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