Acts Chapter 8: Philip the Evangelist

Hello Class!

Here are some notes from the last two weeks, November 22 and 29.

We have spent the last couple of sessions in Acts, Chapter 8. On the 22nd Llew and Shirley led the class in discussion of the main characters in the story, and also shared stories of baptisms. Thank you for taking charge of the class in our absence! On the 29th we continued this conversation, including some further insights about baptism as a ritual practice and some observations about the practice of laying on of hands. Finally we made note of the significance of the gospel message breaking out of Jerusalem into Samaria and, through the Ethiopian eunuch converted on the desert road, to nations south.

As a connection, the Sunday sermon text and message referred to the northern and southern kingdoms of ancient times. Samaria in the time of the early church had become the land of a people whose cultures mixed when the northern kingdom (Israel) was overcome by the Assyrians in the early 700's B.C. This is the place, in Jesus' time, Jews avoided because the people there practiced a Jewish faith that was viewed as impure; and in fact the people themselves held in prejudice because their line was mixed with Gentile conquerors from generations past. Tradition/legend holds that the Eunuch took the message of Christ to Ethiopia, from which seed grew a thriving and unique Coptic Christian community.

For the coming week's class, we will focus on our four application questions: What does the Scripture tell me about God; myself; my relationship with God; and, what will I do?

Have a wonderful week & we hope to see you this Sunday.

Dan and Laura

Acts: Deacons

Hi Class!

Thanks for another very interesting discussion last Sunday. Whether we call it serendipity or the Holy Spirit we enjoyed a fascinating intersection last week, as United Methodist Deacon Rev. Rhoda Pittman Markus visited our class. This was in conjunction with our study of the selection, ordination, and service of the first New Testament "Deacons" in Acts, chapters 6-7.

Rhoda shared personal insights and experiences of a modern Deacon, whose call is to link the ritual life of the church with our call to service in the world. For a fulsome description of the ministry of United Methodist Deacons you may enter the following web address in your browser: http://www.gbhem.org/site/c.lsKSL3POLvF/b.3474319/k.BF2A/Deacons.htm.

I believe, after I left for choir, that you heard a story regarding the blessedness and compliment of serving communion in her role as deacon, and mine as elder, when we served a congregation together.

For this week, please read ahead into chapter 8, accounts of the adventures of Philip, one of the early evangelists of the church who first went outside the "bubble" of what was then orthodox Judaism to share the Gospel of Christ in Samaria, and with an Egyptian on his way home from the great festival in Jerusalem.

Llew and Shirley have answered the call to be your facilitators this week. I know this will be an especially interesting session, combining the content and their leadership. Laura and I will miss you, as we will be in Boise following our talented son to his state piano competition.

Blessings to you all & see you soon!

Dan and Laura

Acts: The First Deacons Chosen

Hello Class!

Nice to be together Sunday for Acts chapter 6. We read about the need for troubleshooting distribution of food to widows in the community, arising from a dispute about fair sharing between Greek and Hebrew Christians. The Apostles came up with a plan to delegate this job to seven men of good repute, wisdom, and Spirit. All agreed it was a good plan, so seven were chosen and "ordained", or set apart and blessed for this work, by the laying on of hands. In Apostolic Church circles these men are recognized as the first deacons of the church. Stephen Ministry is, also, a program named for the Stephen who, after angering the Sanhedrin, became the first Christian martyr.

Discussion veered toward the subject of being "chosen" by God, and how, in particular, United Methodist pastors are selected to be assigned to specific churches. We (Laura and I) had the opportunity to tell some of our story of being "chosen" in the Spirit to move to Idaho Falls, and how I became your pastor.

Next week we'll continue reading through chapter 7, in which Stephen preaches to the Jewish leaders, is martyred, and persecution fractures the church in Jerusalem.

God bless you all & hope very much to see you Sunday!

Dan and Laura

Acts: Christians in Community, continued

Hi Everyone

Thanks for a lively discussion last Sunday.

On October 11 we engaged our four key questions, relative to the description of communal life in the first Apostolic "church". The questions are:

1. What does this passage tell me about me?
2. What does this passage tell me about God?
3. What does this passage tell me about my relationship with God?
4. What will I do?

