St Theodore's

Wattle Park

Sermon of the Week
Look up the passage

15/2/04

One Personal Experience in 3 Contexts Acts 3

The Experience

A life dramatically changed (40+ years of being crippled)

The sheer exhilaration and joy of the man is seen in the descriptions:

   Walking and jumping

   Clung to

   (Such almost incidental descriptions indicate to me the authenticity of the account as it happened and as it was retold).

   In the Context of:

   Suffering

   Not an isolated incident of healing

   Many were healed by Peter eg Acts 5:15 and 16

   But not all are healed – and not all the time

   Jesus would possibly have walked by this man previously – and God had allowed this man to be in this situation for 40 plus years

   So there is the issue of God's timing and purpose to be considered

   (Compare John 9 esp v1-3)

   Christ has not ushered in a contemporary utopia, the healing is still a pointer to another worldly reality

   (Lazarus (the resurrected one) died, solid Christians get ill and die)

   So while miraculous healing is still a reality – needs to be seen primarily as a sign of God at work in calling people to himself.

   Ultimately then, the act of healing is a call to faith

   (both of the one healed as well those who witness it)

   Worth noting that the emphasis shifts in Acts from healing to gospel, teaching and serving/sharing.

   Religious Politics

   The Disciples still went to temple at Jewish worship times

   Peter works hard to show the relationship of Jesus to the OT

   Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 13, 25

   Moses and Samuel 22-24

   Prophets and messianic expectation 18

   This probably was a help for the many who were converted on the day.

   Yet the Jew-Christian divide seems inevitable – competition for the attention of people eventually leads to persecution of the early Jewish Christians

   We too need to contextually present the (unchanged) Gospel to our contemporaries even though eventually divisions may occur

   (Recent anti church sentiment and violence in some countries, threat of libel and being sued for defamation or on a personal level discrimination or antagonism in work settings)

   Faith Community

   * Important to observe that the healing took place in the context of 2:43-47 and along with the resulting conversions was in most likelihood followed up by that community

   *Specialist gifts – danger of everyone trying to be good at everything – especially the more prominent stuff. Gifts are given by God and not necessarily obtained by going to courses run by those apparently so gifted.

   * A little of the genuinely "prominent" gifting needs a lot of the non prominent gifts to establish and consolidate it

   There are 3 aspects to the faith sharing that took place around the healing.

   * Witnesses – The Disciples claimed to be witnesses of Jesus

   Last week's drama – getting comfortable telling our story

   * Ambassadors – Accusatory and Reconciliatory role

   Peter takes an ambassadorial position to accuse the people of their sin in the death of Jesus (you handed him over, you disowned him, you asked for a murderer's release, you killed the author of life) as well as the conciliatory steps of asserting their reconciliation with God (I used to feel sorry for Tariq Aziz during the first Iraq war. He epitomised the role of the ambassador caught between a rock and a hard place)

   (Peter urges them to understand their current ignorance, see God's fulfilling work in Jesus and respond with repentance)

   * Always available – The danger of subscribing to a program mentality is that we miss the moment to moment opportunities where the spirit is opening doors and people are receptive.

   This healing and its repercussion took place on the way to a worship service. I don't think it was premeditated – P and J seems to have been overcome spontaneously.

   Much to my annoyance key discipleship youth conversations often happen on the run in less than ideal circumstances as opposed to a formal and clearly laid out formal Study or discussion where I would be most comfortable. Which is why we need to be always seasoned in our speech with grace and truth enacting 1 Pet 3: 15ff











   Group Discussion Options - Acts 3

   (Please do not attempt to discuss all the following suggestions. Ideally pick one or two most relevant to your group currently)

   1.Share your faith story in the group – What does your belief journey look like? Explain the key transition moments and what occurred there.

   Allow others to ask you questions about your experience.

   2. Despite the early Christian's attempts at reconciliation within their Jewish faith – the figure of Jesus was to end up being a divisive one – due as much to the wielding of corrupt religio-political power (Chief Priest, Felix etc) as to fundamentalist passions (Paul).

   Paul went to some length to put the Jesus story in Jewish context. But then it was essentially the nature of the early church which did not see itself as an offshoot but rather the legitimate continuation.

   2.1 Is there a need to contextualise the Jesus story in our Melbourne culture?

   If so in what way? What concerns you about contextualisation?

   2.2 Is it worth investing energy in inter- faith dialogue or ecumenical activities?

   Or is that just a waste of time as ultimately the person of Jesus will be the basis of division?

   2.3 If an ecumenical project or ministry is undertaken what needs to be in place as far as you are concerned?

   3. Work out a rough theology of healing from your awareness of Biblical material and experience of reality.

   Why does God heal? When does God heal? Why does he sometimes not heal? How do you discern if he wants to heal? Is there any point in praying if God determines the right time for everything? How should we then pray (given the hopes, desires and emotion of the person to be healed)

   Always keep in mind that death is inescapable – even for Christians, and death often comes in the tragic form of accident, deliberate hurt or illness.

   4. Spiritual follow up.

   In this busy age in what practical ways can church communities follow up people who are healed, converted or seeking?

   One slot a week (say coming to Sunday service is itself a big commitment for many)

   Two slots a week is for the committed (say Service and a Bible Study)

   Three slots a week is really from those committed to leadership and heavier involvement in the church (say Service, Bible Study and Vestry or other sub-group).

   Given that these weekly commitments are so precious how should we prioratise people's availability?

