This sermon concludes the series on the Acts of the Apostles. In part, I am reflecting on running themes that we have uncovered as we read through Acts (This would be a great time for you to send me info about what themes have been meaningful to you in this series!), One of those themes is prayer. In fact, that is such a dominant theme that I have to include it in this week's sermon.
I am also struck by the way the waiting community arrives to greet Paul. I suppose it reflects in part how small their community of believers was relatively speaking. To get a group, they had to travel. But, it also may reflect their commitment to supporting each other. They hear Paul is arriving, so they go to great lengths to support him.
We certainly see how the arriving Christians impacted Paul as vs. 28:15 indicates that "on seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage." Willimon comments on this verse: "IN a narrative filled with accounts power, miraculous deliverance, and divine intervention, this is perhaps the greatest power the Christian faith puts at the disciples' disposal -- the power of brothers and sisters in the church" (William WIllimon, Acts from the commentary series Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, 186).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment