Reflections on "A Change of Course" Acts 16: 6-15

The week I was remembering an old sermon preached by Horace Douty at Culpeper Presbyterian Church in Culpeper, VA, was the same week my mother brought me a file of his old sermons (my aunt had mailed them to her each week).  I quickly went through the file thinking if I actually found the sermon I remembered, it would really add something to what I was trying to do.  But, that was not one of the sermons in the file (I guess since we heard it in person, there was no reason to mail it to us).  Although I did not worship in that church that many times, my aunt and uncle would often have the minister and his wife over for dinner, so I learned some things from him that have impacted my own ministry.  I find it fascinating to look back and see how people impacted my life in various ways throughout the years.  That, of course, is the topic of another sermon!

I was challenged in my time management in the week leading up to this sermon, so I did not have as much time to prepare the sermon as I would have liked.  I also glossed over the idea of God putting roadblocks in our way, not because I did not have time to reflect on the issue, but because I do not know what to do with that concept.  The text also has ample opportunity to reflect on how the Holy Spirit works, but I did not go there either.

“A Change of Course” St. Andrew, Denton; May 26, 2019; Acts 16: 6-15  Richard B. Culp

Acts 16: 6-15  They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8 so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. ¹¹We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, ¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. ¹³On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.

Introduction: Does anyone remember last week’s sermon?

Maybe most of you do since last week was our graduating senior sermons, but how many of you remember the sermon the week before last?

when I saw that this passage from Acts was the suggested lectionary passage for this morning, I remembered a sermon I heard years ago on this text that I have carried with me ever since.

When I was growing up, we would spend much of each summer in Virginia with relatives.  Part of the summer, we spent in Culpeper, VA, where I had had numerous relatives, including a great-aunt and great-uncle.  She was Southern Baptist; he was a stalwart ruling elder in the Presbyterian church.

Their usual pattern was one Sunday at the First Baptist church; the next Sunday at Culpeper Presbyterian Church. Except when the Presbyterian relatives from TX were in town.  Then, my uncle took us to Presbyterian church two, three. sometimes four Sundays in a row.

One of these weeks in one of those summers, the minister preached on this text.  I do not remember many details, but for the last 40 years or so, whenever I hear the word Troas, I have immediately had this thought:  Paul changed course at Troas;  if Paul can change course, God might want me to change course at some point in life.

A simple memory that has stuck with me and in some ways probably shaped how I understand discipleship.

As I studied the text this week, I was reminded that the story is bit more complicated than simply Paul changed course. 

I remember a sermon I heard preached at Culpeper Presbyterian Church years ago.

Move 1:  God has a plan

a.  God has a plan for your life.

1.  Easy to say.

2. Helpful and hopeful to believe.

3.  True to how we see the biblical story lived out by God’s people.

4.  Good news for us as we live out our discipleship.

5. God has a plan and calls us to follow and live into that plan.

6. if all you remember from this story in Acts and from this sermon is that God has a plan for your life and you are called to seek out God’s plan, that will be good news.

b.  Less good news - if we are like Paul, it may take a few roadblocks before we get it figured out.

1.  To just say that Paul had to change course to follow God’s plan does not describe what has taken place.

2.  Paul changes direction because he has run into some roadblocks.  

3.  Roadblocks connected to God.

4. Paul wanted to spread the good news in Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbid him to do so.

5.  Paul attempted to go into  Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus did not allow it.

d. we do not know what transpired, but we know Pual.

1. We know Paul was a determined man.

2. We know Paul would take on any challenge.

3.  Which suggests to me that Paul was working hard to move in other areas of Asia; which suggests that Paul’s attempt to go into Bithynia was a serious attempt - lots of effort and work.

4.  But God, by the power fo the Holy Spirit, stopped him.

e.  the good news that  God has a plan for us also brings with it that we might have some challenges along he way.

1.  A failure or two might be in the works as we discover God’s plan.

2.  Our attempts to do what we think we are being called to do might be met with resistance as we discover the need to change direction.

3.   I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “YES!"  (By Oriah © Mountain Dreaming,

from the book The Invitation published by HarperONE, San Francisco,

1999 All rights reserved; http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com)

4.  Can you fail, and still say yes when God calls you in a new direction?

Move 2:  there are people out there who need you.

a.  Paul has a dream.

