Preaching and Writing Under House Arrest (28:11-31)

Finally Paul arrives in Rome. We know from Christian tradition that Paul died in Rome, beheaded for his faith in Christ. But that is not how the book of Acts ends. In fact, it implies that Paul would eventually be released. Everything comes full circle as he speaks to Jews in Rome. They are unaware of the plot against Paul. He presents the gospel to them and the response is mixed (some converting and some not). Throughout the entirety of his ministry, Paul was unable to get the positive response he yearned for from the Jews. Verse 28, in contrast, presents the reality of his ministry, that his ministry ended up mainly touching Gentiles.

The book of Acts ends with a triumphant finish with Paul still presenting the gospel,even under house arrest. Again, the Acts of the Holy Spirit continue...
The open-ended character of the end of Acts leads me to think that the rest of the history of the Acts of the Holy Spirit is still to be written be each generation of Jesus-followers. If you and I were to write the St. Barnabas version of Acts 29, what might it discuss?

It has been a great joy to share in this study with you. I look forward to our closing class tomorrow and our celebration of Holy Communion.

“If Not for The Courage of the Fearless Apostle” (Acts 27:1-28:10)

The Shipwreck (27:1-44)

The detainment of Paul is one of a friendly prisoner relationship. Julius allows him to meet with friends at Sidon. They switch ships in verse 6, but the problem was that it was too late in the season for safe travel. The goal was to reach Phoenix (not Arizona), but they don’t make it. Southeast of Crete, they are blown way off course (for fourteen days!) and end up shipwrecked on Malta. Paul had advised them not to leave Crete, but they went on anyway. He does tell them to take courage, that all the passengers would make it. Giving the word of assurance and comfort to people in distress is an important ministry. You and I live in very anxious times, where the spirit of fear is dominant. Speaking the word of peace and being an unanxious presence in challenging situations can be one of our most powerful moments of ministry. Though no sermon is preached, the act of giving thanks would have been a strong and comforting point of witness.

“Ministry on Malta” (28:1-10)

In West Virginia, snake-handling is still a practice of some of the religious folk. The watching crowd goes from thinking the gods were against Paul to thinking he was a god himself (when the poisonous vipers bite has no affect on him). This reminds me of the closing verses of Mark’s gospel, which many believe to be an extension from a later writing in 16:17-18, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.” Paul’s last ministry stop before getting to Rome is a great time of miracles for the governor’s father and everyone else on the island. In Acts 1:8, Christ says that his disciples would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. The shipwrecked folks must have felt they at the end of the earth, but even there the power of God was at work.

Paul Before Agrippa (Acts 25:23-26:32) Friday & Saturday's Readings!

The trial before Agrippa is one of the great moments in the book of Acts. Festus gives his non-commital position to Agrippa and invites there feedback before sending Paul to Rome. Once again, he gestures before he gives his formal testimony. Paul begins with his B.C. story, but not before interjecting his comment about the resurrection, once again setting his accusers back on their heels. He then shares that he was very much like his accusers. In this telling, he is more graphic about the role he played in having many Christians put to death (rounding them up in other cities, forcing confessions and casting votes in favor of their execution). He mentions that this was done in cooperation with the high priests (who are respresented among his accusers).

The details of his Damascus Road experience both parallel and add information to what was in Acts 9. For Festus, Paul's testimony seems over the top and he accuses Paul of insanity. But Paul appeals to Agrippa who is part Jew and married to one. He uses the high Jewish understanding of the prophet as a way of appealing for Agrippa to consider Christ (with Agrippa pushing way Paul's urging with sarcasm). He is acquitted by both Festus and Agrippa, but Paul's appeal to Caesar makes that all irrelevant. He is now off to Rome.

Proclaiming Jesus to Gentiles and Kings - Acts 25:1-22

If the opponents of Paul are one thing, they are persistent. They request that Paul be brought back to Jerusalem (so that they can carry out the ambush and murder strategy). Paul smartly refuses to go to Jerusalem to be tried by appealing to Caesar, a right he has as a Roman citizen. His accusers will continue to play without a “home field” advantage.