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	Sermon of the Week	Look up the passage
	15/2/04
	One Personal Experience in 3 Contexts	Acts 3

	The Experience
	A life dramatically changed (40+ years of being crippled)
	The sheer exhilaration and joy of the man is seen in the descriptions:
	Walking and jumping
	Clung to
	(Such almost incidental descriptions indicate to me the authenticity of the account as it happened and as it was retold).
	In the Context of:
	Suffering
	Not an isolated incident of healing
	Many were healed by Peter eg Acts 5:15 and 16
	But not all are healed – and not all the time
	Jesus would possibly have walked by this man previously – and God had allowed this man to be in this situation for 40 plus years
	So there is the issue of God's timing and purpose to be considered
	(Compare John 9 esp v1-3)
	Christ has not ushered in a contemporary utopia, the healing is still a pointer to another worldly reality
	(Lazarus (the resurrected one) died, solid Christians get ill and die)
	So while miraculous healing is still a reality – needs to be seen primarily as a sign of God at work in calling people to himself.
	Ultimately then, the act of healing is a call to faith
	(both of the one healed as well those who witness it)
	Worth noting that the emphasis shifts in Acts from healing to gospel, teaching and serving/sharing.
	Religious Politics
	The Disciples still went to temple at Jewish worship times
	Peter works hard to show the relationship of Jesus to the OT
	Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 13, 25
	Moses and Samuel 22-24
	Prophets and messianic expectation 18
	This probably was a help for the many who were converted on the day.
	Yet the Jew-Christian divide seems inevitable – competition for the attention of people eventually leads to persecution of the early Jewish Christians
	We too need to contextually present the (unchanged) Gospel to our contemporaries even though eventually divisions may occur
	(Recent anti church sentiment and violence in some countries, threat of libel and being sued for defamation or on a personal level discrimination or antagonism in work settings)
	Faith Community
	* Important to observe that the healing took place in the context of 2:43-47 and along with the resulting conversions was in most likelihood followed up by that community
	*Specialist gifts – danger of everyone trying to be good at everything – especially the more prominent stuff. Gifts are given by God and not necessarily obtained by going to courses run by those apparently so gifted.
	* A little of the genuinely "prominent" gifting needs a lot of the non prominent gifts to establish and consolidate it
	There are 3 aspects to the faith sharing that took place around the healing.
	* Witnesses – The Disciples claimed to be witnesses of Jesus
	Last week's drama – getting comfortable telling our story
	* Ambassadors – Accusatory and Reconciliatory role
	Peter takes an ambassadorial position to accuse the people of their sin in the death of Jesus (you handed him over, you disowned him, you asked for a murderer's release, you killed the author of life) as well as the conciliatory steps of asserting their reconciliation with God (I used to feel sorry for Tariq Aziz during the first Iraq war. He epitomised the role of the ambassador caught between a rock and a hard place)
	(Peter urges them to understand their current ignorance, see God's fulfilling work in Jesus and respond with repentance)
	* Always available – The danger of subscribing to a program mentality is that we miss the moment to moment opportunities where the spirit is opening doors and people are receptive.
	This healing and its repercussion took place on the way to a worship service. I don't think it was premeditated – P and J seems to have been overcome spontaneously.
	Much to my annoyance key discipleship youth conversations often happen on the run in less than ideal circumstances as opposed to a formal and clearly laid out formal Study or discussion where I would be most comfortable. Which is why we need to be always seasoned in our speech with grace and truth enacting 1 Pet 3: 15ff





	Group Discussion Options - Acts 3
	(Please do not attempt to discuss all the following suggestions. Ideally pick one or two most relevant to your group currently)
	1.Share your faith story in the group – What does your belief journey look like? Explain the key transition moments and what occurred there.
	Allow others to ask you questions about your experience.
	2. Despite the early Christian's attempts at reconciliation within their Jewish faith – the figure of Jesus was to end up being a divisive one – due as much to the wielding of corrupt religio-political power (Chief Priest, Felix etc) as to fundamentalist passions (Paul).
	Paul went to some length to put the Jesus story in Jewish context. But then it was essentially the nature of the early church which did not see itself as an offshoot but rather the legitimate continuation.
	2.1 Is there a need to contextualise the Jesus story in our Melbourne culture?
	If so in what way? What concerns you about contextualisation?
	2.2 Is it worth investing energy in inter- faith dialogue or ecumenical activities?
	Or is that just a waste of time as ultimately the person of Jesus will be the basis of division?
	2.3 If an ecumenical project or ministry is undertaken what needs to be in place as far as you are concerned?
	3. Work out a rough theology of healing from your awareness of Biblical material and experience of reality.
	Why does God heal? When does God heal? Why does he sometimes not heal? How do you discern if he wants to heal? Is there any point in praying if God determines the right time for everything? How should we then pray (given the hopes, desires and emotion of the person to be healed)
	Always keep in mind that death is inescapable – even for Christians, and death often comes in the tragic form of accident, deliberate hurt or illness.
	4. Spiritual follow up.
	In this busy age in what practical ways can church communities follow up people who are healed, converted or seeking?
	One slot a week (say coming to Sunday service is itself a big commitment for many)
	Two slots a week is for the committed (say Service and a Bible Study)
	Three slots a week is really from those committed to leadership and heavier involvement in the church (say Service, Bible Study and Vestry or other sub-group).
	Given that these weekly commitments are so precious how should we prioratise people's availability?