Coming to the Still Waters

  I had to admit this Sunday that part of the sermon was developed in my sleep the night before.  It happens sometimes.  I am sure I must not have been in a deep sleep but maybe in that twilight stage but I really wish I would have been like Daniel and got up and wrote down all the thoughts that were going on in my head.  I was able to retain the central thought the next morning and therefore it made it into the sermon.  What was it? This passage deals with another sermon of Peter's or maybe it is just an extension of the previous one.  Walking through the Scriptures, chapter by chapter and verse by verse, requires some walking backwards before moving forward with the congregation and it could feel like an extension from Sunday to Sunday.  I think this is a good thing.   Peter's preaching has some common themes like "this is part of God's redemption plan," "let me tell you about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus," and "repent and receive J

  Remember "Big Wad?"  Not sponsored by them, but just remembering putting the whole pack in my mouth on numerous occasions as a kid.  First you experienced the burst of flavor which overwhelms your tastebuds but if you kept chewing that big wad your jaw started talking to you.  Why didn't I just take out half of the contents or maybe even just a quarter of the packet rather than stuffing the whole thing into my mouth? Maybe my thought was that I could throw the packaging away and I wouldn't have to carry it around in my pocket.   Sometimes I find myself preaching this way.  I definitely bit off more than I should have this Sunday.  I didn't just preach through a whole chapter of the Bible but then stretched into the next.  I have done this before.  I have emptied the whole contents onto the pulpit and then working through it my jaw starts telling my brain that this was way too much material to comprehend at one time.  What happens is that I don't spend as muc

  Yes, that is a gum wall that you can find in Seattle, Washington.  It is now a tourist stop to the city.  You chew some gum and add it to all those who have come before.  They say it is a place to see and smell but watch where you walk! I am chewing some more about the sermon text from Sunday.  Specifically Acts 2:42-47 in which I have preached from many times and I usually pull out the true marks of a church.  A Christian church is devoted to... learning from God's word, Christian fellowship, worship of Jesus, and devoted to prayer.  The byproduct of this devotion is service of others.   This Sunday I take a step back to verse 41 and the definition of "they."   Who are "they?" "They"  are those who are true converts, the 3000 souls added to God's family that day.  The truly converted soul is described as someone who is devoted to God's word, Christian fellowship, worship of Jesus and prayer.  The byproduct of the truly converted soul is serv

  Sermon #5 from the Acts of the Apostles and actually sermon #2 from Peter's first sermon on the Day of Pentecost.  The devout (reverent of God) Jewish men from every nation are in Jerusalem and gathered up after they heard the sound from heaven.  They also hear the mighty acts of God spoken in their own language and even dialect by a group from northern Israel.  The question from some of them is, "What does this mean?"  Peter stands up to give an explanation from the Scriptures of what is happening.   He starts with the prophet Joel and explaining that what is happening is all part of God's plan.  He then moves to the Psalms and specifically the writings of King David.  King David is not writing about himself but the One who would come from his line promised by God in the Davidic Covenant.  The Messiah would come from King David's line but Peter helps us to see that David states that this Messiah's life would not result in body corruption (decay in the grave