Good Morning Everyone!
Social Stuff:
I hope each of you had a great Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family. Jane and I certainly did. We hosted our families at our home on Thanksgiving Day with about 34 people attending our home. It was a little crowded but we had a great time as usual. On Friday our daughter Amy, husband Todd, and their kids Audra, Ryne, and Wendy came to our home and stayed with us thru Sunday morning. Our other daughter Rebecca also joined us Friday and also stayed thru Sunday morning. On Saturday we decorated our Christmas Tree and it was a great time. Audra and I made home made oatmeal cookies while Ryne and Jane made chocolate cookies. After decorating the tree Amy and Todd went shopping with Wendy while Jane and I played with Audra and Ryne - Great Great Fun.
Jane and I went to the Rams Football game Sunday afternoon and witnessed the Rams come in second - again!
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, and Terry Pursley
Prayers were requested for:
1. A friend of Josh Schlobohm (John Magob - sp?) who has gone missing now for over a week.
2. Safe travels for all people traveling during this holiday season.
Class Material Studied: The Book of Acts - Chapters 11 and 12
In Chapter 11 we read about Peter explaining his act of baptizing the gentile Cornelius to the Jewish believers. Peter explained his vision of the sheet with unclean food items and the fact that as he baptised the gentiles the Holy Spirit came upon them. This appeared to convince the Jewish believers because they stated "We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life."
In our class we came to understand that the conversion of Cornelius (a Italian Regiment Captain) and the explanation of the event to the Jewish believers was the bilateral means by which God began to spread the word of Jesus Christ to Rome and to the Jewish Believers. We therefore see the Christian church begin to grow simultaneously in both political Rome and religious Israel.
In Chapter 12 we read about the death of James (vs 2) and the subsequent arrest of Peter by King Herod Agrippa. For whatever reason King Herod Agrippa decided to begin a persecution of the new religious order of believers called Christians. We do not know why the King decided to do this but we do read were King Agrippa saw how much the killing of James pleased the Jewish leaders and how this recognition led to the arrest of Peter. We therefore assume Peter's anticipated fate would have been similar to James. In Peter's case however God intervene by the use of and angel who set Peter free even though there was a party of some 16 guards set by King Agrippa to watch over Peter.
King Agrippa was evidently furious over this escape of Peter and the King had all 16 guards condemned to death. King Agrippa then leaves Judea and goes to Caesarea (which is the area Cornelius lived) and King Agrippa gives a powerful speech which led those who heard the speech proclaim "It's the voice of a god, and not of a man!" King Agrippa" accepted the peoples' worship and immediately King Agrippa was killed by and angel of the Lord.
Therefore in Chapter 10 thru 12 of the Book of Acts we see God opening up the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life thru a man in Caesarea (Cornelius) and we see the life of another man (King Herod Agrippa) taken from him in Caesarea when he begins to believe he is God.
The Lessons Learned - God's Gift of Grace is given to all people, and no man is God!
Next week we will begin with Chapter 13 of the Book of Acts where we will begin to follow the pilgramage of Paul in a much more detailed manner.
In the meantime - Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
November 23, 2009
Good Morning All!
I am a day late (and a dollar short?) in posting my blog this week so I apologize for this tardiness!
Social Stuff:
This last weekend was Salem Church's Community Thanksgiving Dinner and it was another big success! We served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to approximately 180 people this year and we tried something new. This year our Pastor conducted a Holy Communion service near the end of the meal time for anyone who wanted to join us. We had about 40 people attend this new function. Many people in the new service were Salem worshipers but there were between 10 and 15 non-Salem attendees and I thought the service was productive and well received. There are a lot of people to thank for their help with both the meal and service but identifying a few of them here would be unfair to all. Therefore; I will simply say thanks to all who physically, financially, or spiritually supported us in this meaningful event.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Alan and Teresa Scholobohm, Cyndie Jones, Bill Nichols, Joyce Unruh, Suzanne Lyons, Betty Caswell, Denise Kelly, Jane and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
1. Amanda Vogt for cancer related issues.
2. Mickey (Betty Caswell's daughter who, along with her husband, is returning to Africa as a misionay) and who also is fighting cancer issues.
3. Carol Chisohm (Cyndies' friend) who is battling cancer.
4. Lourie Doyle (Jane's first cousin) who is dealing with breast cancer.
5. Chris Jenkerson (Cyndies's friend) who is struggling with seizures.
6. Esther Smith who has now moved into a new home.
7. Genny Mass who called in with a sore throat.
8. Billie Montgomery who is struggling with pain as a result of "shingles".
9. Safe travel for all who are visiting various people over the Thanksgiving Holiday.
10. Wendy Koerber who continues to do well with her spina bifada issues.
11. Josh Scholobohm who has now turned 20 years old!
Class Material Studied Acts Chapter 10 (Watched DVD and Discussed):
Chapter 10 of Acts is about and encounter between Peter and a Roman army office named Cornelius. We first see Cornelius is the captain of "the" Italian Regiment who is visited by an angle from God who tells Cornelius to send people to Joppa and ask for a man named "Simon Peter to be sent to Cornelius. The rational given for the angel requesting Cornelius to do this is Cornelius is "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as and offering."
