Acts 4

 Happy St Patrick's Day!

Oh no! Peter and John are beginning to get in trouble for their preaching about resurrection. Essentially, the Temple police force comes to arrest them (v 1)! The Sadducees were especially upset (v 2) as they don't believe in resurrection (that is why they are "sad, you see"). They are held overnight (v 3) because it was illegal under Jewish law to have a trial by night (even though that's what happened to Jesus!) According to the Mishnah, judgments about money may be commenced in the day and concluded in the night, but judgments about life must be begun in the day and concluded in the day. The Jewish leaders had every right to begin the investigation under the premise of potential trouble caused in the Temple. They were attempting to protect the Temple. Look at the number of followers no (v 4)- about 5000! A jump of 2000 in a few days. Even in the face of opposition, the church still grows. What is happening to the church today? 

The next day (v 5) the trial" begins. The Jewish rulers listed are the same ones who recently condemned Jesus to death. Peter and John, standing before the Jewish rulers, must have thought that the trial of Jesus was going to happen all over again and they would be crucified like their Master, but it didn't seem to matter. Imagine how Peter, especially, must have felt. After his denial and the crucifixion, he is now facing the same people!

Peter takes the opportunity to preach again! This time to the people ready to try him for disruption of the temple and blasphemy! Could you do that-- preach to your accusers? This is a great example of the Holy Spirit- always looking for a way to get to you! Peter begins to sound like Jesus (v 9)- "are you saying healing is a bad thing?" They are on trial for doing good! Huh- imagine that! Then Peter really confronts his accusers by saying (v 10b) "You crucified Jesus..." I imagine Peter pointing his finger at them for emphasis. What strength Peter has! Again, I ask, could you do that-- confront and preach to your accusers? 

Peter then goes on to discuss that Jesus is the only way to salvation (v 12) - not just a way. We cold get into some interesting discussions about salvation and faith here! Protestant reformation  is coming to mind! Oh if we only were gathered together!

The reaction by the court is priceless. I can almost see their shock and faces after this small sermon! And they know Peter and Paul are fishermen from Galilee (v 13b)- they don't have any training! The light comes on and the Sanhedrin realize that these two were with Jesus. Oh no! It was as if the Sanhedrin said, "These guys are just like Jesus! We thought we solved the Jesus problem when we crucified Him, but now it is worse than ever!" Now they are in a bind- what do we do with these guys (v 16). It is interesting to note that the Sanhedrin says nothing about hem talking about Jesus' resurrection- just the healing! They probably could have squashed the whole "Jesus movement" had they done that! God works again! If you were the Sanhedrin- what would you have done?

I think God is beginning to work in the hearts of the Sanhedrin also. They ask- what should we do? We know this is a real healing (v 16b)! It is clear that they are struggling! They acknowledge that a miracle has genuinely happened, yet they refuse to submit to the God who worked the miracle. Do we know people like that- refuse to acknowledge God? They have to keep this contained (like they tried to do with Jesus), otherwise, they could have a widespread revolt happening-- again! As an aside-- it is very possible that Saul of Tarsus (eventually Paul) is in this group of Sanhedrin! The Sanhedrin decides that they need to stop preaching and spreading the Gospel (v 18). Peter and John basically laugh at that and say, "Yah, sure, OK, whatever!" (v 19) and they walked out of the courtroom. "Guts from God" is a good way to describe Peter and John! Could you do what they did?

Peter and John go back to the group (v 23, I am thinking the apostles at this point, not the entire big group), and told them about the day. I can just picture Peter and John saying, "They let us tell them about Jesus! They realized we were like Jesus! They told us not to tell others about Jesus! Hahahahaha! Those silly guys!" And then they all prayed-- together-- as a unified voice (v 24- 28)! The prayer is essentially asking for strength. They know they will face more trials and more opposition, but God will provide the strength that they need (v 29-30). They continue praying, together, aloud, asking for strength and braveness. They have a goal of spreading the word about Jesus to all people and nothing will stop them. They are so convicted to doing the work ahead of them. Is the church like that today or have we lost some of that fervor or passion? God shows God's approval through a small earthquake! They were given an earthquake as a unique emblem of God's pleasure. We don't know the extent of the shaking; it may have been confined to the house itself, but it was from God!

