it should be. But even there, Jesus left it fairly general. I mean, he could have been hyper specific about everything. You know, sing in unison at all times, no separate parts, no harmonies. I mean, he could have. Some of you might like that because it’d be really easy. It’d be super black and white and easy to decide what needs to happen all the time. He just said, sing. Make melody in your heart. There’s a lot of different ways you can do that. There’s a lot of ways it’s done even in scripture. There’s chanting. People could did that actually for quite some time. There’s call and response. We see that even in scripture. Someone sings a line and the audience responds with that line.

There’s all sorts of ways you can sing. And so our culture might do it a certain way. In the United States or in a certain region of the United States, we might do things a certain way, and they may do it differently somewhere else. The message is simple. It’s sing. It can be done a variety of ways. Jesus left it general, and so there are cultural influences. I’m not denying that. Some of those things are completely fine. And we need to understand it so.

He didn’t say any of that. Because he left it general. He told us the things that are important and what matter in things like the communion over Jesus’ body and his blood. And then, yes, there are cultural differences, but yet we are all still doing essentially the same thing. He could have laid out services. Pray three times in every service, at least three minutes each. You know, make sure you have a message from Scripture. He left it up to us to decide how to carry out the things of Scripture. And of course, some of those things are done in slightly different ways in different cultures, that they are all equal in Christ. We follow general principles based on devoted hearts, just as they were doing in Acts 2 and verse 42.

And so while there are cultural differences sometimes in geographical locations or because of our upbringing, or whatever it may be that causes differences, there’s differences. I’ve lived up in the Northeast before, and I’ve lived in the South. I’ve lived close to the Midwest. Actually, Memphis is more Midwest than it is Southern in some ways. So I’ve seen different regions, and people do things slightly different ways, but it’s all the same message. And sometimes we get too caught up, and we’re from the Bible Belt, or we’re from the South, or we’re from the North, or whatever. It’s all one in Christ. There is no different Christianity, there’s no different brand, there’s no different branches. There is one Lord and Savior. And He is the one that we follow and we listen to.

2. Not Just Cultural or Ethnic, Also Status

It’s not restricted. It’s not just for one kind of person. We’re beginning to see that. But it’s not just cultural or ethnic, it’s also status. It’s also the kind of person we are. It has to do maybe with our social status or our economic status. That Jesus wants his message available for everyone. And part of that is bringing in people who in the past had been rejected for various reasons. The Jesus movement wasn’t just trying to attract the rich and the beautiful. In fact, they often reject the message, probably because it was made them equal to everyone else. You mean that Ethiopian eunuch is the same as me? These people in Samaria are just like I am. I mean, we’ve been worshiping at the temple. We’ve been following Yahweh our whole life, and now these Samaritans can come in who worship at Mount Gerizim and don’t even worship God the right way.

Now you’re saying they’re equal to us.

3. The Foreigner and the Eunuch Brought In

Of doing what’s right. Our own biases and our own conflicted thinking sometimes keep us from what we ought to be thinking. And this is exactly what Jesus is trying to reveal. In fact, it’s what is promised in the prophets. Kind of a strange series of texts I’m about to lead you through here, but they connect very heavily to Acts chapter 8, where after the story of Simon, a man we’ve talked about had quite a bit of baggage and had to make a lot of changes, will be similar to Saul here in a few minutes. There is the story of a eunuch. Again, not just a random story thrown in there to sound nice and be interesting. I mean, it is kind of neat that Philip is there and suddenly he’s here with this eunuch and he’s told to go up into the chariot and then he disappears afterwards.

I mean, we always like that as kids. It’s a fun story. But there’s more to it than that. There’s a reason this story is here. Isaiah 56 is a text that’s in the middle of this section about the new exodus that’s coming, the way, God’s way out from slavery. We’ve talked about that in past sermons, and what he’s showing is his salvation’s going to come. Right? The salvation of the Lord will come, it says in Isaiah 56 and verse 1. But then there’s some strange things here that Jews would probably not be very comfortable with. When we keep reading in verse 3, it says, this is Isaiah 56 and verse 3. Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, The Lord will surely separate me from his people.

Keep that in your mind. So we’re talking about foreigners here. But then there’s this next statement. And let not the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree, for thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant. I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. And the foreigners who join themselves the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it and holds fast my covenant, these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. Now, all of this is working toward kind of what is the big reveal in the story, which we’re going to get to here with Cornelius. But these are important steps along the way.

I think it’s specifically is actually about people among Israel who were from other places. They’re foreigners among Israel, which would have been like this Ethiopian eunuch. He’s not only a foreigner, but he’s also a eunuch. And I cited Deuteronomy 23, verses 1 through 3 there. If you go back and read that, what you’re going to see is that eunuchs and people who are from other nations, like the Moabites and the Ammonites, were kept out of the assembly. Interestingly, in your Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the word there three times used. The assembly is the word ecclesia. They’re kept out. In the Old Testament, you keep out certain people. People who are physically damaged, people who are foreigners from other nations. They were not allowed to be in.