We covered a lot of good ground in our conversation, ranging from feelings of new awareness of the role and presence of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives, and as a vital factor in effective leadership. Much of our discussion focused on the disturbing fate of Ananias and Sapphira, who, apparently, were killed by God for deceiving the Holy Spirit. This evoked musings about what kind of God the first Jewish Christians were expecting, and experiencing -- feeling, from our point of view, very "Old Testament" in character -- a holy God who is strict and, well, dangerous! Yet at the same time we have an understanding, from the text, that these first Christians enjoyed a wonderful fellowship, an exciting kind of awe, and an enhanced feeling of safety.

It seemed, in general, that the issue at hand is not what we do with our wealth, but how we are in relationship with God, and how that affects our choices -- knowing that we, too, have the freedom to act with or against God's will for us. Several folks shared meaningful personal stories about these kinds of choices.

For next week, please review chapters 3 & 4, and begin reading ahead to capture the sense of flow of events as the church grows and begins to face organizational challenges.

We appreciate you all! Have a great week & hope to see you Sunday, October 18 at 10:00 a.m. in the Stephen Ministry classroom.

Acts: Christians in Community

Thanks for a great class on October 4.

We discussed Acts 2:42-47, with reference to 4:32-35. These passages offer snapshots into the quality of community the first "church" experienced. They enjoyed freedom to devote themselves to the teaching of the Apostles; to breaking bread; to prayer; and to sharing and charity among themselves, so that no one experienced material want. We observed that their practices with their belongings would not be considered extreme socialism by modern standards. It seemed like a simple practice . . . those who had more than they needed shared with those who did not have enough. The end result was that no one had need, and all were free to worship and learn from the Apostles.

Let's have more conversation about this practice this week. Is there a way for us to be more like that? What keeps us from a lifestyle that is similar to that practiced by the first Christians?

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Some background notes of interest -- these Christians were, almost certainly, all Jews living in Jerusalem. So in addition to meeting in one another's homes, they worshipped as they were accustomed in temple and synagogue. What is the connection, or disconnection, between sustaining an institutional "church" and enjoying the quality of communal life described in Acts? Also, what difference do you suppose it made in their thinking if they believed that Jesus would return at any time, as described in chapter 1?

Our focus this Sunday will be on our four basic questions: What does this passage teach me about -- me, God, my relationship with God . . . and, what will I do?

See you Sunday!

Remember new persons are welcome at any time.

Dan and Laura

Book of Acts Chapter 2

Hi everyone!

OK, what's with the picture? These folks are a Christian rock group very popular in the 70's, now legendary in some circles, called "2nd Chapter of Acts". I saw them live with Barry McQuire and found them way cool. As you can tell one or more of them are related. The dude on the right is a dude, brother of the dudette in the middle. Don't you love the hair? One of their best known songs is/was "Easter Song". For a very young, new version of them and their cool song, cut and paste the following address into your browser: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30789015

Thanks for a great class last Sunday. Here are some notes:

We read and discussed chapter 2 of the Book of Acts.

The first section describes the coming the Holy Spirit, with signs of the sound of a mighty wind and tongues as of fire. Older versions describe the "tongues of fire" as "cloven", which simply implies they were split, perhaps indicating active and flickering motion. The "tongues" the disciples spoke were the native languages of the Jews and Jewish converts who had made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the festival of Shavuot, or Shavot. This festival, in the Jewish religion, commemorated the giving of the law (God's Word) by Moses, and took place 50 days after the release of the Hebrews from captivity in Egypt. The Greek name for this festival is Pentecost, 'pente' meaning 50. In Christianity this festival is observed 50 days after the resurrection of Christ and acknowledges the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples, who brought the "Word" of salvation to all people.

We read and discussed Peter's first sermon. In it he summarizes the life, ministry, and meaning of Jesus, and evokes conviction from the Jewish crowd about their personal responsibility for the rejection of God's Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. Responding, many in the crowd ask Peter "What shall we do?" He bids them repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and welcome the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts notes that about 3,000 people did just that.

As application, we felt that Peter gave a good sermon! And that personal repentance for our rejection of Christ needs, perhaps, to be done many times; and we ourselves can accept the promise of God, which is forgiveness in Christ and receiving the power of the Holy Spirit to tell others about Jesus Christ.

We offered prayers for personal concerns to close the meeting.

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For this Sunday, please read ahead, at least through chapters 3 and 4 of the Book of Acts.

