Acts 6:1-7.
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Some questions:
- As you read this what are the first things that come to your mind?
- What in this text strikes you as remarkable?
- What is the problem presented in the text?
- What is the solution?
- What point do the apostles make?
- How do they perceive their role in the church?
- How this text apply to our present time?
- Who in the modern church corresponds to the apostles?
- Who in the modern church corresponds to the distributers of food?
- Why is this story here?
What else is on your mind this week?
13 comments:
Ah, Sunday morning again. After having a week off, I always feel a little “rusty.”
Now that it is “Summer” (school’s out), each Sunday is like the proverbial box of chocolates. I wonder what this day will be like? I guess we’ll find out soon.
Well last night was one of those nights where I was in the mood to read so I read the whole book of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I was going for the book of Acts but my mind was no longer available to read anything. I started at 6pm. took a movie break (watched Jurasic Park 3). Read the book of Mark after that. Took another movie break (watched Babee Kids) and then went on to read the book of Luke and the book of John. It was a little after 5am that I went to bed and I slept like a baby. Well I need to go because my eyes are getting a little heavy and I need to get my new story added to my book.
So I had a little fun in the sermon this morning... My daughter heard another teen girl say, “He should drink de-caf.” Anyway, after the sermon someone who is very dear me said, “It seemed like you were addressing an issue, a specific issue.” Not really. I just really believe we don’t understand the importance of community, and I was trying to emphasize that the true learning of God’s specific will for our lives is found in face to face Christian relationships, like the ones described in Acts 2.
Look at this from Joel B. Green, in Narrative Reading, Narrative Preaching - Reuniting New Testament Interpretation and Proclamation (p. 23). Notice how he emphasizes the important of collaboration and communal learning. This approach helps contextualize Scriptural truth into local communities. I think this is very important. It guards against individual arrogance, among other things.
For those genuinely interested in interpreting the Bible as Scripture, the single most important practice to cultivate is the involvement in reading the Bible with others who take its message seriously and who meet regularly to discern its meaning for faith and life. The best interpretations of Scripture are those actively engaged in communities of biblical interpretation. If such a group is multigenerational and multicultural, this is even better. Among the reasons for this, let me mention two. First, the books of the Bible have their genesis and formation within the community of God’s people. They speak most clearly and effectively from within and to communities of believers. No interpretive tool, no advanced training can substitute for active participation in a community of Bible readers.
A second reason for reading the Bible with others is our proclivity toward self-deception. One of the most tragic effects of Bible reading can be that we read our lives into it in such a way that we find in its pages divine license for those of our attitudes and practices that are more base than biblical. Our experience is too often that we apply challenging messages to the lives of others, while assuming too quickly that the Bible supports our ways of thinking and acting. We read Scripture in order to be addressed by God and formed by God’s Word. Other people set on the same purpose can take us to task so that we might hear more faithfully God’s voice at those moments when we are tempted to substitute our word for God’s.
There is connection between the idea of community and this week’s text. The apostles turned the task of solving the problem of food distribution back to the community itself. Right?
Wow, Gino that’s neat.
I really enjoyed our time at Camp last night. It was simple and pleasant. Gary and Michelle did a great job of organizing and bringing it all together. Charlie’s smoked barbecue with onions was some of the best stuff I have ever eaten. He is good! Charlie and hopefully other tri-pod cookers are coming to my mid-Summer gathering on July 1st. You know, it is THE social event of the year, so make your plans (Said with laughter).
There must have been many widows among the first Christians who in those days were the full responsibility of surviving family. If they were 'widows indeed' or had no family but those fellow Christians the task must have been great to provide for them. They didn't choose just anyone to handle the task, they chose men full of wisdom and the Spirit showing this was a very important job. I think this shows how much respect and appreciation there must have been for the elderly in those days, that so much care went into the choosing of men who would responsibly and compassionately care for their needs. The urgent need was to spread the gospel and the daily responsibility of feeding them was keeping the apostles from that work. We cannot be all things to all people, in other words. We must do the best we can but there is such a thing as being stretched too thin. This is how I see it anyway. Have a great week. Sherron
I came across the following yesterday and can’t seem to get it out of my mind. It is from an article in Christianity Today. What strikes me about it is the connection between our public worship and our service in the world. Perhaps the end of our assemblies need to be more intentional about pointing out that we are reentering the world to live “for the sake of others.” I think we get so used to doing what we do that we fail to think about it.
The following is a little dense perhaps, but it makes a good point. Communion simply means fellowship/connection in this piece. Our role, as participants in the life of God, is to have communion with him which leads us into the world to bring others into communion with him and us.
I think that missional theology is a very positive development. But some missional theology has not gone far enough. It hasn't asked, What is the mission of the Trinity? And the answer to that question is communion. Ultimately, all things are to be brought back into communion with the triune God. Communion is the ultimate end, not mission.