And the concept here, and what’s sometimes portrayed in the law, is the aspect of purity. Right? Keeping things whole and pure. And so a eunuch is not that. And so they were kept out of the assembly. But what he’s telling us in Isaiah 56 is that’s all going to change. If you keep the Sabbath and you keep the covenant and you fear God and you do his will, whether you’re a foreigner or whether you’re a eunuch, you will have a place and you will have a name in the temple. Let me just stop for just a second. And point out that if we understand what’s being said here, just due to some recent events, I just want us to understand the temple here is not a physical temple.

There’s no temple in Jerusalem that has the Ethiopian eunuch’s name on it. The temple is the Ecclesia. That’s very clear in the New Testament. Ephesians chapter 2 tells us, and actually the point he’s making there, Paul’s making, is that you’re taking Jew and you’re taking Gentile, and they’re being built together as a dwelling place for God and the Spirit. That’s a temple. They’re being built together as a temple. There’s never going to be a temple built in Zion that has to do with what’s in Scripture. That is not the prophecy being made. It is not a literal temple. That is a poor interpretation of Scripture. That’s not what’s happening. Whether it’s a temple in Ezekiel, the perfected temple that’s talked about there, the idea has to do with restoration and about God being with his people.

And this is another text that shows this. This is going to be a temple for all people. Everybody can come into this temple from any nation. And it’s not a physical one. It is a metaphorical or a figurative temple. It is about God’s relationship to his people. And that’s what’s happening here. But he’s telling the eunuch, you’re going to have a relationship with me. You’re going to have a name, and that’s better than the sons and the daughters you can’t have. That’s how great this is. And so now you have a place among the people of God. You can be in the ecclesia now. You’re part of it. Luke uses the story of Isaiah frequently throughout the telling of Luke and Acts. That’s a lot of what he’s doing.

It’s designed that way. And so I am very sure that Luke understands what he’s doing here with Isaiah 56 and the reversal that he’s showing with this story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter 8. He’s now as a foreigner, as in a eunuch, just like Isaiah 56, he’s now being brought in to the people of God. He’s an outsider. Just like the Samaritans in a similar way, probably wouldn’t have been well thought of by those on the inside. But it’s interesting that God is specifically making a way for Philip to make contact, to interact with this man, to teach him about the way of Jesus. And realize that he can be part of this people in a very real way. He’s not going to be kept out on the borders.

4. A Gentile Brought In With Full Inclusion

He doesn’t have second class status. He’s not someone who’s less important than those who were on the inside. He is part of God’s people, finally. But it is interesting that the eunuch has come to Jerusalem to worship. He is a proselyte. So while, in a sense, he is an outsider, there’s still an aspect of this where he is, at least loosely, part of the people of God. And this is moving us toward what is the pinnacle of this story. And that is that a Gentile is being brought in with full inclusion. The gospel is for sinners, as we read already in Romans chapter 5 earlier. In fact, this is how God’s love is demonstrated to us, that he died while we were sinners. It’s not because we were so great and we did things so well.

Peter, as he’s working through this idea in Acts chapter 10, he opens his mouth, it says in verse 34. And he 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. Another just brief aside. Any system of thought, any idea that says only certain people can be saved does not follow what Peter says in Acts 10. The gospel is not just for some people. The gospel is not just for certain ones who God has already predecided. The point here is that the gospel is being spread to all. And repeatedly, we’ve seen now in the prophets, we’ve seen now in the New Testament, that all who fear him, who keep his covenant, who want to do his will, anyone has this option.

It is open for anyone who wants it. Whether it’s a Gentile who was viewed positively by the Jews, it seems, because of the gifts he had given them. But yet when you get to Acts chapter 11, they’re criticizing Peter. It says, You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them. This guy is not a proselyte. And you went into his house.

So these people changed. I think that they deserve some credit for that. But notice in the beginning, they’re criticizing Peter. Peter understands this, though. When he goes to Cornelius, he’s not saying, hey, I’m so excited to be here. He’s saying, look, don’t you understand that it is unlawful for me, a Jew, to be here with you, a Gentile? I don’t think he’s talking about the law of Moses there. I think he’s just talking about the laws of their land, kind of the Jewish law and the way they would have viewed things. You yourselves, do you not know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or visit anyone of another nation? Chapter 10 and verse 28. Peter understands what’s happening. He knows the difficulty here.

But he’d been told in his in a trance God had appeared to him and showed him unclean food and said, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. He doesn’t want to do it. But the message is drilled in over and over, and finally he realizes when the men from Cornelius come that he needs to go back with them, that there’s a message that has more to do here than with food. Don’t call anything unclean. Don’t call anything common, God tells him. That I have cleansed. And now the message is being shown that even a Gentile can be brought in. And praise be to God for that, because we probably all are Gentiles here this morning. We have the ability to follow Jesus Christ on equal status with everyone else.