God bless y'all and hope to see you this Sunday!

-- Dan and Laura

Book of Acts Chapter I

Prayer:
Open our hearts, by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may learn and apply the lessons of Holy Scripture. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Section and Book key verse: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (1:8)

Here are notes from presentation and discussion from September 20th.

CHAPTER I

Introduction to “Theophilus”, “Friend of God” (1:1-5) “Theophilus” may be an individual, or a general term for Luke’s readers, each a “friend of God.” Luke also uses this name in his introduction to his Gospel.

Promise of the Holy Spirit and teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven (1:6-8) Jesus promises that all believers will be given power (dunamis) through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The power is not to topple empires or build earthly kingdoms, as the disciples still seemed to presume when they asked Jesus if he was about to restore the “kingdom”. This “dynamic” or “dynamite-like” “power” is for a specific purpose: to “be my (Jesus’) witnesses” throughout the world.

Promise of Jesus’ return from heaven (1:9-11) The picture above illustrates a typical cosmology which may describe the way the disciples and others in the ancient world understood the location of heaven and it’s relationship to earth. Luke expresses the very common belief of the first Christians that Jesus would return in their lifetimes.

Matthias chosen apostle to replace Judas (1:12-26) What may seem like superstition or gambling was understood differently by the apostles. They believed that God’s will could be revealed in the random casting of “lots”, which is much like drawing the short straw or throwing dice. They were confident that Matthias, one of two candidates chosen because they were with Jesus from the beginning to end of his ministry, was God’s choice to be an apostle (“sent one) to replace Judas Iscariot.

For this week, September 27, please read through Acts chapter 2. See you Sunday!

Pastor Dan

New Testament Made Easy, Book of Acts

Welcome back! We're picking up this fall with an overview of the Book of Acts and a study of the history of the early church in general. Our live class meets on Sunday mornings at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 1730 St. Clair Rd. in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Join us in the Stephen Ministry classroom downstairs from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., in between early and late worship services.

For our first class, we got acquainted with one another and had a very brief introduction to our study of the Book of Acts. The written material we handed out is provided below.

For Sunday, September 20, please read the first two chapters of the Book of Acts in the version or translation of your choice.

Visitors and new students are always welcome! No previous experience necessary.

-- Dan and Laura Thompson-Aue

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Notes from September 13, 2009

Overview

The author opens with a prologue, usually taken to be addressed to an individual by the name of Theophilus (though this name, which translates literally as "God-lover", may be a nickname rather than a personal appellation) and references "my earlier book"—almost certainly the Gospel of Luke. This is immediately followed by a narrative which is set in Jerusalem.

Structure

The structure of the book of Luke[17] is closely tied with the structure of Acts.[18] Both books are most easily tied to the geography of the book. Luke begins with a global perspective, dating the birth of Jesus to the reign of the Roman emperors in Luke 2:1 and 3:1. From there we see Jesus' ministry move from Galilee (chapters 4–9), through Samaria and Judea (chs. 10–19), to Jerusalem where he is crucified, raised and ascended into heaven (chs. 19–24). The book of Acts follows just the opposite motion, taking the scene from Jerusalem (chs. 1–5), to Judea and Samaria (chs. 6–9), then traveling through Syria, Asia Minor, and Europe towards Rome (chs. 9–28). This chiastic structure emphasizes the centrality of the resurrection and ascension to Luke's message, while emphasizing the universal nature of the gospel.

This geographic structure is foreshadowed in Acts 1:8, where Jesus says "You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem (chs. 1–5), and in all Judea and Samaria (chs. 6–9), and even to the remotest part of the earth (chs. 10–28)." The first two sections (chs. 1–9) represent the witness of the apostles to the Jews, while the last section (chs. 10–28) represent the witness of the apostles to the Gentiles.

The book of Acts can also be broken down by the major characters of the book. While the complete title of the book is the Acts of the Apostles, really the book focuses on only two of the apostles: Peter (chs. 1–12) and Paul (chs. 13–28).
Within this structure, the sub-points of the book are marked by a series of summary statements, or what one commentary calls a "progress report". Just before the geography of the scene shifts to a new location, Luke summarizes how the gospel has impacted that location. The standard for these progress reports is in 2:46–47, where Luke describes the impact of the gospel on the new church in Jerusalem. The remaining progress reports are located:

• Acts 6:7 Impact of the gospel in Jerusalem.
• 9:31 Impact of the gospel in Judea and Samaria.
• 12:24 Impact of the gospel in Syria.
• 16:5 Impact of the gospel in Asia Minor.
• 19:20 Impact of the gospel in Europe.
• 28:31 Impact of the gospel on Rome.