If we see communion as central to the life of the church, we are going to have an important place for mission. And this is reflected in the ancient fourfold structure of worship: gathering, proclaiming the Word, celebrating the Eucharist, and going out into the world. The last, of course, is mission. But mission takes its place within a larger structure. It is this sense of communion that the evangelical world especially needs. Communion is not just introspection or fellowship among ourselves. It involves, ultimately, seeing God and seeing the heart of God as well, which is his love for the world.
In many services today, the dismissal into the world is quite perfunctory. But if you go to an Orthodox service, you'll be amazed at the elaborate way in which the end of the service is conducted. It's not just a word of dismissal—there are whole prayers and litanies that prepare us to go back out into the world.
I think our mission statement is right and good. We are baptized believers participating in the life of God for the sake of others.
Our text this week reflects the importance of being in communion with God that leads to living for the sake of others. It also shows, I think, the importance of leadership being closely connected to God AND being in a position that equips the body to do works of service in the world (as we reenter it from corporate worship assemblies). Ephesians 4:11-16 is very helpful.
I came across this wonderful thought this afternoon while working on another project. This is very similar to what I was hoping to communicate in last Sunday’s sermon. It is from The Divine Voice - Christian Proclamation and the Theology of Sound, p. 41.
Our hearing is never perfect, just as we never say exactly what we think; our voice is always imperfectly related to our body. We can become mired in an inward dialogue that distracts us from the outside world. We need to hear an external sound to save us from the temptation of turning our lives into a monologue. God’s sound, after all, is not our own; the Word is not something we can say to ourselves. Only in God does saying perfectly correspond to being. We can use our voice to mask our true feelings; conversely, our voice can betray our feelings even when we try to them. God is not hidden behind God’s words; God is the Word. God is a perfect community because the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit speak to each other while saying the same thing.
THE HOLY APOSTLES
The Holy Apostles, a company small,
With heavenly light, illumined the world.
On the wings of the Spirit, covered the world,
That with the same wings, they would gift to the world.
To palaces, shacks and mountains, they went,
Crossed the sea and on the road [they] perspired;
For them each day, a new battle and suffering was,
Wrestling with the world, battle without moaning.
Each day different, but the thought the same,
Thought on Christ and the vision of Christ.
What sort of day it will be, to them it was all the same,
Either in a palace or in prison to spend the night
Just to uphold Christ, in themselves,
And with Him to quickly cover the earth.
Whatever kind of lunch or dinner, it was all the same,
Only that the Faith, throughout the world shines.
Honors or blows, to them it is all the same,
Only that Christ, over the world reigns.
Over them, winged angels hover
And, as to their own brothers, they rejoiced in them.
Apostles holy, sons of God
Pillars of the Church on the foundation of Christ,
Even now, they labor and build up the Church
Although as suns, in heaven they shine.+ + +.........................by Saint Nikolai Velimirovich {1880-1958}
Here is the description of the blog:
Listen for God as we enter into communal conversations based on random thoughts AND as we reflect on biblical texts that will be/are preached in the Mitchell Church of Christ.
Worship assemblies provide a meeting, a special meeting between you, me, and God. There is a vertical and horizontal aspect to it. We express praise and adoration to God (See Revelation 4 & 5 as a model of heavenly worship). He invites us to his table to commune, providing a foretaste of the future Messianic Banquet and a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt and from sin (Jesus the Passover Lamb has been slain). And it seems to me, and the Bible is not super clear on what early worship assemblies were like, that teaching and instruction from Scriptures were an integral part. I work pretty hard on that piece, but it doesn’t always satisfy. I try to be faithful to what the text says, striving to please God. This is related to the horizontal aspect of encouragement and edification. Read 1 Corinthians 14 for some insight into that. We are to use our gifts to building each other up in the context of the assembly. Unbelievers are welcome at worship assemblies, and I think they can be taught there. But I agree with Donna that our worship assemblies are primarily about being baptized people who participate in the life of God. We leave to live for the sake of others.
As to the comment about wanting action. Come help, please. I really do have a hard time getting everything done that I want/need to do.
I love all of you.
I still think anonymity is fine, BUT some of the harsh words are not. I can handle the criticism directed at me (don’t enjoy it), but I don’t like some of the things said about Gino not being welcome, etc. I think it is fair to rebuke Gino in a loving way, but suggesting he go elsewhere doesn’t seem too Christ-like to me. Gino is welcome, as is everyone else. If he gets out of line, then the community corrects him. I think that’s what’s happening in this blog. I can’t say that I feel great about the blog this week (fighting discouragement, I think), but I think it is probably pretty healthy to have these “open” conversations. No one is perfect; only by the grace and mercy of God will any of us be saved. We are called to give what we have received, even when it is not earned or deserved. We certainly don’t earn or deserve it from God
How 'bout a little lighter fare for a beautiful mid-morning?
FOR LEXOPHILES (LOVERS OF WORDS):
A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.
A will is a dead giveaway.
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.
The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium at large.
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