1.  Seems like a Paul thing.

2.  In fact, when the text tells us that the “spirit of Jesus” stopped his attempt to go into Bithynia, it is the only time that phrase is used in the biblical text.  A reminder of Paul on the ground on the road to Damascus hearing the voice of the risen Christ. (New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol X, 226).

b.  But in the dream is a man asking for Paul to “come and help us.”

1.  Notice the connection between God closing doors for Paul and someone in Macedonia who needs help.

2.  Paul is moved by this man in his dream to go to Phillipi.

3.  God’s plan for Paul leads to people who need to someone sent from God.

4.  That might be the best way of knowing if you are following God’s plan for your life - are you finding people who need from God what you bring them?  

b.  What do you imagine the man needs?

1. Could be lots of things, I suppose.

2. when we think of people needing something, we often go straight to people who have financial need, or need to be fed.

c.  In this story, the first person Paul finds in Phillipi is Lydia.

1.  she does not appear to need food, or financial assistance, or clothing.

2. she is doing pretty well in a material sense.  Her description reeks of someone who has it together, has money, is secure in life.

3. Except she needs more spiritually.  She has an inkling about God, but needs more.

4.  God redirects Paul, and he ends up with her.

5. Interestingly enough, this is not how Pual usually operates when he gets to a new place.  Usually, he goes to the synagogue and begins to debate.

6. But when he arrives in Phillipi, he goes off the beaten path to the river to some women who were there to pray.

7. Before he’s done Lydia and her household were baptized and she becomes one fo the key elders in the church in that area.

8.  Paul’s attempts to do something in Asia and Bithynia fail; but Lydia is waiting for him and the good news of Jesus Christ he brings her down by the river in Phillipi.

9. God at work.

Move 3:  Final thought.

a.  Notice how Paul responds when he gets the message from God to change direction.

1.  He Immediately goes

2.  Because he is convinced that God has called

3  and he goes to proclaim

b.  As you live out your calling as a disciples of Christ, as you face failures and hear God’s call to go in new directions,

I hope you will have the urgency to go immediately;  that you will be convinced that God has called you,; and that you will never forget your talk - to proclaim the gospel in word and deed.

Reflections on “Look Around” May 12, 2019 Acts 9: 32-43; Luke 7:18-23

Early in the sermon preparation, I discovered I had preached this text about five years ago.  When I read the sermon, I liked it, so I thought I'd just adjust it a bit (I had some suggestions on improving the sermon from the previous time I preached it) to the context here in Denton, and it would be a week with little sermon preparation.  By the end of the week, as I tried to make the adjustments, I ended up with almost a completely new sermon.  In fact, I think the sermon became overly complicated because I was trying to fit the new stuff with the old stuff. The sermon probably would have been better if I had not referenced the previous sermon.  One of the suggestions from the previous sermon was to focus more on the "look around" aspect of the sermon.  I did do that in this sermon, including pulling in the illustration of fundraising for Notre Dame and the burned churches in southern Louisiana, which I think work fairly well.

“Look Around” May 12, 2019; St. Andrew, Denton;  Acts 9: 32-43  Richard B. Culp

Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

Introduction: After Easter, after the celebration of the resurrection, we move into a “now what” mode.  How do we respond to God’s power to resurrect?

Often we turn to the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, the stories of those first believers in Jesus Christ, who both proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ and responded to God’s power to resurrect.

This morning, we read a couple of stories from Acts, a couple of stories of how God’s power to resurrect was lived out.  

Let’s take a few minutes to notice several things in these stories.

Move 1: First of all,  we are reminded that God’s invites all people to participate in God’s power to resurrect.

a. From a literary standpoint, the stories of Aeneas and Tabitha are viewed as an intentional pair (I might add for you biblical studies students that this pattern of pairing stories also is found in the Gospel of Luke, which we know was written by the same author as the Book of Acts)

1. There are parallels in the two stories -- Peter saying "get up;”

2. both persons are named (rather rare for healing stories in the NT).

3. and the Christians in both stories are called "saints," which is rarely done in Acts (The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, Ben Witherington, III, 1998, Eerdman Publishing, 3227-328)

4. within the parallelism, we notice that in one story a man is healed, in the other a woman.

b. These twin stories make the subtle point that God's presence and God's work can be found among men and women.