The church is now more unified and cohesive (v 32) and they care more about each other than what they have. They don't look at their possessions, they look at the group and the people init. For them- people are more important than possessions. How true is that today? The group continues to work together for the goodness of the group; they continue to preach and witness (v 33). The central idea of the resurrection of Jesus holds in the message of the first Christians. They preached a resurrected Jesus. Does the church continue to work together as the original church did?

An early example of giving to the community of believers is in the story of Joses/Joseph/Barnabas (vv 36- 37). This radical giving was absolutely necessary to meet the needs of this rapidly growing church. Remember, many of these Jerusalem Christians came as "refugees" from abroad, having responded to the gospel on Pentecost. People didn't wait for someone else to give. When a need arose, they gave of their own possessions to help someone else. Comments/ thoughts??

This was a great chapter! Chapter 5 is long with several good stories!

Have a great day. I am planning on hitting the Finger Lakes Trail in the Danby area for about 10 miles today! Been a long time since I've been on the trail!

Shalom+
Pastor Paul

Acts 3

 Good morning!
        There were several comments regarding the baptism of the 3000- and about baptism in general. I just completed a class on the Protestant Reformation. The sacrament of baptism was a big discussion point. Here is a short part of the final paper I wrote for the class; this part is about the baptismal sacrament:
        The sacrament of baptism was another point of controversy in many denominations after the Protestant split from the Roman Catholic Church. Luther agreed with the Church that baptism is more than a sign that we are members of the body of Christ, an indication of our faith in God. Martin Luther goes on to say that we don’t need to express our faith in order to be baptized (i.e. infant baptism), since faith is a gift from God—faith is not a human work, it is a free gift from God. This was a critical point of contention with Zwingli and the Anabaptists as they rejected infant baptism. Their ideology was that a conscious decision had to be made by the person; to become Christian and to accept the baptismal vows, a person had to announce to the congregation that they had the faith and were ready to commit their lives to God (González, p 53). The Methodist tradition, very similar to the Anglican view (Heitzenrater, p 225), is found in Article XVII in the Articles of Religion (Book of Discipline): “Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church.” We routinely welcome and baptize infants into God’s family and our congregation.
        And as long as we are on the topic of baptism and salvation...here is a brief paragraph on the idea of  justification- another big discussion item!!
        Aside from the selling of indulgences (which all Protestant denominations are against), one of the major collisions that Luther had with the Roman Catholic Church was the idea of justification by faith. Luther believed that both faith and justification are works initiated and propagated by God, and they are free gifts to all sinners (González, p 25). All people are worthy (yet, unworthy) of God’s grace, but this gift is freely given and we “just” have to accept that gift. Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven was all that we needed for forgiveness and salvation; we humans can contribute nothing to enhance this conversion and to indicate so, would border on blasphemy (Sunshine, p 39)! In contrast, the Roman Catholic Church proposed that the way to God was through the visitation of relics, making pilgrimages, and paying for Masses (all these were expensive and lined the coffers of the Church and the clergy). The Calvinist view is that God will select certain people to attain God’s salvation (the “elect”) and grace and there is nothing humans can do to change that (González, p 77). Article IX in the Articles of Religion in the Book of Discipline states: “We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour [sic] Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith, only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.” Methodism has a similar idea of justification as did Luther, and is somewhat in opposition to the Calvinist viewpoint of only some people being in the elect (i.e. those that will be offered grace). The slight difference with Wesley is that he believed that people could attain Christian perfection while still living on earth, yet Luther believed that Christian perfection was only possible after death, even with the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Hahn, 2015).
        Probably more than you wanted, but oh well!!
        On to chapter 3!!
        This is a great beginning story! Even though Peter and John were "Christians" they still followed some of their Jewish heritage- praying in the Temple. The hour pf prayer was after the time for the sacrifice- so they didn't attend that part of the liturgy-- they knew there was no need for sacrifice- but there was need for prayer! One question I have- did they also have, in the back of their minds, the idea that this would be a great time to spread the Gospel story- with all the people gathered in the Temple? Thoughts??
        Peter and John see the beggar (vv 2-6+) and face him intently. The man must have been happy and encouraged when Peter and John looked at him intently. Most people who want to ignore beggars are careful to not make eye contact with them. When they looked at the lame man so intently, he probably thought he had a big gift coming. Do we see people or do we look past them? When Peter and John gave him no money, we might have heard the lame man complain: “You don’t care about me. You won’t support me. Look at the mess I’m in.” But Peter and John wanted something greater than supporting the man in his condition. They wanted to transform his life by the power of the risen Jesus Christ. As soon as he was healed, the formerly lame man did three good things. First, he attached himself to the apostles as he entered the Temple with them;  secondly, he immediately started to use what God had given him by walking and leaping with joy and finally, he began to praise and worship God, How do we respond when God gifts us what we need?
        This transformation allowed Peter to preach again (vv 11+)! Peter took the chance to tell people about the saving grace of God that is available to all people! I like Peter's comment in v 12- "Why are you surprised...?" Peter’s point was simple: Jesus healed all sorts of people when He walked this earth, so why should it seem strange that He continues to heal from heaven? And even though the sermon is about Jesus, Peter opens with the Hebrew ancestors (v 13); the connection is that Jesus is the same as the God of Israel- but is also God's servant. How would you have responded to this servant term?
Then, Peter opens the can of worms! Peter boldly set the guilt of Jesus’ death squarely where it belonged- the Jews. Pilate was ready to let Jesus go, but the Jewish mob insisted on the crucifixion of Jesus. This does not mean that all the Jewish people of that day alone were responsible for the death of Jesus. The Romans – Gentiles – were also responsible. The Romans would not have crucified Jesus without pressure from the Jewish leaders, and the Jews could not have crucified Jesus without Roman acceptance of it. God made certain that both Jew and Gentile shared in the guilt of Jesus’ death. If you were a Jew listening to this- how might you respond? Peter then turns this into a teaching moment saying that it was Jesus, the crucified and risen, is the one who healed the crippled man (v 16); and the faith that the man had was strong. And you can have this same thing too if you follow Christ! Peter doesn't hate the Jews- he still calls them brother and sister (v 17). Would you accept Peter's words- brother or sister, after hearing him? Peter continues using Hebrew examples (Moses, Samuel, Abraham) to point to Jesus as the Messiah that they have been looking for. There is no mention of how many people converted to "Christianity" as a result of this discussion of Peter...do you think he gained people?

