Called to Preach

August 20, 2017 Background Scripture: Acts 9:1 – 31 Lesson Passage: Acts 9:10 – 20 It seems that God’s sense of humor is really on display when one considers who He calls to preach the gospel. (I especially thought so when I was called to preach the good news.) Certainly, many of these callings leave no doubt that it is not the will of the individual to do such a thing. Many individuals spend a lifetime in church and God does not call them to preach and yet other individuals spend almost a lifetime outside of the church and are called. Now, that’s a sense of humor. If you want to see this taken to an extreme, consider the text of our lesson today. God saved the most feared persecutor of the church and called him to preach the gospel at the same time. If this were not laughable, it would be embarrassing to the man. Saul of Tarsus was a devout Jew who defended the religion of Judaism to the point of arresting and executing all who were considered a threat to Judaism. He pushed his authority to the limit when it came to trying to destroy the church. Saul was convinced that the church was a heresy that threatened Judaism. He went after anyone who was a follower of Christianity—at that time called “the way”. He was given warrants to arrest any Christians he found and bring them bound to Jerusalem to stand trial. He did not limit the scope of his work to Jerusalem or Judea. He was on his way to Syria because he apparently received word that there was a group of Christians there. This proved to be a life changing journey for Saul—and the church! As Saul traveled to Damascus, he encountered the founder and Lord of the church, Jesus. Jesus did not defend the church but rather he defended himself. He made it clear that persecution against the church was persecution against him. Jesus totally identifies with the church as being his physical body in this world. Saul inquired as to what Jesus wanted him to do. Jesus gave him instructions to continue on where he was going but he would have a very different mission upon his arrival into Damascus. That’s right. Jesus did not tell Saul to turn around and go back to where he had come from. Neither did he tell Saul to just stop persecuting his church. Rather, Jesus sent Saul to the very place he was going but with a totally different mission. Saul was no longer working for the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem. Saul was now on a mission to do the work of Jesus—the very work that he was attempting to destroy! Again, it can be said that God has a wonderful sense of humor. Saul arrived in Damascus blind and totally dependent on the very people he was going there to arrest and take back to Jerusalem to stand trial. Meanwhile in Damascus, the people he was going there to arrest were in hiding because they were forewarned that Saul of Tarsus was on his way to get them. Jesus didn’t even tell Saul the details of what he needed to know but told him that those in Damascus would tell him. Interdependence has been a characteristic of the church since its beginning. We are all made better as we serve each other. Jesus later changed Saul’s name to Paul and Paul went on to write half of the New Testament writings. Much of his writing provides instructions for church leaders as well as instructions for how churches are to grow in grace and handle the problems that arise in their midst. The body of Jesus Christ in this world is better today because Paul was called to preach. Robert C. Hudson July 6, 2017

Called to Break Down Barriers

August 13, 2017 Background Scripture: Acts 8 Lesson Passage: Acts 8:26 – 39 The infant church in Jerusalem underwent a lot of turmoil in a relatively short amount of time. The members faced mounting persecution from the Jewish religious leaders even as they attempted to continue to gather for prayer among them. The Roman civil authority joined the Jewish leaders in persecuting the church in order to curry favor with the Jewish leaders. While this was going on, internal dissension arose within the congregation between the Jewish Christians of Palestine and the ones from outside of Palestine (the Grecians). This internal dissension was resolved by identifying a group of men in the church to become servants within the congregation to attend the daily work of serving tables. The members of the group of seven men chosen to serve tables were all Grecian Jews. Philip was one of the seven men. The internal dissension in the congregation was resolved but the external persecution continued to mount and some from among their ranks were put to death because of their faith. This life-threatening persecution against the church caused many of them to flee Jerusalem seeking safety. Philip was one of the Christians who fled Jerusalem because of the persecution against the church. As those dispersed Christians spread out from Jerusalem, they continued to give witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people they encountered. Philip proclaimed the gospel in Samaria. Afterwards, the Lord directed Philip to go south to a road that led from Jerusalem through the desert to Gaza. It was on that road where Philip encountered a chariot carrying an Ethiopian eunuch. He was traveling from Jerusalem back to Ethiopia. The eunuch had worshiped in Jerusalem and while returning back to Ethiopia he was reading the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit directed Philip to go and run next to the chariot. There, Philip could hear the eunuch reading and used it as an evangelistic opportunity. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. Although he was educated enough to read the scriptures (it was either written in Hebrew or Greek), the eunuch knew that he needed a teacher of the Jewish scriptures to guide him in his understanding. He invited Philip to sit with him in his chariot and from there he began to seek understanding of the scriptures from Philip by asking him very specific questions. Philip, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, expounded the true meaning of the scriptures, i.e., the gospel of Jesus Christ. This exposition of the scriptures by Philip led to saving faith in the eunuch who then asked to be baptized. After Philip gave him the criteria for water baptism, the eunuch affirmed his faith and commanded the chariot to stop at a place where they had come to some water. Since this route was described as passing through desert, this water was either an oasis or a miracle. It was enough water for both Philip and the eunuch to go down into. When they came out of the water, the Spirit translated Philip to Azotus and the eunuch carried the gospel on to Ethiopia. Robert C. Hudson June 29, 2017