2. In fact, Luke seems to go out of his way in this pairing to give more details to the Tabitha part of the tandem, including the description of Tabitha using the feminine form of the word disciples, which i is the only place in the NT where this occurs (Interpretation:Acts, William Willimon, 84)

c. I do not point this out to make Luke out to be a feminist.

1. I do not think that was Luke's intent.

2. but, Luke is clearly making the point that all people are called to ministry; and all people can be transformed by the God of resurrection.

Move 2: We also notice that the resurrection is lived out in the midst of our daily living.

a.  In Lydda, Peter is going “here and there among all the believers”

1.  I love the image of going “here and there” no place particular, just living life as it comes to him.

2.  He is not looking for a special spot or special moment, just here and there.

3.  Jumping ahead just a bit, be sure and notice that after Peter heals Aeneas, he tells him to make his bed.  

4. in other words, God’s power takes place in our daily routines and can send us back to our normal patterns of life.

b.  In Joppa, we see a couple of normal routines being lived out.

1. First, there is some ministry going on among the widows.  

2.  In other words, they are like a a community of faith that is doing its work among the people. 

3. secondly, there grieving in this particular moment because Tabitha has died.

4.  the situation is a typical one that arrives as people move through the cycle of life and death.

5.  Her friends and family had laid her in a room and prepared her body.

6.  those who knew Tabitha were standing around grieving. 

7. they were wearing clothes Tabitha has made for them, a testimony to kind of person she was and the kinds of things she did.

5.  I suspect they were also telling stories.

6. a gathering like ones we have been to on numerous occasions.

c.   We might also note that Peter ends up staying in Joppa for awhile working with a tanner.

1.  hardly a high profile job for a healer of people.

2. Not as if the healings have elevated his status in the workforce.

3.   a reminder that God’s is at work In the normal routines of life – the good and the bad; the trivial and the exciting.

Move 3: The stories also give us a clue as to how we know the resurrected Christ is in our midst.

a.  Look around - if lives are being restored, if new life is being given, then you can believe that God’s power to resurrect is at work.

b. We see that in Lydda were Aeneas is healed.

1. Peter explicitly states that Aeneas is healed in the name of Jesus Christ.

2.  It is not simply medical healing, but evidence of God’s power to resurrect.

c.  In Joppa, Tabitha is brought back to life.

1. How this plays out takes us to Jairus’ house when his daughter is thought to be dead in her room upstairs.  In that case, Jesus arrives, goes upstairs, sends out everyone but those with him, Peter is one of those who is allowed to stay with Jesus, and then Jesus heals her.

3.  Peter models Jesus’ action  - he goes upstairs to a room, sends people out, and then commands Tabitha to be “get up.”

c.  These healing stories remind us of the moment in the Gospel of Luke when John the Baptist wants to know if Jesus is the real thing.

1. John sends his disciples to ask Jesus: "Are you the one who is to come?"

2. Seemingly, a simple “yes” or “No” question.

3. But Jesus responds – "Look around -- healing is taking place." New life is being given to people. Hope replaces despair.

4. In the early church when people want to prove that Christ is risen, they look around for places where God is giving new life and healing.

d. Look around, where do you see new life in our world?

1. sometimes hard to see when stories of shootings, or political bickering, or the rise of racism take over the headlines.

2. But look around and see examples like the  Notre Dame story.

3.  At first glance, a mesmerizing story about the burning of a great cathedral in France.  With the rapid news of the Internet, people around the world watched as it burned, as people sought to save relics by racing into the cathedral, as firefighters fought the flames to save as much of the cathedral as they could.

4.  then, the amazing response of people pledging hundreds of millions of dollars to restore the cathedral.

5. Some might see this response as more about saving an artifact dear to the hearts of France rather than a sign of new life.

6. But, something else happened.  As people turned their attention to the burning and restoration of Notre Dame, the burning so three churches in southern Louisiana by a white supremacist came into more focus.

7.  There had been an attempt to raise $1.8 million dollars to repair those church, but only 100,000 had been raised.

8. then the fundraising for Notre Dame led to attention to the fundraising for the burn churches in Louisiana.  