Trouble comes to Peter ad John in the next chapter and the persecution of the nw Christians begins.

Have a great day!
Shalom+
Pastor Paul

Acts 2

 Good morning and welcome back! Well, after a beautiful few days- winter is back again for a few days! Gotta love spring in upstate NY!!

Acts 2 has some very familiar stories for us!It is a long chapter- most of it Peter's long sermon!

Luke begins this chapter with the celebration of Pentecost (v 1). Pentecost was a Jewish feast held 50 days after Passover; the Greek translation is Pentekoste ("50 Days") The Jews celebrated with big feasts, so it wasn't unusual that they were all together. It celebrated the first fruits of the wheat harvest. In addition, Jews celebrated the giving of the Law on this day; Jews call this day "shimchath torah", or “Joy of the Law.” For Christians, it is 50 days after Easter (40 days after Easter is Jesus' ascension and then add ten more days to get to Pentecost). So, on the celebration of the first fruits, the celebration of the Hebrew Law, the "Christians" received the Spirit of the New Law! Look back at Acts 1:7- Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come. 

Everyone is together and the wind begins to blow (v 2); wind is very symbolic of the Spirit of God-- and now the Holy Spirit. Look at the words Luke uses: suddenly, strong, from heaven, filled-- all images of the majestic power of the Holy Spirit.  Fire (v 3) is symbolic of purification- as in the refiner's fire; see also Matthew 3:11! Everyone gathered together begins to speak in unusual tongues, that nobody was taught, but that everyone cold understand. Compare this to the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) where nobody could understand anything. I think the significance is the spreading of the Gospel story to all people of all nations. Do you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when your church celebrates Pentecost? I think we have lost lots of the majesty and surprise behind it!

Peter then begins to take control and begins his sermon! Peter stands up (unusual since rabbis usually sit when they are preaching!) and begins to defend- quite a contrast from his denial of Jesus just a few weeks ago! The assumption is that this is a spontaneous Spirit driven sermon- no preparation from Peter. When you talk with others about God/Jesus/ the Holy Spirit- do you prep or are you spontaneous?

Peter begins with a prophecy from Joel (vv 17- 21) and focuses on God’s promise to pour out God's Spirit on all flesh. God's Spirit was "poured out" not just sprinkled on all people= men, women, young, old, slaves, free, Jews, Gentiles-- all people! This was a wonderful emphasis on Pentecost. Under the Old Covenant, certain people were filled with the Spirit at certain times for specific purposes. Now, under the New Covenant, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is for all who call upon the name of the Lord. Do we sometimes "hide" God's Spirit from some people?

