I think there is a really good sermon in this text that fits with theme fo the sermon, but I'm not sure I ever found it! I might have been better off preaching from Acts 15 (the Jerusalem Council that I referenced), but I initially gravitated to this passage because of Peter's vision.
“Living with the Vision” Acts 11: 1-18; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; November 1, 2026; Fall 2026 Vision and Stewardship; Richard B. Culp
Acts 11: 1-18 Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers[a] criticized him, 3 saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” 4 Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners, and it came close to me. 6 As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 10 This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 11 At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.[b] These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14 he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 18 When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Introduction: Many of us remember the story of Peter’s dream and Cornelius’ dream.
back in the old days this was a great story for the felt board they used back then
maybe now puppets tell the story in a fascinating way
or some high tech version of Peter’s dream can be watched on some YouTube channel
but in the days of felt boards, the felt board would be covered with animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.
the felt board would stretch the imagination with its sights
Quite a sight to see.
And then there would conversation about Peter’s vision
about dietary restrictions
and the significant change this vision brought to Peter’s understanding of what it meant to be a follower of Christ.
But this intriguing vision Peter has is just the beginning.
so let’s take a few minutes this morning and reflect on how this vision impacts Peter and the early church.
Move 1: It is not enough for Peter to have the vision, but he must act on it,
it changes the way he leads the early church.
a. Until this vision, Peter and the other followers of Christ thought they had it all figured out
1. the Israelites were God’s people.
God had chosen to have a special relationship with them
Jesus had come along, who was also a Jew,
probably even a Pharisee.
The Jews were God’s people and God eas acting in the world through them.
2. Even when Jesus extended himself to others, they interpreted it in 5e context of their Jewish heritage.
The followers of Christ might have included some Gentiles, but the early church leaders like Peter understood that they were going to be part of the Jewish family.
Which meant they had to abide by Jewish dietary laws and the men had to be circumcised.
this may sound a bit odd to us, but the dietary rules and circumcision were all about identity,
about who they were as Jews,
about who they were as God’s people.
about how they understood God to be at work in the world through them.
b. But then there is this dream,
this vision in the night.
This vision that calls Peter to a new understanding.
the dietary restrictions will not apply to the Gentiles who come to believe in the resurrected Christ.
it is not just about diet, but a new self-identity.
what does Peter do with this?
c. Once Peter sees the vision, he is compelled to act on it.
Not only does he change his mind,
but he works to help the other leaders see what he now sees.
you may remember that Peter’s experience is one of the main reasons the early church leaders gather in Jerusalem for what we now call the Jerusalem Council
the gathering where they decided officially to move away from requiring new believers to become Jewish as part of their desire to follow the resurrected Christ.
d. The vision
the new understanding
acting on it
1. As we vision together here at St. Andrew, the opportunity,
and the challenge,
is to not only seek the vision God has for us,
but to be willing to lay claim to that vision as it impacts our ministries and our life together.
Move 2: we are also reminded that It takes more than one person to shape the vision.
a. Peter has his vision;
then he learns that Cornelius,
who, by the way, is a Roman centurion and not yet officially one of the followers of Christ,
But he has had an angel come to him and urge him to reach out to Peter.
so Peter and Cornelius come together,
they discover that God’s vision for the followers of the resurrected Christ is different than what Peter had originally imagined.
they were to embrace Gentiles and no longer require them to abide by the Jewish laws.
1. then Peter gathers with the other leaders of the early church to discuss his vision and what it might mean for them.
Together, they come up with a plan.
And, as you may recall, they send a letter to all the developing church communities to let them know what the leadership group had decided
and invite them to be a part of this changing understanding of what it meant to be a follower of the resurrected Christ.
2. it took Peter,
and Cornelius,
and then James and John and Paul
and then all the early church communities to live into this new vision God had given Peter.
b. As we move forward in the visioning process for St. Andrew, it calls for all of us to be engaged,
to be prayerful,
to be open to what God is doing.
1. The Session,
the elected leadership of this congregation,
is leading the process,
but the process needs,
indeed, the visioning process demands that all of us work together to discover and implement what God desires of St.Andrew as we move into the future.
c. And don’t forget the Holy Spirit.
throughout this story, we are told the Holy spirit is at work shaping and reshaping the vision.
1. In fact, Peter and those with him were surprised when the Holy spirit came upon the Gentiles.
But we should not be surprised
Because we know that the Holy Spirit is not bound by parameters we create,
but chooses to move freely among any and all to achieve God’s purposes.
2. We need each other
and we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit
to lay claim fully to the vision God has for us.
Move 3: finally, the vision Peter has also expands the possibilities for what God is doing.
a. when Peter shares his vision
and then it’s implications,
everyone was silenced.
1. Maybe silence because they had to think things over?
maybe silence because they were not sure what to say to his vision that shifts how they are to understand themselves
maybe silence because they quickly see the implications and do not know what to say.
2. But then they praise God because God has given even to the gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
3. They praise God because the circle of those who lives are going to be changed by the good news of Jesus Christ has just expanded exponentially.
4. They praise God because they realize that God’s grace is far greater than they had thought.
b. the desire to share the good news and expand the circle of those whose lives would be changed hearing the good news guided this new vision the early church had.
1. As we seek God’s vision for St. Andrew and lay claim to it,
maybe that should be our litmus test - how does the vision expand the circle of those who lives are impacted by God?
2. The vision for St. Andrew involves us,
but it is not primarily about us,
but about the God whom we proclaim,
the God who desires to expand the circle and include more people in the life-saving, life-giving actions of Jesus Christ.
conclusion: for a young elementary school age kid, the felt board with Peter’s vision was exciting and full of possibilities.
Let’s discover those possibilities for St. Andrew.
I Thessalonians 2: 9-13
9 You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. 11 As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, 12 urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. 13 We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.
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