9. Very quickly $2 million dollars was raised for those churches.  

10.  “It’s going to help our community,” Rev. Gerald Toussaint, pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, told CNN. “What the devil meant for bad, God’s going to turn it into something good.”  https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/4/17/18412465/louisiana-black-churches-fire-donations-notre-dame; P.R. Lockhart Updated Apr 19, 2019, Vox

Look around.

Move 3: Final thought – notice that the people expect Peter to do something.

a. IN the midst of their grief in Joppa, they send for Peter, one of the followers of Christ.

1. We do not know what they might have been expecting.

2. maybe just a word of hope;

3. maybe they were, in fact, looking for Peter to bring Tabitha back to life.

  4. But we do know that in the midst of their grief, as they struggle with what is happening in their lives, they turn to God through one of Christ's disciples.

b. Reminds us that in our world we have people who are facing struggles, dealing with the challenges, facing the death of loved ones, and they need somewhere to turn for hope and to find new life.

3. Look around - we are the people that God has sent into the world; we are the community of faith called to be the body of Christ.

conclusion:  When people look around, they are looking for you and me to show them the Risen Christ.

Go and show them.

Reflections on "Voices of Change" Acts 9: 1-20

I may have preached on one part of this story or another as often as I have preached any text that is not Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter related.  I have always found the conversion of Saul to Paul to be a powerful story with many different insights about discipleship.  I have also enjoyed delving into the Ananias section of the story as well.

This sermon was part traditonal sermon and part dialogue sermon.  I did the voices of Sau/Paul and Ananias, and Lisa, the other pastor, did the voice of God from the balcony.  In addition to adding a second distinct voice to the dialogues, her voice gave credence to the understanding that God is beyond male or female imagery.  Although it was not the intent of the sermon to expand our sense of who God is, if that happened for anyone, that was an added bonus.

“The Voices of Change” May 5, 2019; St. Andrew, Denton;  Acts 9: 1-19; Richard B. Culp

Introduction: In one of her letters, the great American writer Flannery O'Connor commented on Paul: "I reckon the Lord knew that the only way to make a Christian out of that one was to knock him off his horse." (The Habit of Being (355) as quoted in Interpretation: a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching Acts (William Willimon, 73).

The conversion of Saul to Paul may be the best-known story in Acts, with the exception of the Pentecost story.

A powerful dramatic scene with a bright light from heaven, Saul being struck blind, and a voice speaking to him from the heavens.

Perhaps even more dramatic than the roadside scene is the change that takes place: Saul, the persecutor of Christians becomes Paul, the great evangelist and leader of Christians.

But the story is also about Ananias, and his willingness to reach out to Saul.

As I reflected on both these men, I was struck by the Saul talking back to the voice from the heavens.

It occurs to me that Saul, and perhaps Ananias, and perhaps you and I engage in conversation with the voice of God as we try and understand our calling as disciples of Christ.

This morning, I invite you to listen to what might have been part of Saul's conversation with God; Ananias' conversation; and then Paul's conversation with God.

We have no record of these conversations, but in our heart of hearts, we know these types of conversations take place because we have them ourselves.

Move 1: What might Saul and God have been talking about two days into Saul's blindness.

Saul: Uh God, I've had a couple of days to think about this, and I'm not sure I buy it.

I know that day on the road to Damascus, it seemed convincing that I was wrong about persecuting Christians.

When I was on my knees hearing a voice that I thought was the voice of the Risen Christ, it was easy to believe that I was wrong to persecute Christians, but I'm not so sure I was wrong anymore.

After all, I have spent my life studying the Torah. I'm a Pharisee. If anyone should recognize the Son of God, I should.

Who are these Christians to decide that Jesus was your Son?

There have been lots of stories of faith healers and miracle workers. I've even heard stories about people being raised from the dead. None of those people turned out to be your son.

I'm usually right about matters of faith, and I'm pretty sure I just got caught up in the moment on the road to Damascus. I let my emotions get the better of me.

Now that I've had a few days to think about it, I'm not so sure whose voice I heard that day or who I saw. no one else saw anyone. OK, they say they heard your voice, but they only said that after I told them what I had heard.

