The sermon went ok. I had a short week due to being at a conference and then having a wedding on Saturday. The sermon seemed a bit out of balance as the last point made up most of the sermon. The "hostile witness" section was a late addition to the sermon. I did not when I shared the sermon that if you watch My Cousin Vinny on commercial TV, the language is cleaned up; if you watch it on a DVD, there is vulgar language being used.
“Witnesses” FPC, Troy, OH; March 22, 2015; Acts 1: 1-8; Acts 22:
Introduction: We remember that the Book of Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke as the author of Luke writes again to Theophilus to share stories of what has happened since Christ has been raised from the dead.
The Gospel of Luke finishes with the post-resurrections stories of Jesus meeting disciples on the road to Emmaus and then eating and revealing himself to them once they arrived in Emmaus.
Later gathering with other disciples and even ending some broiled fish.
Then Christ ascends to heaven.
In those stories at the end of Luke, Jesus has already called the disciples “witnesses.”
This morning we read the opening verses of Acts and again hear the call to be witnesses.
As we move toward the end of our Lenten series on how to engage God's story, our story, and others in the world, we are reminded that God has called us to be witnesses.
This morning I want to reflect on to whom do we witness; to what are we a witness; what kind of witnesses are we to be?
Move 1: We witness to those people who are in our spheres of influence.
a. As we read in Acts, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NRSV)
1. To witness in Jerusalem is to share with friends and family; the neighborhood.
2. To witness in Judea – the Judeans, people of our own faith tradition; in other words, people who look, think and act like us
3. Samaria – people we do not like; we remember that the Samaritans were the distant cousins who became the enemy, the other people generations ago.
4. Witness to the ends of the earth – all the world; Nobody gets left out. and we are not off the hook as witnesses until all have heard the good news.
b. We hearing this call to be witness knowing that in the next chapter we will read about Pentecost.
1. Pentecost when the Spirit sweeps among the people, they are given the gift of language so that they can in the language of the people in whose country they will go.
2. That means that God will equip us to be witne3sses, whether we are witnessing in Jerusalem or to the ends of the earth
3. whether we need the gift of language or some other gift, God will provide what we need to be witnesses.
Move 2: To what are we a witness?
a. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. We we look at Paul who witnesses to all sorts of people, we discover that the foundation for what he tells people is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Christ crucified, yes; but then Christ resurrected.
b. Implications of the resurrection.
1. how it changed Paul's life.
2. How the resurrection of Christ frees us and empowers us in our lives.
We witness to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Move 3: What kind of witness are you to be?
a. Should we be an expert witness?
1. Presenting facts about Jesus that we want others to believe so that their lives can be changed.
2. Or making the argument about resurrection?
3. This week as I was traveling through Indiana I stopped at a convenience store on Rt. 30. As I looked down on the counter, there was one of those tracts that told me five facts about Jesus in an attempt to compel me to believe in Jesus.
Are we to be expert witnesses?
b. what about being a hostile witness?
1. Comedy My Cousin Vinny, Joe Pesci plays a New York lawyer who has never tried a case and now finds himself in small-town Georgia defending his cousin a capital murder trial. Marisa Tomay plays his fiancee, with whom Vinny has a combative relationship at times.
2. Vinny calls his fiancee to the witness stand just after they have had an argument. It is clear from her body language that she is not happy to be there.
3. As he begins to ask her questions about her knowledge of automobiles the following conversation takes place:
Vinny: Ms. Vito, you're supposed to be some kinda expert in automobiles, is that correct? Is that correct?
Judge Haller: Would you please answer the counselor's question?
Ms. Vito: No, I hate him.
Vinny: Your Honor, may I ask your permission to treat Ms Vito as a hostile witness?
Ms. Vito: You think I'm hostile now? Wait till you see me tonight.
Judge Haller: Do you two know each other?
Vinny: Yeah, she's my fiancée.
Judge Haller: Well, that would certainly explain the hostility.
4. God does not force us to witness; God invites us to witness.
5. Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies “…or you might wonder why I make this strapping, exuberant boy come with me most weeks, and if you were to ask, this is what I would say. I make him because I can. I outweigh him by nearly seventy-five pounds.”
6. She goes on to note the value of raising her son in a community of faith, but she also notes that in a few years he will grow bigger and she will not be able to compel him to go to church.
c. Image of a trail guide
1. An author that I read recently shared the story of her friend Anna, who is a trail guide.
Anna, the trail guide explains: "The best trail guides are those who welcome all kinds of people onto the trail [note that when Jesus says we are to be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, that is welcoming all ind of people to the trail] recognizing that the trail will never be experience the same way twice.