This structure can be also seen as a series of concentric circles, where the gospel begins in the center, Jerusalem, and is expanding ever outward to Judea & Samaria, Syria, Asia Minor, Europe, and eventually to Rome.
It is almost universally agreed that the author of Acts also wrote the Gospel of Luke. In fact, "the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles originally constituted a two-volume work." [19] See also Luke-Acts. In some editions of the Bible, Luke-Acts has been presented as a single book. [20] The traditional view is that both books were written c. 60, though most scholars, believing the Gospel to be dependent (at least) on Mark's gospel, view the book(s) as having been written at a later date, sometime between 70 and 100.[21]

Story of Lazarus

Hello Everyone

Last week we began a discussion of the story of Lazarus in John chapter 11. Here are some images and a bit of the background information we shared.

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This is an amazing view -- you are Lazarus!



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Vincent Van Gogh appears to have depicted himself as Lazarus in this painting -- he rendered when he was a patient in a mental hospital.



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This painting adds an interesting character -- note the father-like person at Lazarus' head.



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Lazarus is a derivation of the Hebrew name "Eliazar", which means "God heals". This seems a fitting name for a person destined to experience a kind of healing only God can provide.

Lazarus' sister, Mary, is the same one who, earlier in the book of John, anoints Jesus' feet with perfume; according to the story, in anticipation of Jesus' burial.

In his response to Martha, Jesus expresses a particular kind of indignation -- the word in question refers, literally, to a horse snorting. One commentator interprets this as Jesus' anger toward death -- that it is an inappropriate thing, not part of God's will. Of interest -- the same commentator refers to Jesus' attitude toward the money changers and livestock sellers in the temple, the gospel story for Sunday's sermon, as being the same kind of indignation toward something that is contrary to God's design and will.

This is a story rich with John's themes -- we see in the tale references to light and dark, death and life, and Jesus' full humanity and full divinity, as well as a typical misunderstanding of all these points.

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This Sunday we will focus on application of this story to our own lives.

Please remember that, in two weeks, St. Paul's will participate in "Face to Faith Sunday", with grown ups invited to join children and youth for their classes that day. This should be a really fun event and we hope, if you haven't signed up to visit a young peoples' class you might think about doing that this coming Sunday.

Thanks for being in this class! Laura and I are always blessed by our study, how much we learn each week, and for the Christ-like love and care you show for one another.

Dan and Laura

Healing of the Official's Son

Hello everyone!

Thanks for a good conversation on Sunday, working through John 4:43 ff, Jesus' healing of a desperate father's son.

Some good basic questions came up about this story -- here's a shot at some answers.

First, who or what exactly was the "court official", the father in the story? It didn't seem clear if he was a Jew or a Roman, a soldier or a courtier. Well I looked this up in my Interpreter's Bible Commentary. This source explains that it is probably safe to assume the man was an official in King Herod's service, and that it would not be inconsistent to assume that he was a centurion, a commander of a hundred soldiers. I think IBC makes this connection because this story is a variation on a story told in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10, where the man in question is clearly identified as a military officer.

Second, doesn't this story sound familiar? Aren't there similar stories in the synoptic (Matthew, Mark, Luke) gospels? The answer is yes, there are similar stories. As I was doing a quick scan in my own mind on Sunday morning I thought of one where Jesus did actually attend to a father's sick daughter -- this is the account of the healing of Jairus' daughter in Mark 5/Luke 8. But memory failed me a bit in thinking Jairus was a Roman -- he was in fact a Jewish leader and official. Eric was correct in thinking, in the other accounts of the healing of a Roman official's charge, that Jesus did not accompany the man, but gave the order from a distance, which was accepted.

