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?

* * *
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