Call to worship:
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.[a]7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!Psalm 148:5-10
Gathering Video
Questions for reflection:
What issues did the early church have to work through?
How did the Spirit of God shape their theology and practice?
What might that look like today?
Corporate Prayer:
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed by Your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, and we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, Amen.
Notes//Quotes//Slides:
Acts 11:1-30 - Josh reading
Slide 1
A biblical proposition… needs interpretation. It does not simply interpret itself… The only way to interpret… is to look at the biblical story that reveals God’s character through his actions…
The task of the church is to “faithfully improvise” the “rest of the story.” Christians are not called simply to live in the story; they are called to continue the story in their own cultural contexts. First, they must be grounded in the story. They must be people for whom the story “absorbs the world.” Second, they must together (communally) improvise the “rest of the story” faithfully to the story given in the Bible.
Roger Olson
Slide 2
Ritual Practices of a Typical Roman Meal
- A portion of the food being offered to the gods.
- Wine libations and the reciting of prayers in honor of the gods or of the dead.
- Possibly even being given a dining wreath with flowers considered sacred to the gods upon arrival.
Slide 3
Table comparing Acts 8:1 and Acts 11:19
https://services.planningcenteronline.com/plans/80966647#
Slide 4
That's a great way of putting it. Grace is something you can see. Presumably when you watch Judeans and gentiles sharing in prayer, sharing in the Lord’s supper, sharing their whole lives as brothers and sisters. You can’t fake that. It’s grace made visible.
- N.T Wright; The Challenge of Acts
Slide 5
Acts 26:28
28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”
1 Peter 4:14–16
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
Slide 6
Romans 15:26–27
26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.
Slide 7
When grace is visible, when the story of God is lived out in the world, when the church is truly carrying the name of Christ… The standard conventions for who is accepted and who is left out are re-evaluated, the standard ways of giving and receiving are upended and the standard ways in which we categorize our theology can be challenged.