If you read the accounts in Matthew and Luke, one of the assumptions we floated is made explicit: that the man in question is so used to giving orders, and receiving them, that he readily accepts Jesus' authority. This also lends credence to the assumption that he served in the military in some fashion. The Matthew and Luke versions differ in a couple of ways from John's account -- in both of those Jesus offers to go with the officer, but the soldier explains that it is not necessary, for the reasons just stated. To this Jesus declares he hasn't found that kind of faith in all of Israel. Also, the sick person in Matthew and Luke is not the officer's son, but a boy, or a servant.

Well, we continued our discussion and shared some interesting insights about how we might expect God to heal. That Jesus kept a low profile, even to the point of anonymity, may be a unique perspective presented in John's gospel. In the synoptics, by contrast, Jesus performs miracles and healings publicly and in person. John makes the point that Jesus does have miraculous power, but it is more important to recognize who he is -- and Jesus does not trust people to gain this insight if they are looking for the spectacle of miracles. So in both of the first "signs" in John, Jesus acts in such a way that only those who are really paying attention, and have an inclination to recognize and believe in him, will see. We discussed this in light of the psychology of presenting healing as spectacle -- that it might seem more authentic if healing is put in the context of obvious rituals, fervent prayers, and stoking the fires of emotion in other ways. Interesting that John doesn't go there. So the challenge is to know Jesus, and experience miracles as a function of having a real relationship with him. In other words, the relationship comes first; if faith is based on witnessing or experiencing a miracle, the foundation is by nature weak. Since John is my favorite gospel I tend to agree. What do you think?

For next week, Laura will be your facilitator, as I will be away in Portland on Conference business. Laura would like to move into small group discussion of last week's text, John 4:43 - end of chapter, concerning the healing of the official's son. So give some thought to our four questions and be ready for small group phase, answering four questions:

1. What does this story tell me about me?
2. What does this story tell me about God?
3. What does this story tell me about my relationship with God?
4. What will I do?

God bless you all & see you soon!

Dan & Laura

The Woman at the Well

Hi everyone!

We hope you've had a fine, God-blessed week.

Thanks very much to Greg Peters for leading class two weeks past, in part one of discussion of the story about Jesus meeting the woman at the well in John chapter 4:1-42.

We wrapped up our sharing on that passage last week . . . lots of reflections about our personal willingness to step out of our comfort zones to be with people who may appear unacceptable in some way, as Jesus did in leading the disciples straight through the heart of Samaria. How to sum it up? Well, something at the core is that Jesus was all about relationships, not outward appearances or style. It holds true as a challenge in relating to people, and in relating to God, who desires us to be "true" worshippers, worshipping in "Spirit and in truth". In human encounters, we can share our own truth effectively only if we really care about the other person and have a real relationship with them, as Jesus established with the woman at the well. In our relationship with God, our place and style of worship are what is on the outside; it's what's happening as we relate to God in worship that is of importance.

For this week, remember we are finishing chapter 4 and moving into the first part of chapter 5, two stories of healings. Please read John 4:43-54, Jesus' healing of a roman official's son, and John 5:1-15, the healing of a disabled person at the Pool of Bethesda.

We hope to see you Sunday!

God bless

Dan and Laura

The Wedding at Cana

On January 4 and 11 we discussed John 2:1-11, where Jesus attended a wedding, turning water into wine. We shared amusement in reading between the lines about Jesus' relationship with his mother, and the general comic tone of the story, where most people do not know what is happening or how the wedding is saved by the replenishing of the all-important wine.

This story has a clear gnostic tone, in that many people do not know who Jesus is, even though he is in their very midst. Yet in this sign John reports that his disciples perceive, to some degree, Jesus' nature, and believe. We also observed that, though they may be enlightened at the moment, they will be in the dark again in the future!

Wine is a powerful symbol of the kingdom of God, so running out at a wedding would have been more than inconvenient -- it could be seen as a withdrawal of God's blessing on the couple.

As we sought to apply the Scripture to our lives, one of the main ideas concerns our illusion of control over many of our affairs. So the hope of being able to let go of that control is encouraging, knowing that God in Christ is with us . . . if things go awry, perhaps it is part of God's plan; or simply an opportunity for Jesus to reveal himself to us, as well.

For January 18, please read ahead in John, completing chapter 2 and 3. We will focus on Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, and also take a look ahead to be sure we are planning to cover books and sections of the New Testament that are of interest to the class. We have also suggested that we might go ahead and plan to meet through next year to provide more time and ease to cover the New Testament, rather than rush through by the end of May this year.