And Peter keeps going wit his preaching...

Peter had not yet spoken about the saving work of Jesus on our behalf (vv 22-24). Everything until this point had been introduction, explaining the strange things they just saw. Now Peter would bring the essential message. Peter did not flinch at saying, “You crucified this Man who God sent.” His first concern was not to please his audience, but to tell them the truth. The Spirit-filled Peter was a different man than the Peter who a few months before, even knowing Jesus and denying his presence! Does the Holy Spirit do that for you-- give you courage?

And Peter keeps going...

David (vv 25- 29) talks about someone greater than he. Everyone thought David was the "One", but David realized that there was someone greater coming. David talks of death and resurrection- Peter reminds us (v 29) that David is still dead and buried! Peter really drives home the power of resurrection and that Jesus was the only one that did this!

And Peter keeps going quoting Psalm 110 (vv 32- 37)...

The line "The Lord said to my Lord..." is the most quoted piece of Hebrew scripture quoted or refereed to on the New Testament (close to 25 times!) It is proclaiming and defining the divinity of the Messiah-- God is God, the Messiah is God. In this section, Peter is essentially saying "You were all wrong about Jesus. You crucified Him as if He were a criminal, but by the resurrection, God proved that He is Lord and Messiah!" Do you think people might be starting to "get it"?

I like the response by the people in v 37- "What should we do?" The Holy Spirit was active in the crowd as the people had been inspired by Peter! Do you ask that after your preacher preaches a sermon?? It is interesting that the question comes after Peter preaches the Gospel- not after the tongues of fire, or the speaking in tongues or the great wind! What does that say about your witness to people?

Peter responds (v 38- 39) with words we have heard from John while baptizing- "Change your hearts!" (some translations use the word "repent")- not just feel sorry for what you've done, but truly change who you are and be better! Peter goes on saying "Be baptized!" Baptism was a clear statement of "ownership" by God. Gentiles, when converting to Judaism, would be baptized as a symbol of being accepted into the family of Jews; Christians use baptism as a symbol of being accepted into the Christian faith and family of God. Did you know that Jews had a baptismal ritual and that it is not unique to Christians?

The result of Peter's preaching was that 3000 people (v 41) were baptized into Christianity! The most baptisms I did in one day was about 15-- Peter was good! And the important part comes after that (v 42) "they spent their time learning the teachings, sharing, breaking bread, and praying." How many times do we baptize people and then "forget" about them? Read your church's baptismal liturgy- are there any responsibilities for you in the congregation for these newly baptized people?

The effect of the Holy Spirit continues as the people felt great respect for God (v 43). Do people respect God today? I love the ending of this chapter- seem to be describing a Utopian type gathering of God's people! Imagine life if these verses (vv 43- 47) were true today!

Great chapter on the beginning growth of the church! Peter continues doing work in the next chapter!

Enjoy the day- stay warm!!

Shalom+
Pastor Paul

Acts 1

 Thanks for all the positive comments and thoughts. Dentist went ok...one small cavity and need to have one wisdom tooth removed- eventually (oh no- prayers for wisdom!! Hahahaha). We are excited to have Morgan and Bobbi- Jo visit this weekend. Lauren, Chris and Joseph were supposed to come also, but the kid has been quite sick since Monday (he is going for COVID test today; I think its just a bad cold, but it will be good to know). They are planning a visit for Easter!!

Right away, we have the name of the "intended" recipient-- Theophilus; we were introduced to Theophilus in Luke 1:3. Luke used the words "most excellent" in that introduction- words sued fro someone of high rank, so the assumption is tat Theophilus was a person of higher rank (probably Roman) that is interested in learning more about God and Jesus. The name could also be symbolic too. Theo is the root for God (as in theology, theologian, etc); philus means love (remember, Philadelphia?). So, does Theophilus mean "God-lover" which could then be addressed to us?! First line and we have a paragraph of discussion!! Could you be Theophilus? 

Whoever Theophilus is, Luke wrote this text as a follow up to the first text (the Gospel). The Gospel of Luke tells about Jesus and Jesus' ministry here on earth; in Acts, we hear about Jesus' ministry through the Holy Spirit and all that occurs after Jesus' ascension (40 days after Easter). If Acts had not been written, we would know of Jesus' death and resurrection and then this guy named Paul starts writing letter to churches in the Roman Empire. Who was Paul? What's his story? How did the Gospel get from Jerusalem to Rome? All these would have been unanswered!

We get a quick recap of the end of the story (vv 3-5). Jesus died; Jesus was resurrected; Jesus was with the disciples for 40 days; Jesus ate with them and mentions something about receiving a promise from God, remember, I told you about that, and then Jesus says something about the Holy Spirit. This is really the first mention of the Trinity in one complete unit- Jesus talks about God the Father providing the Holy Spirit.  If you didn't know the Gospel story- how would this sound to you?

The apostles then ask Jesus "the question" (v 6) "When are you going to restore the kingdom?" As per usual, they were thinking an earthly kingdom, waiting for Jesus to take control like he said he would. Jesus doesn't give a timeline though (v 7). It has been over 2000 years. How would the apostles have felt of they had know this time frame when they asked the question ?

Jesus does mention the power they will gain form the Holy Spirit (v 8). I assume they are thinking power in the terms of "Caesar power" or power that a king would have. Then an interesting word choice- (v 8b) "You will be my witnesses..." It is not a suggestion, not a "if you want to" request; it is an essential! Are you? A witness?

Jesus then ascends to God. Two angels (some theologians think possibly Moses and Elijah?) are with them. Again, imagine how the apostles felt with this ascension?!

They return to Jerusalem (v 12+), probably to the upper room. Luke lists the people present: 11 apostles (Why only 11??), some women (some theologians think that some of these women may be wives of the apostles) Mary (Jesus' mother) and James and Jude (Jesus' brothers) Interesting- Jesus' brothers were not mentioned much pre-crucifxion, but they seem to play a bigger role post-ascension. Also interesting- no mention of Joseph! This scene shows us unity in the group. They all went back to Jerusalem, they all sat together, they all prayed together. 

Peter takes control of the group (v 15). Not unusual since he seemed to be the spokes person of the group when Jesus was alive. Peter shows growth and wisdom  as he mentions (v 16-17)  that "the Holy Scriptures said..." He also shows maturity as he goes on saying that Judas didn't spoil God's plan, Judas was part of God's plan. How do you view Judas now, in light of these words from Peter?

Luke tells us of Judas' fate (compare to Matthew 27:5) and then Peter quote two Psalms to support selecting a replacement for Judas.  They begin listing qualifications for the replacement (vv 21-22). Whoever replaces Judas must be one who had been with them since they were baptized by John, stayed with them during the days of Jesus' earthly ministry, and they must have seen the resurrected Jesus. Two names come up- and they pray together- to help make a decision. Actually, they flipped a coin to find the replacement! Seems odd after the qualifications and the prayer that they seem to leave it up to chance for the replacement!You could say this was their way of relying fully on God though. The casting of lots may be an imperfect way to discern God's will, but it is much better than the methods many Christians use today, relying on emotions, circumstances, feelings, carnal desires and so forth. Thoughts on that??

Matthias is selected. And that's the last we hear of him! But then again, we don't hear much of any other disciples either! Peter and John are really the only ones mentioned after this chapter! What does that say about recognition and doing God's work?

I hope you liked this first chapter. It is really setting up the rest of the book. Chapter 2 is LONG but has the very familiar story of the coming of the Holy Spirit...Pentecost. Lots of interesting comments on that one!

Enjoy the weekend and see you all Monday.

This Sunday's message: "Just Looking" using the text about Zacchaeus!

Shalom+
Pastor Paul

Acts- An Introduction

 Obviously, I get sidetracked easily! After dentist and some quick shopping, I ended up going outside and moving manure from barn to garden and forgot about the Blog post I was supposed to do! Sorry!! It was such a beautiful day and I needed to move poop!

The Book of Acts is a great book that I really enjoy. The full title of the book is The Acts of the Apostles, but it should be the Acts of the Holy Spirit! This book is full of ways the Holy Spirit impacts people. It is the beginning stories of the work of the apostles in spreading Christ's message. It reads somewhat like a novel with some quite humorous stories! There are many familiar stories in it...including the story of the first Pentecost. 

The book follows the Gospel of Luke and is written by the same person; that person is traditionally identified as Luke the Physician (remember the end of our Colossians readings). We don't know much of Luke and most theologians he was an independent leader but probably  did not work with Paul.  We think the book was written soon after the Gospel of Luke , putting it around early 80s. Of course, there are some dating controversies-- the history presented doesn't match with the events of the time period. Some Bible scholars think a date of 60s would be more accurate- but then pushes everything else from Luke and Mark (Luke used Mark as a source of his Gospel) into a different time period. Not that this couldn't be true, its just  hard to imagine. 