5. Paul Himself: The Gospel Is for Sinners

And then there’s Paul himself, a man devoted. Cornelius and Paul have some similarities. Paul is a devout Pharisee who had been out rounding up people from the way and imprisoning them and killing them, even. But he is devout. He’s devoted to what he’s doing. He thinks he’s devoted to Yahweh. And doesn’t even realize he’s actually opposing him. And when it’s made known to him, that’s what’s happening, he changes. Cornelius, he’s a gentile. He’s a Roman soldier. But he fears God. He’s praying. These men are seeking the things of God, sometimes even when they don’t realize they’re doing it the wrong way, and they need someone to help them along the way, just like the Ethiopian eunuch needed Philip to teach him the way, just like Apollos needed Aquila and Priscilla to help him understand the way more accurately.

Conclusion

We’re all there sometimes, and sometimes we need better information, and we need someone to help us along the way. And Paul and Cornelius both fall into that category. But the gospel is for that kind of person. It’s for the person who’s a sinner and desperately needs the transformation that comes from Jesus Christ. And that’s where Paul is. I think the bottom line of all of this, and what I really want us to think about as we close this morning, is that the message of Jesus is not about trying to make everyone comfortable. The truth uncovers uncomfortable realities about our own biases, how we’ve been conditioned to think, how we view other people. And what we see repeatedly is that Jesus views every person as a soul that needs saving.

But Jesus is after every single one of our hearts. And it doesn’t matter where you come from or what your background is or even what you’ve done. Think about Saul and the things he did. He wants every single person to change their hearts and to turn to him. And when I read through this text, here’s what I get from it. If we’re thinking kind of on the congregational level, what is it that Luke wants us to think about or consider? Are we a congregation that welcomes all who fear God and do what is acceptable to him? Or have we placed our own rules and regulations and boundaries around what it means to be a follower of Jesus? Are we committed to the things of Jesus and what Jesus has said and what Jesus has revealed, or are we committed to the things we have said and we think are important?

Those are the types of things that divide people. Right? These are the types of things that cause problems between the Jews and the Samaritans and the Gentiles, even in New Testament times where it had been made clear that God accepts everyone. We have a story not too long after this, where Peter is eating with the Gentiles, and when the men from chains come, the Jews show up, he backs out and goes somewhere else because he’s a coward and he won’t stand for what’s right, at least in that moment. And Paul has to correct them. Paul says that’s not what the gospel is. That’s not what God’s people are supposed to be. This is what it means for the gospel to be for all. It’s not just we can tell everybody about Jesus.

Yes, we can do that. But it also has to do with our relationships and the way we view each other and our willingness to even be uncomfortable in understanding the importance of what this means for the message to be available to everyone. The challenge for our congregation. Are we willing to welcome the same kinds of people that we find in a place like Acts 8 through 11. People who struggle with sin. People who have complicated past. People who have physical needs and limitations, like Aeneas, people who carry differences in culture. They have cultural differences and backgrounds that are not like ours. They don’t look like us, they don’t think like us. Maybe they don’t even live like us right now. They’re struggling and living like Jesus.

Are we willing to take those people in and work with them and help them? Because the gospel does not just reach comfortable people, it is for all.

If we’re about being comfortable, if we’re about not having anything be messy or hard, that is not the spirit of Jesus ecclesia. Because to him, the gospel is for everyone and everything that comes with that.

There are principles and truths and realities that we take from this that should be shaping the way we think and the way we interact and the relationships that we have. Whatever your background is this morning, if you’re not in Jesus Christ, I’m playing with you to consider that, to see what a difference it makes to be part of Jesus and His people. Jesus is the kind of person who doesn’t divide like we see in our culture, where everything is divided all the time about everything. Jesus is the kind of person who brought people together. And so we can welcome all sorts of people from different backgrounds, different ways of thinking in their upbringing and how they live life, and they can all come together under the umbrella of Jesus Christ and become one.

And that’s what we’re about in this place. Even cultural differences, political differences. Those things are unimportant. What actually matters that we are committed to the cause of Jesus and the growth of his kingdom. Are you in for that? That’s what we want to do here. If we can help you in some way, I want you come now as we stand and we sing.

Just a moment we’ll sing song number two hundred and one. Hallelujah, what a savior. And then we will partake of the Lord’s Supper. If you do not have the emblems, please raise your hand, and we have some gentlemen who will pass that out to you.

As we sing this song, the first line we will sing softly, and then second line we will build to the crescendo of Hallelujah.