The appeal leads to encounter with King Herod Agrippa II, the last of the Hasmonean family that ruled Palestine with an iron fist and became incredibly rich. Agrippa was known for his strong relationship with the governors and the Roman leadership hierarchy. By the time of Paul’s appeal, Agrippa would have been in power for 15 years. Festus had little regard for the Jews or the Christians and really just wanted to dispose of the case. Agrippa, on the other hand is intrigued and wishes to hear Paul for himself. What an opportunity – to present his witness and his case to the governor and the puppet king in Palestine at the same time. He is indeed fulfilling the words God spoke to Ananias in Damascus,

“This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15)

Who would have thought the path to fulfilling those words would have happened this way?

Paul Before Felix - the Governor (Acts 24:1-27) Today's Reading!

The case is presented by Tertullus a trumped-up lawyer for the Jewish leaders is remarkably brief, flattering of the governor, and trite in content. There is obviously no case.

Paul’s defense simply takes on the accusations by referring to his most recent actions, which were not the least contentious. The falseness of the accusations becomes obvious.
Again, Paul adds some more “divide and conquer” here. Felix wants to handle this as a quick case, but there seems to be a personal issue when Paul brings up Jesus. He is married to a Jewess and the words of Paul about judgment and lack of self-control speak powerfully enough to him that he dismisses Paul. But in the end, Felix is corrupt. He will free Paul from the whole mess for a price. The problem is that Paul has already been bought.

Notice, again, how the Christian movement is characterized. “The Way” is seen by the Jewish leaders as a corrupt sect of their faith. But for Paul, Christ is the way to salvation and he shares that designation with pride. Felix ends up being a transitional figure and passes the baton of trying Paul to Festus. He keeps Paul in prison, to appease the Jews and maybe one certain Jew in his own house.

The pace of Acts is moving quickly. The plan of God can seem so slow at times and then when it moves, look out. Thanks for your patience, while I have been catching up to our scripture readings.

Paul the Shrewd - Acts 22:22-23:35 (November 8th and 9th Readings!)

The student of Gamaliel and architect of the early church was certainly no dummy. The crowd is more determined than ever to have Paul executed (talk about a “feeding frenzy”). Notice how dehumanizing the crowd has become (again, collective egoism). Once you’ve dehumanized the opposition, you can do anything to him or her. Just as with Jesus, the Roman officials try to appease the angry crowd with a flogging. Flogging was also the most effective way of getting to the truth. Many did not survive a flogging (done with a “cat of nine tails” – a whip inlaid with bone and metal). Only, in this case, Paul invokes his Roman citizenship. He was not born in Jerusalem, just raised there. He was raised in Tarsus as a Roman citizen. His name, Paul, was a Roman designation. How slick and humorous of Paul to play his citizenship card at just the right time as a “by the way…is it right to bind and flog a Roman citizen?” He has successfully divided the Romans from the Jewish leadership.

Then Paul, in his defense before the Sanhedrin, made up of the liberal Pharisees (who added liberally to the law, allowed for belief in resurrection and were less friendly to Rome) and the conservative Saduccees (who were purists with the law, did not believe in resurrection and were strongly allied with Rome), plays "divide and conquer" with them as well. Paul nearly is torn apart in the violence of their debate. The authorities put him in confinement for protection. God encourages Paul and tells him Jerusalem was just a stop on the way to Rome.

The plot thickens as an extremist group sets up to ambush and execute Paul. For his safety, he is sent under armed guard to Caesarea to be tried by Felix the governor. Isn’t it interesting how God uses even pagan uninterested persons to carry out his purposes? If only we could see the way God sees. This all looks like a circus and an unnecessary one at that. But there is a plan in operation, and it is big.

Acts 21:1-22:21: Into Hostile Territory (November 4th, 5th and 6th Readings!)

Paul has two prizes in mind as he comes to his last chapter of ministry, conversion of the leadership of Jerusalem and conversion of leadership in Rome, possibly even of Nero himself. But like his Savior (“who set his face toward Jerusalem” - Luke 9:51), he goes there knowing that life-threatening opposition awaits. His goal is to be there by Pentecost, which will also heighten his danger, a time of great crowds and little protection from Roman authorities against Jewish extremists. That is confirmed by the Christians in Tyre, who urge him “in the Spirit” not to go to Jerusalem. Even the prophet Agabus tells of Paul being bound and handed over to government authorities. Is it possible that Paul was going into danger unnecessarily? Did Luke have his own reservations about the wisdom of Paul’s timing? Was Paul just bullheadedly determined? I think we have to leave room for this possibility. Discerning the guidance of the Spirit is not easy and we can begin to speak in God’s stead rather than speak for him. I am constantly aware of that possibility in my own ministry (because I have confused my words and God’s words more often than I want to admit).

Paul’s time with the Jewish leadership is warm, but they also question the wisdom of his presence there in light of the propaganda being circulated about him advocating total abandonment of the law of Moses (an exaggeration, but a powerful one, especially in the rumor mill!). Paul and his companions are encouraged to shave their heads (they don’t ask Paul to, so perhaps there was no hair left to shave!) and undergo purification rites for the celebration of Pentecost, as a way of demonstrating that they were not hostile to the law of Moses. It does no good, as extremists incite the crowds to lynch Paul and for his own protection, Paul is arrested by the Roman authorities. Those who arrested him are not sure that he wasn’t a terrorist they had been searching for.

Paul makes the typical motion to a crowd that he wishes to speak and finally the crowd is silent. The re-telling of his conversion experience adds that 1) Paul had been a student of the highly respected Gamaliel , 2) that those who were with him on the Damascus road saw the light but did not understand the words of the voice that spoke to him, and 3) that he had a vision that told him to get out of Jerusalem and becoming a preacher to the Gentiles. This telling also shows some of the remorse Paul had for his orchestration of the stoning of Stephen. Notice that his testimony is as vibrantly powerful nearly 30 years later as it was in the beginning.

One of the special experiences of my life was to hear one of my mentor pastors, on his 32nd anniversary of his call to preach, tell his call story. His heart still rejoiced to tell it and his lip quivered with passion and awesome gratitude. I said to myself, “When I get that far along in my ministry, I want to be like that, with that kind of heart and passion.” I was called to ministry in the fall of 1975. It’s been 35 years now, and the heart still rejoices and the lip still quivers. As one of our people said to me after a communion service this past Sunday, “It still never gets old, does it?” He was right. Thanks be to God.

Wrapping Up the Third Missionary Journey (20:1-38) November 3rd Reading!

“Falling Asleep in Church” (20:1-12)

While I am tempted to talk about how falling asleep during a sermon can be deadly, it would open the opportunity for you to talk about how sleep-inducing preaching can be. Plus, I am one who can fall asleep any time I am still, whether at a ball game, a movie, or in someone else’s preaching. I once had a Greek professor who fell asleep in his lectures. I have not accomplished that feat, but I have some years of ministry left. Fortunately and miraculously for Eutychus, he survived falling asleep in church. The event happened in Troas, which is the place where Paul had the vision that he was to go to Macedonia with the gospel. Now in his last part of the third missionary journey, Macedonia seems to be the only place that is relatively safe for him to do ministry.

From now on things start to heat up for Paul, whether it’s persecution from Jewish zealots (looks like they were laying in wait for him in Syria – the place he was headed when he had his conversion and always a place where he was considered “a marked man”) or conflict with ruling authorities. Two things to notice here: 1) the group of leaders continues to expand with some familiar names and also some new ones, and 2) the telling of Acts is now in the first person plural “we.” Either Luke has change sources and is recording notes from a diary or he is writing directly from his experience. Colossians 4:14 tells us that Luke was a doctor and dear friend of Paul. In II Timothy 4:11, he is mentioned as the only one being with Paul in Rome just before his death. Interestingly, that same verse highlights John Mark (the one he parted ways with after deserting him during the first missionary journey) and his desire to see him, saying “he is helpful to me in my ministry.” Luke is mentioned again in the tiny letter to Philemon (vs. 24), listing him with Mark as well as Demas and Astarchus. Give that information of his late participation in Paul’s ministry, I believe we are getting first-person reporting from Luke in this part of Acts. It would only be about 3-5 years after Paul’s death, that Luke would put together Luke-Acts.

“Final Goodbyes to the Ephesians leadership” (20:13-38)

Paul gives a defense of his character in ministry and gives encouragement to the leaders as well as exhortation to be faithful in their leadership. He warns that tough times are coming and that they will be surprised at who falls away, even some of the most faithful. Paul has spent more time among the Ephesians than any other church and the depth of his passion for them is palatable.

Ephesians 5 & 6: More Instructions on Holy Living - November 2nd Reading!

The Imitation of Christ - Ephesians 5:1-20

Many of the early church fathers emphasized the holy life as an imitation of Christ. Christ was not only the Son of God, he was also the model of how life could be lived. Not only is the imitation of Christ a holy life, it is also a life of self-giving and self-sacrifice. The contrast here is life as darkness and life as light. The Christian lifestyle is not something that is developed in single great experiences, but rather is developed moment by moment. Instead of drunkenness and self-indulgence, we moment by moment seek to be filled with the Spirit. The chief expression of our life together in the Spirit is our worship. How can we nurture in one another a sense of the holy in our worship services?

A Submission Match (5:21-6:9)

This passage has been one of the most misunderstood passages of the Bible and used by leading people in relationships for justification of oppression and abuse. The translators of the Bible have unwittingly contributed to the problem by misplacing the paragraph break between verses 21 and 22. The original Greek manuscripts did not have paragraph breaks or even word breaks and were all in capital letters. So translators must read context and patterns of speech of the time to determine the breaks. I believe that verse 21 is the topic sentence for all that is to follow: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Seen in that context, Paul's discussion is revolutionary in the relationships of the time.

The husband-wife relationship during New Testament days was highly proprietary, with women had neither voice nor standing in society. Paul's presentation of the husband's submission role as one who loves his wife as Christ love the Church (a life of total self-giving and self-yielding) is strikingly revolutionary. The approach used by Promise Keepers to this passage emphasizing the singular authority of the husband in the home is a misreading.

The parent-child relationship was one of absolute power and children were treated very poorly. Children are to sumbit to their parents, but parents are to act on behalf of the growth of their children in the Lord. Any parent knows the difficult balance of disciplining a child with needed firmness without exasperating them. The role of father in USAmerican society is undergoing strong redefinition. But the assumption here is that fathers will be spiritual leaders, something churches have not taught or encouraged very well.

Many are offended that Paul does not counter slavery in this passage, but his purpose is clear. He is not going to be able to end slavery in his day, but he can be part of revolutionizing the relationship. The slave submits not as a statement of weakness but as an act of strength. He serves not because he must, but because he chooses to as an act of faithfulness to Christ. The master on the other hand is only in a superior role in society, not in the kingdom of God. The slave is the master's equal, again a revolutionary concept.

Fully Armed - Ephesians 6:10-24

This imaginative exhortation to authentic Christianity uses the metaphor of the Roman battle armor. Each part of the armor stands for a resource needed to live a strong Christian life: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation,and the sword of the Spirit. In all of it, he exhorts them to keep prayed up, for themselves and for each other.

But this battle with situations and people is actually a higher spiritual battle. Once we see it that way, we don't have to feel so personally threatened. There are many teachings on "spiritual warfare" in charismatic and Pentecostal settings. While I am not one who sees the devil in every struggle, I do believe there is a spiritual dimension to the challenges we face.

How is your life in Christ going? How are you growing in holiness? What kind of things are you doing to protect yourself from complacency and compromise? Are you putting on the full armor of God? And who says the Bible is impractical or irrelevant? This part has been uncomfortably so.

Ephesians 3 & 4: Authenticity Faith Under Pressure - November 1st Reading!

“The Big Picture: 3:1-13”

When tough times come, one of the great sources for persistence is seeing the big picture. Paul writes from prison, but he knows who he is and what his mission is. So out of his difficulties, he is able to encourage the church in Ephesus. Victor Frankl in his classic work, The Search for Meaning, found that the sense of having a future of purpose was the difference in the survival or not of many concentration camp detainees. It is worth asking what the bigger picture of your life is and even what the bigger picture of St. Barnabas is. Then whatever challenges we face as individuals or as the church are able to be managed better.

“A Great Prayer: 3:14-21”

This passage is one I like to preach when I am finishing ministry with a Church. It shows the care of extended time together. His prayer is exultant as he prays for them to know the fullness of God’s love: width, length, height, and depth. His doxological close is one of the great ones of the Bible, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” Paul has lifted up the greatness of God’s power and the church as the reflection or radiance of that greatness.

“Unity in Diversity: 4:1-16”

We have talked in the class about the need to be “rowing in the same direction,” even though we will bring different approaches, backgrounds and opinions. We are not called to a unity of opinion and methods as we are called to a unity of direction under the guidance and power of one Spirit. On our money, the phrase “e pluribus unum” is displayed, which means “out of many, one.” One of the regrettable things in our government’s history, is that this generation will be known for its diversity and difference, but not for unity of direction or Spirit. My prayer is that we will pray for leadership that will go beyond polarized difference to cooperative diversity. A further regret is that often churches are just as polarized and “stuck” as our federal government. What is needed is an openness to one another and a humility that allows God to create a powerful unity that takes strength from the diversity of gifts and backgrounds of people in the name of Christ.

In the musical, A Chorus Line, the opening number is “One,” the theme song of their unity as a song and dance team. Here Paul emphasizes ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of all that makes them ONE body and ONE Spirit. This is how God sees the Church. Whether we realize it, we are ONE, whether we see things alike or even like each other.

“A Call to Authentic Living: 4:17-32”

The immoral lifestyle of the people of Ephesus was legendary. They were self-indulgent and given to the fulfillment of personal sensual desires. Again, the parallels to Roman society and 21st century Americana are obvious. Their consciences had been dulled and they had lost their sense of right and wrong. Therefore, to follow Christ, means defining yourself over against the mores of that society. Paul uses the experience of changing clothes, taking off what was corrupt (our BC lifestyle) and putting on new clothes in holiness and righteousness (our AD lifestyle): high honesty over lying, anger management over violence, and hard work over theft. Our speech is also to be a reflection of our AD life. When we live worldly lives when we claim to follow Christ, we grieve the Holy Spirit. We inhibit the power of the Spirit and the power of our witness and the impact of our work suffers. Verse 32 is worth our memorization, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” But don’t expect the world to congratulate us when we act that way. It will be a witness against their way of life and so they malign it and treat it as weakness. In truth, it takes incredible strength to follow in the way of Christ, a strength that requires the power of God working in and through us moment by moment.

Grace and Peace - Ephesians 1 &2 (October 30th Reading!)

Whereas the Corinthian Church was wild and contentious, the Ephesian church is remarkably steady (similar description in Revelation 2 by John). The leadership that developed here formed a strong foundation for the church. It’s interesting that on our trip, both Mary’s house and John’s house were in Ephesus (remember that John was put in charge of Mary at Jesus’ crucifixion - John 19:25-27).