Regardless, we assume Luke wrote the book for a few different reasons:

• offer a mechanism to unify the early Christian church
• demonstrate the political innocence of Christians to prevent persecution
• convert pagans to Christianity
• explain how Christianity became a largely Gentile religion
• tell the story of the early church to inspire others 

The positive of this book is it shows, success, victory, growth, and triumph. We don't hear much about missions that fail, people who don't get healed, pain or death (there is some). Luke sees the positive side of everything. The book was written to be read aloud to Jesus' followers gathered together; the language used assumes that the readers (and hearers) were educated people

I look forward to reading this with you all!

Peace+
Pastor Paul

Colossians 4

 Good morning!!  I have dentist appointment at 8AM and then some quick grocery shopping before Morgan and Bobbi-Jo come for the weekend. I will respond to your chapter 3 comments later today, along with posting introduction to Acts! He are my comments for Colossians 4 though:

This was a quick letter! And I think it was one of the easier ones for us to understand too!

Paul begins this chapter with a statement that reflects back to the end of the last chapter. Paul was talking about family dynamics and slaves honoring their masters and masters treating the slaves well. Paul reminds us that we have God who is our Master! The master/slave comparison is often made in the Bible- that was the culture of the time.

Paul is big on prayer- conversations with God (vv 2). He tells the Colossians o maintain their prayer life. Some translations say "earnestly" and "be vigilant"...be string and take the time and spend the energy that you need for prayer.  Prayer shouldn't be treated with an "end of the day, I'm tired" attitude; we need to be string and give it the energy that it requires. Do you? I know we have talked about prayer before; it is important to Paul. He goes on to say (vv 3-4), essentially, as long as your'r praying, would you mind adding in some prayers for me so I can go teach! He didn't ask for personal prayers (for his health and well being) instead, he asks that the message of the Gospel gets out. Sometimes I think we are too concerned about us that we forget our mission- not Paul!

I have said a few times in my messages, "Live your life so that people stop and ask why you do what you do." I think this is what Paul is telling the Colossians (vv 5-6). People should think about what you do and why you are doing it. The Christian life isn’t only lived in the prayer closet. There also must be practical, lived-out Christianity. Be willing to show your belief and be willing to sit and talk with people that may have questions! Do you live your life that way?

Paul ends this short letter with some personal notes. Apparently, the Colossians didn’t know who Tychicus was (vv 7-8). He would carry this letter to them and tell them about Paul in prison. Epaphras, who brought the news from Colosse to Paul in Rome (Colossians 1:7) must not have been returning to Colosse any time soon, so Paul needed another messenger. Onesimus was a slave owned by a believer in Colosse, but he ran away and came into contact with Paul in Rome. There, Onesimus became a Christian and a dedicated helper to Paul. We will read more about him in Paul’s letter to Philemon. Aristarchus was a Macedonian from Thessalonica and always seems to be in trouble with Paul. Paul and Mark had a falling out (Acts 13:5-13 and Acts 15:36- 40) but they seem to be getting along now (the grace of God is active). We really don't know anything about "Jesus who is also called Justus" At this point (v 11b), Paul had just these people helping him spread the Gospel...and look at their accomplishments! What does that mean for us?

Paul continues list people that are around him. Interesting that Luke is there (v 14); it is here that we find out Luke is a physician! We don't know why Luke is in Rome, but maybe it was to deliver a document he recently finished – the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts! Also note that Nympha (v 15) had a church in her home! The beginnings of the church were often in houses since there were no other buildings available. There were no real' "church" building until maybe the 3rd Century. Up until that time, the congregation met in homes. What does this listing of names say to you?

Paul closes with the comment- when you're done with this- make sure you share it it with the Laodicean church (Laodicea was about 11 miles away from Colossa). The epistles that Paul wrote were commonly circulated between neighboring churches. Paul references the letter in Loadicea, however there is no epistle in our Bible to the Laodicean church. Either the letter currently there was from another church being circulated around, or the epistles to the Laodicean church is lost. There is a Latin letter of Paul to the Laodiceans and it was mentioned as early as the fifth century by Jerome. But Jerome himself called it a forgery and that most people in his day agreed that it was not authentic.