Each person brings their own gifts and struggles (plus the weather always adds a certain level of unpredictability).
But, the guide cannot enter blind. He needs to share some knowledge of the trail. She has to know with paths to take, the location of sinkholes or dangerous ledges, or where the river is most narrow, offering the safest place to cross [we have the story of Christ's resurrection and our own story of how that has changed our life as our knowledge to share]
The best guides truly journey with the adventurers, suffering through the same rain or snowstorms, encountering the same unexpected wildlife, and even sitting together when one adventurer becomes paralyzed by fear or struggles to forge ahead.
A great guide is not simply an encyclopedia of information nor a signpost merely pointing the right way to go, but a fellow journeyer, a friend on the trail (Journal for Preachers, Volume XXXVIII Number 2, Lent, 2015, Kimberly Wagner, "Challenge and Invitation: Preaching Lent Today," 21)
1. I think God calls us to be trail guide kind of witnesses.
2. people who join with others as we travel down our life's journeys, sharing how God has made a difference in our lives.
3. We do not have the same story as those to whom we witness, but we have faced the things in life that others face: the joys and celebrations; the struggles and challenges.
4. You cannot take the journey for someone else, but you can point out things along the way and how your faith has added to the journey.
5. not everyone will want you on the trail with them. When we read Paul's story this morning, we see that he is going to go to some other people because one group does not want to hear anything from him.
Witness as a trail guide.
Conclusion: In the old days, when radio was the major form of communication, the sound gave clues to what was happening in the story being told on the radio. I can remember as a kid being part of a radio play. I didn't have any lines, but I made the noises like rain or someone knocking on the door.
Some might remember the old radio program “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” The appearance of Jesus was dressed up with music, so that before he spoke you heard violins in the background. Michael Rogness, Professor of Preaching and Professor Emeritus of Homiletic, Luther Seminary; St. Paul, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching?commentary_id=2314
We do not need a special introduction to be a witness, we just need to offer our story of how our journey has been impacted and changed by the God whom we discover in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
4. God does not force us to witness; God invites us to witness.
5. Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies “…or you might wonder why I make this strapping, exuberant boy come with me most weeks, and if you were to ask, this is what I would say. I make him because I can. I outweigh him by nearly seventy-five pounds.”
6. She goes on to note the value of raising her son in a community of faith, but she also notes that in a few years he will grow bigger and she will not be able to compel him to go to church.
c. Image of a trail guide
1. An author that I read recently shared the story of her friend Anna, who is a trail guide.
Anna, the trail guide explains: "The best trail guides are those who welcome all kinds of people onto the trail [note that when Jesus says we are to be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, that is welcoming all ind of people to the trail] recognizing that the trail will never be experience the same way twice.
Each person brings their own gifts and struggles (plus the weather always adds a certain level of unpredictability).
But, the guide cannot enter blind. He needs to share some knowledge of the trail. She has to know with paths to take, the location of sinkholes or dangerous ledges, or where the river is most narrow, offering the safest place to cross [we have the story of Christ's resurrection and our own story of how that has changed our life as our knowledge to share]
The best guides truly journey with the adventurers, suffering through the same rain or snowstorms, encountering the same unexpected wildlife, and even sitting together when one adventurer becomes paralyzed by fear or struggles to forge ahead.
A great guide is not simply an encyclopedia of information nor a signpost merely pointing the right way to go, but a fellow journeyer, a friend on the trail (Journal for Preachers, Volume XXXVIII Number 2, Lent, 2015, Kimberly Wagner, "Challenge and Invitation: Preaching Lent Today," 21)
1. I think God calls us to be trail guide kind of witnesses.
2. people who join with others as we travel down our life's journeys, sharing how God has made a difference in our lives.
3. We do not have the same story as those to whom we witness, but we have faced the things in life that others face: the joys and celebrations; the struggles and challenges.
4. You cannot take the journey for someone else, but you can point out things along the way and how your faith has added to the journey.
5. not everyone will want you on the trail with them. When we read Paul's story this morning, we see that he is going to go to some other people because one group does not want to hear anything from him.
Witness as a trail guide.
Conclusion: In the old days, when radio was the major form of communication, the sound gave clues to what was happening in the story being told on the radio. I can remember as a kid being part of a radio play. I didn't have any lines, but I made the noises like rain or someone knocking on the door.
Some might remember the old radio program “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” The appearance of Jesus was dressed up with music, so that before he spoke you heard violins in the background. Michael Rogness, Professor of Preaching and Professor Emeritus of Homiletic, Luther Seminary; St. Paul, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching?commentary_id=2314
We do not need a special introduction to be a witness, we just need to offer our story of how our journey has been impacted and changed by the God whom we discover in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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