Ephesians 1 (A people of destiny)

In class, we have talked about holding contrasting views in tension in order to arrive at the truth of something (Hegel’s “dialectical tension”). The dialectic here is between “God’s choice” and “human freedom.” The fundamentalist movement that took hold in the US about 90 years ago, emphasized that God’s grace was “irresistible.” I do believe that God’s grace is indeed very persistent, but I do not believe it is irresistible. Love has within it “the freedom to choose.” I cannot force you to love me anymore than you can force me to love you. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were free to choose from the tree of knowledge, even though it was forbidden. Bottom line for me: Yes, I have been given a destiny, but I can choose to participate in that destiny or not.

First, our destiny involves being chosen by God for a relationship with him. Second, we are destined to become holy and blameless. Third, we are destined to be redeemed (made right with God, restored to our glory as created children of God). Fourth, we are destined to glorify God in all things. When we cooperate with God in this destiny, then the power of God is set loose in us by the Spirit – the power that raised Christ from the dead.

Ephesians 2 (BC/AD)

B. J. Thomas had a pop Christian song that sang, “What a difference you made in my life.” Doug Oldham, the robust baritone who sang with the Gaithers, wrote a book entitled, That Man Doesn’t Live Here Any More,telling the story of his former alcoholic and physically abusive life and how Christ delivered him. Similarly, we shared our BC/AD experiences in class. Paul tells us in this passage that we have been “made alive” in Christ. I hope you have recently taken time to thank God for the difference He has made in your life. If not, stop reading and do it now.

Ephesians 2:8-9 is a good passage to commit to memory: “For it is by grace that you have been saved by faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. It is not by works, lest any one should boast.” We are who we are by the grace of God and we will become what we will become by the same grace. The United Methodist statement of faith in our Discipline is entitled “Grace Upon Grace.”

Paul calls for unity between those who are Jewish Christians and those who are Gentile Christians. The source of that unity is Christ and he is warning them not to default back into past divisions (cultural issues can be the hardest in the Church). What kinds of cultural divisions do you see at St. Barnabas? How should they be addressed and overcome?

"No Bad News" - Acts 19:23-41 (October 29th Reading!)

The word "gospel" (in Greek, euangelion)means "good news," but the good news we proclaim is not good for everybody. There are many people who gain power and make money off the world the way it is. In this passage, the invitation for people to leave their pagan gods and follow Christ meant that those who benefited from that worship would lose business. Demetrius, the silversmith and his friends had a thriving business, felt threatened by a gospel that had as one of its major ideas, no worship of idols.

Demetrius stirs up a riot to protect his way of life. Reinhold Niebuhr, in his book, Nature and Destiny of Man, talks about “collective egoism.” For him, “egoism” (me choosing my selfish ways) is at the heart of sin and “collective egoism” is what happens when sin gets into groups. His thesis was that the sinfulness of groups is more than the sum of the sinfulness of the individuals involved. I regret to agree with him. When I have been involved in group misbehavior, most of us would not have had the courage to do it on our own. Add to that the energy and emotion of crowds and great harm can be done. I have seen it at athletic events, political rallies, and regrettably, at quite a few church meetings. In this chapter, the worshippers of Artemis are ready to lynch Aristarchus and Alexander, with Paul being unable to help them. Fortunately, the city clerk stepped in and most likely saved a couple of lives.

In this passage, the Christian movement is called “the Way,” considered at that time to be a Jewish cult. The reason for the rescue by the clerk was to keep the peace. One of the characteristics of oppressive systems is that they make “keeping the peace” the priority (part of the whole problem at Jesus’ crucifixion and Pilate’s dilemma). One of my favorite musicals is The Wiz, a modern version of the Wizard of Oz. The movie version starred Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as the scarecrow, Nipsy Russell as the tin man, and Lena Horne as the good witch. The theme song for the wicked witch of the West in her sweat shop of mice was “No Bad News,” a show stopper that sang over and over, “Don’t give me no bad news.” Oppressive systems and systems that want to stay the way they are tend to stifle any criticism as “overly negative” or “bad attitude”. When Dorothy arrives and the wicked witch of the west is killed, ethereal music begins and each of the mice begins to take off his or her costume (the symbol of their slavery) and what follows is a ballet followed by an exuberant dance of liberation entitled, “Brand New Day.” You and I stand for that “brand new day” in Jesus Christ, and at times it will bring us into conflict with a “no bad news” world. The world prefers “don’t rock the boat,” tamed Christians that will speak positive words but never challenge the way things are. Sometimes we preachers have done that with lay people. And sometimes lay people have done that to preachers as well as to new people who have different ideas. What is this brand new day that God is calling to us as United Methodists?