In conclusion, Paul writes that he alone wrote this letter. Often times Paul would dictate the letter and a scribe would write it. Paul would then sign his name to it- but not this epistle to the church of Colossa. Then the closing words. "Remember me in prison" Some translations say, "Remember me in my chains" There is much emotion, sorrow, and strength in this simple phrase. Paul not only knew the confinement and loneliness of the prisoner; he also had the uncertainty of not knowing if his case before Caesar’s court would end with his execution.Our life is so easy compared to Paul's (and many others!)

Great letter! On to Acts for tomorrow. I will post an introduction to Acts by the afternoon (I hope!)

Shalom+
Pastor Pal

Colossians 3

 Most of this chapter is highlighted in my Bible...so either I preached on it at one time or I found it interesting!

Paul begins with a connection to the last chapter and baptism. He essentially says (vv 1-4), if you are baptized- act like it! Keep focused on Christ, keep living a good life, keep the goal of heaven and salvation in mind as you go thorough the day. In v 4, Paul says "Christ is our life..." Sometimes we say, “Music is his life” or “Sports is her life” or “He lives for his work.” For Christian it should be said, “Jesus Christ is his life.” Is Christ your life?

Some translations begin v 5 with "Put to death..." It gives that set of verses a different view than mine, that says, "So, put evil things out of your life..." If you are putting to death- they are gone, forever. Putting them out of your life means they may come back (for me anyway). The importance in naming or identifying the "evil" things makes it more concrete. If we don't name something that is evil, and then we do it, we can always say, "Well, I didn't know..." The list in my translation (NCV) says "sexual sinning, doing evil, letting evil thoughts control you, wanting things that are evil, and greed." Other translations say "fornication, cleanliness, adultery, passion, evil desire and covertness." Depending on your translation, I think you get a different impression of what Paul is asking us to not do! Paul then bluntly says (v 6) , "These things make God angry." When we do bad things, do we think about making God angry?

The next list (v 8-9) seems to list "lesser" evils: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things that hurt others, using evil words when you talk, do not lie. We may overlook these "lesser sins" and think they aren't that bad when you compare hem to the sexual stuff from earlier! Are there differing degrees of "bad" that we can do?

We have a new life and we should cherish that new life that we have by doing good, by being nice to others, by living a wholesome life (v 9b-10). Our goal is to become more Christ-like, to strive for perfection while still here on earth! I have heard many times, and even said it myself, the church is full of hypocrites. We say one thing and we show up to church, but we aren't really good people. I think that fits in here. If you're going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. What do you think about the hypocrites in the church?

I am reminded of the hymn, "One Bread, One Body" when I read v 11. Paul says we are all equal in the sight of God. It doesn't matter who we are, we are united in Christ. Even the Scythians who were regarded as savage barbarians! If we are in Christ, then we are all the same. Do you agree with this? Does your church agree with this?

Now, Paul lists (vv 12- 17) all the positive things we should be doing if we are members of the body of Christ. It reads almost like the list of the fruits of the spirit, and several other lists we have read before. As you go through the list- do you do all the things Paul suggests? Why not? In some translations, v14 says, "Above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection." My translation says, "Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity." (see 1 Corinthians 13:13...Faith hope and love...). Paul continues with peace, thankfulness, wisdom and instruction with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (i.e. in many different a free ways of teaching). Variety in teaching and instruction is key for Paul. Do we instruct others?

The next set of verses (vv 18- 22) relate to family dynamics (including slaves in the family team) and I am sure some will read these words and get their feathers all ruffled! I would never want to preach using v 18 as a text! But, remember the times and the culture when these were written. I think what Paul is trying to say is that we are all part of a team, Paul thinks the husband is the captain (and in the culture of the time- he was) and everyone else are players on the same team. The goal is for the unit to work together. Are families missing these "rules for team playing" today? Paul stresses (vv 23- 25) that we are all on the same team, the team of Christ! We should work hard for that team and life each other up and continue to move the ball forward (like my team analogies!!) Do you feel that we are all on the same team when it comes to Christ? Church?

Chapter 4 is short for tomorrow. Then on Friday, we have decided to move to Acts (and skip Luke- if you'd like to review Luke- look back at the comments from December). I will post an introduction to Luke by tomorrow afternoon.

Have a great day and enjoy the beautiful weather we are being blessed with!

Shalom+
Pastor Paul