If you’d like to follow along here in a moment, we’ll read from Romans five. Romans five, we’ll start in verse six here shortly. I know we’ve already read this verse this morning. Thank you, Titus. But we’re gonna hit it again here shortly before taking to the Lord’s Supper.

It really puts into perspective for at least for me the greatness of what we are here to do today. Hearing of stories like the Ethiopian and Saul, one man that was reading and studying and had a desire to hear and learn what he was reading about. And another, a man that wasn’t seeking the truth, wasn’t studying the truth, but was actually looking to destroy it. Who was ultimately going to one day call himself the chief of sinners. But both finding forgiveness and committing their life to Christ. I love these stories because I feel like I can relate to them sometimes. I’m sure you have the same feeling. Having the feeling that something is missing in our lives, searching for what it is, and then finding it through Christ.

The feeling that we have done wrong and are not worthy of good things. But finding that the forgiveness, finding that forgiveness that is so undeserved, realizing that we have a great redeemer that has done so much for us, that one day we’re willing to commit our lives to him. Right now we have come together to remember that great Redeemer. The one that brought the Ethiopian and Saul together, that brings you and me together. People that without him we may not have anything in common. But through Jesus, that is what brings us here today as one.

Went through torture and torment, was ridiculed, was spit on, was mocked, and then died for people like Saul, the chief sinner. People like the Ethiopian, who didn’t know what he was reading, but had to learn. People in the world that we see every single day in our lives, people that we may look at and say, they may be a lost cause. And ultimately, people like you and me, because we have fit into those categories as them. Romans 5, starting in verse 6, it says, For while we will, for while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even die. But God shows his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since therefore we have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have we now received reconciliation. Let’s pray for the bread.

To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Again, our God, we come to you, thanking you for shedding Christ’s pure blood on the cross, the blood that washes away our sins. We pray that we strive to live our lives in a way that earns our place next to you, so that one day, when this life ends, we can praise you in your presence. Amen.

If you’re visiting with us, we are so happy that you’re here. We welcome you back at 5 p.m. today for Bible classes for all ages. I have a few announcements to get through, so please bear with me. I’m going to start off with a card from Lucy Irwin to my Decker Prairie family. I want to thank you all for the love, text, cards, food, and mostly your prayers during my illness, surgery, and recovery. I’m making great progress each day, and I’m deeply grateful for your kindness and love Lucy. Lucy, glad that you’re back with us. Denise Campbell’s surgery went well. I believe she is here. Yep, she’s here. So Denise, glad that you’re back with us as well. Mary Madden is in rehab. she should be there a few more days, so please continue praying for Miss Mary.

Group five meets upstairs tonight after services. That’s group that’s led by Ross and John. if you’re not sure which group you’re in, pick up a copy of the bulletin. The list is on the back. We have many expectant mothers. let’s keep them in our prayers, check on them, see what we can do to support them. And it’s a it’s a wonderful baby boom that we’ve got going on at Decker Prairie. So very grateful for that. We have lots of folks in the ongoing prayer list, also in the bulletin. So please pick that up and just because we don’t mention them every time, let’s do keep them in our prayers and check on them to see what we can do for them.

All right, we are clearing out the upstairs library. So you know, the library that’s nobody uses. So that’s the one that we’re clearing out, so feel free to go up there and take whatever you want. Books only, don’t take furniture or TVs or anything like that. But if you want any of those books, you’re welcome to them. Let’s keep Sean in our prayers as he is still in rehab. He is able to receive letters. if you have a letter that you’d like to send him, please give that to Daniel Lynn. He is the point of contact there. And also, let’s keep Amari in our prayers as well. She is continuing to struggle with frequent headaches. Last thing I have is Don Giles is at home with pneumonia.

So let’s keep her in our prayers as well. Again, it’s been great to be with everyone this morning. Hope to see you all back at five PM.

I have a passion for my God.

He is first in my life. He is first in my life.

I have a passion.

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and the message that we learn from it today, Lord. Just as you work through the apostles and the early church, the disciples that spread the good news, Lord. Please work through us, Lord. Let us share your love with others every day of every week. Let us be the kingdom focused Christians and mission-minded disciples as we walk out of this building this morning, Lord, ready to serve. Help us to see every person, Lord, who does not know you, as someone that is searching for truth that is only found in you. We are grateful, Lord, of the salvation that we have through Jesus Christ for every person. Give us the courage, Lord, to follow where you lead, just as the early believers did.

As we read about and studied this morning, Lord, they wanted to be the hands and feet of Jesus every day, Lord, speaking his truths, speaking his words. Lord, let us leave this morning, speaking those same words to everyone that we see, Lord, so that they will see you in us in every action and in everything that we do, Lord. Thank you for allowing us, Lord, to be part of your great story of spreading the gospel. Let it be our aim and our mission, Lord, as we leave. We pray these things in your Son’s most blessed and holy name, Lord. He is our Redeemer and Our Savior. Amen.