The Catch-Up Effort Begins - Acts 19:1-22 (October 28th Reading!)

Let's just say that moving and Church Conference became all-consuming on the Cotton agenda. Thanks for your patience. I will be slowly catching up.

On our trip to Turkey and the Greek Isles in 1999, we also went to Kushadasi and Ephesus, which is right on the western coast of Turkey. I bought Tina's anniversary ring in Kushadasi, right after we spent the day touring Ephesus. Just a few months before we toured there, the Three Tenors had done a concert there. Today, concerts are banned there because the sound equipment deteriorates the ruins. It was quite a place: ruins from a large library, temples to Artemis as well as the emperor cult, and much to our entertainment - a set of ancient toilets with a platform in front of them on which musicians played while people went to the restroom. The ruins were wonderfully preserved.

Like Priscilla and Aquila discovered with Apollos, Paul discovers in Ephesus that the faith of the people is not complete. For Apollos, it mean acquainting with the truth about Jesus. For the Ephesians, it meant acquainting them with the Holy Spirit. What the people had was John the Baptist's understanding of baptism - a baptism of repentance, a declaration of changing ones behavior and action. The baptism of the Spirit moved beyond that to a filling of followers with the Spirit of God, the Christ within. You know from my earlier writings in this blog that my own life has a parallel here, that the filling of the Spirit allowed me to move from doing my best for God, to allowing God to move in and through me. The difference between those two has been life itself to me. John and Charles Wesley's story is remarkably similar.

We say we believe in the Trinity, but I find that most people have a two-dimensional faith. They strongly believe in a God who created the world and is always there. They believe God the Father hears their prayers and gives guidance to their lives. They believe in Jesus who walked this earth, died for us and rose again. They believe by placing their trust in him that they are saved and given the gift of eternal life. While they
say they believe in the Holy Spirit, they really don't seem to know what the Spirit does or how we experience the Spirit dimension of God. It is the Spirit dimension that sets the presence of God loose in and through us, the dimension that becomes our inner teacher and mentor, the dimension that frees up our giftedness (both natural and spiritual)to make a difference in the church and the world, the dimension that builds our Christian character day by day, the dimension that unifies and empowers Christians to make present the kingdom of God in this world. It is no accident that the Apostle's Creed connects the Holy Spirit and the holy catholic Church. We can't be the Church without the dimension of the Holy Spirit. Jurgen Moltmann's theology text on the Church is entitled The Church in the Power of the Spirit.

When the power of the Spirit is set loose in and through you and me, Christianity becomes alive in a whole new way. For Paul, miracles were happening without him touching people. Things he touched ended up becoming miracles for people. Isn't it exciting to see what happens when things get out of our control and into the freedom and power of God's Spirit. In fact, some tried to counterfeit it, which I have also seen done. The results for the sons of Sceva were not very good! On the other hand, those in sorcery and magic were giving up their lucrative practices and bringing their wealth so that the gospel could be furthered. They knew the difference between truth and falsehood.

So much of what people yearn for in our day and time (the instant gratification, the thrill of great entertainment or daring stunts, the desire to create a "really big show") is really a desire to be part of something truly great - life in the freedom and power experienced in the third dimension of God. Of course, demonstrating true freedom and power over against the false kind will make you controversial, as the rest of Acts 19 describes.