When this temporary blindness goes away, I think I am going to go back to my working finding Christians and holding them accountable to their false claims about the resurrection.

God:   Uh, Saul. You're not sure if you believe in resurrection? You're not sure whose voice that was?

You're still blind, right?

You may think it's temporary, but you keep praying to me to heal you. I'm going to send someone to heal you of your blindness. When that happens, will you then believe?

The voice from the heavens that you heard does not fit with what you want to believe because you want Pharisee answers.

I don’t' have Pharisee answers – all I have is my love and the hope and power of the resurrection to give to you.

You want answers?  So does everyone else.

Guess what?  you are the one who I am sending to bring them answers.

But you choose. Do you want to believe in my son Jesus, or do you want to cling to your desire to be right in the eyes of the Pharisees?

Your choice.

Move 2: As Saul ponders his choice, Ananias is having a conversation with God.

Ananias: Uh God, you want me to what?

You really want me to go to the house where Saul is and touch his eyes so that he can be healed of his blindness.

God, you know who Saul is, right?

Saul, the one who stood by and smiled as they stoned Stephen.

Saul, the rabid Pharisee who wants to persecute Christians.

He came here to find people like me to punish us.

I know, I know. I've heard what he's telling people. How he's been changed. How the Risen Lord spoke to him while he was on his way here to Damascus.

But do you know how much evil this man Saul has done?

Can he really be changed? I’m not sure I can believe that.

It feels like you are asking me to walk into a trap.

God: Uh, Ananias.   I have never said following my son Jesus would be easy. Part of being a disciple is being willing to serve in ways you mind not have imagined doing.

Sometimes you have to choose – do you want to do what I send you to do, or not.

Ananias: But, I am scared.

God: I know. But remember that I am with you. You go with the power of the Holy Spirit. I will not abandon you.

Ananias: I know, but I'm still scared.

Move 3: Even after Saul chooses to follow Christ and becomes Paul, he still is in conversation with God.

a. Paul:  Uh God, God, I'm not sure this is working.

I ask the Christians what they want me to do, how they want me to help, and they won't even talk to me.

They see me coming, and they run the other way.

They still think I want to persecute them.

They won't give me a second chance.

It's hard enough to change who I am, but when no one believes I've changed, well, what's the point?

God: Uh, Paul.  What about Ananias? Didn't he come to the house and heal your blindness?

Or Barnabas? Hasn't Barnabas shown a willingness to work with you.

Paul: OK, yes, Ananias and Barnabas have seemed to accept me, although they are clearly reluctant to do so.

They are not doing it because they trust me; they are only doing it because you told them to.

No one else seems to trust me or want to help me. They either think I am some kind of spy, or they act jealous of me.

You don't know what it's like to have everyone look at you with suspicion in their eyes, acting like they want me to just go away.

You don’t know what it is like to face rejection everywhere I turn.

God: Actually, I do know a thing or two about rejection.

How about this Paul. How about you keep telling people about the resurrection of my Son; you keep proclaiming the resurrection; you go and tell anyone who will listen

If you run into people who do not want to believe, move on. I promise you that the world is full of people who need to hear about my love and the hope and power of the resurrection.

How about you go and do what I send you to do and quit worrying about things over which you have no control.

Move 4: I ran across a Mark Twain quote recently.

a. It goes like this:  ”The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

1. Being a responsible sharer of quotes, I researched the source of this Twain quote, I discovered that Mark Twain probably never said it  (http: humorinamerica.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/if-i-hear-it-again-i-swear-ill-scream-hemingway-huck-finn-and-cheating/), but I suppose if I can preach a sermon with conversations that may never have taken place, I can use a quote that may never have been said Mark Twain!

2.  Quote reveals the desire people have for their lives to have meaning.

3. We want to have a purpose.

b.  As Christians, we discover our purpose as we listen to where God sends us as disciples of Christ.

1.  We have to listen for the voice of God; we have to listen to the stirrings of our restless spirits that want to change.

2.  we have to be willing to give up our desire to right instead of faith; 

3.  we have to be willing to go into places that might be uncomfortable; 

4.  we have to do what we can do and then let God be God.

Conclusion: How do we do it? Maybe we can ask Saul? Or Ananias? Or Paul? Or better yet, ask God and listen for the answer.