We learned from these introductory verses that:
1) Cornelius was a "devout, God-fearing man" even though he would have not been a Jew and therefore had no apparent expectations from the Covenants God had given to Israel, and
2) Cornelius would have been from Italy (Rome) since he is identified as being in charge of the Italian Regiment.
Because of these characteristics of Cornelius we have the first indications that this section of Acts is concerning the spread of the "Good News" to Gentiles and Rome.
As the story continues we see Peter receives a vision/dream of a sheet filled with all sorts of previously identified unclean animals and a "voice" instructs Peter to kill and eat of these animals. Peter immediately objects because of the "unclean" nature of these animals and the "voice" replies "Do not call something unclean if God as made it clean."
After this vision the messengers arrive and take Peter to Cornelius. Upon Peter's arrival Peter goes into the home of Cornelius, which Peter understood violated the currently understood religious law of not entering the home of a Gentile or to associate with Gentiles. Peter explained his violation of the "Law" by referring to his vision of the "unclean food". Peter tells Cornelius and his family about the "Good New" of Jesus Christ and as Peter tells his story the Holy Spirit descends upon all who were listening to Peter's message and then Peter baptised the entire group in the name of Jesus Christ.
This Chapter 10 is important to us at Salem Church because it is this recorded "out-reach" by God thru Peter that brings the Gentiles and thus us into the the Covenant with God. Because of this act by God we all can now know that we are also God's chosen people! As I mentioned earlier, this event involved a Roman army Captain who was a God Fearing man and so we see the "seed message" of Jesus Christ beginning to enter the mainstream of Roman society and, after a string of multiple events, will lead to the spread of Christianity to the entire world; including those of us along Manchester Road!
Next week we will see Peter reporting this event to the apostles in Jerusalem and how the ripple effects begin to occur.
Jane and I hope everyone has a safe and blessed Thanksgiving Holiday this week and as always -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
I am a day late (and a dollar short?) in posting my blog this week so I apologize for this tardiness!
Social Stuff:
This last weekend was Salem Church's Community Thanksgiving Dinner and it was another big success! We served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to approximately 180 people this year and we tried something new. This year our Pastor conducted a Holy Communion service near the end of the meal time for anyone who wanted to join us. We had about 40 people attend this new function. Many people in the new service were Salem worshipers but there were between 10 and 15 non-Salem attendees and I thought the service was productive and well received. There are a lot of people to thank for their help with both the meal and service but identifying a few of them here would be unfair to all. Therefore; I will simply say thanks to all who physically, financially, or spiritually supported us in this meaningful event.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Alan and Teresa Scholobohm, Cyndie Jones, Bill Nichols, Joyce Unruh, Suzanne Lyons, Betty Caswell, Denise Kelly, Jane and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
1. Amanda Vogt for cancer related issues.
2. Mickey (Betty Caswell's daughter who, along with her husband, is returning to Africa as a misionay) and who also is fighting cancer issues.
3. Carol Chisohm (Cyndies' friend) who is battling cancer.
4. Lourie Doyle (Jane's first cousin) who is dealing with breast cancer.
5. Chris Jenkerson (Cyndies's friend) who is struggling with seizures.
6. Esther Smith who has now moved into a new home.
7. Genny Mass who called in with a sore throat.
8. Billie Montgomery who is struggling with pain as a result of "shingles".
9. Safe travel for all who are visiting various people over the Thanksgiving Holiday.
10. Wendy Koerber who continues to do well with her spina bifada issues.
11. Josh Scholobohm who has now turned 20 years old!
Class Material Studied Acts Chapter 10 (Watched DVD and Discussed):
Chapter 10 of Acts is about and encounter between Peter and a Roman army office named Cornelius. We first see Cornelius is the captain of "the" Italian Regiment who is visited by an angle from God who tells Cornelius to send people to Joppa and ask for a man named "Simon Peter to be sent to Cornelius. The rational given for the angel requesting Cornelius to do this is Cornelius is "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as and offering."
We learned from these introductory verses that:
1) Cornelius was a "devout, God-fearing man" even though he would have not been a Jew and therefore had no apparent expectations from the Covenants God had given to Israel, and
2) Cornelius would have been from Italy (Rome) since he is identified as being in charge of the Italian Regiment.
Because of these characteristics of Cornelius we have the first indications that this section of Acts is concerning the spread of the "Good News" to Gentiles and Rome.
As the story continues we see Peter receives a vision/dream of a sheet filled with all sorts of previously identified unclean animals and a "voice" instructs Peter to kill and eat of these animals. Peter immediately objects because of the "unclean" nature of these animals and the "voice" replies "Do not call something unclean if God as made it clean."
After this vision the messengers arrive and take Peter to Cornelius. Upon Peter's arrival Peter goes into the home of Cornelius, which Peter understood violated the currently understood religious law of not entering the home of a Gentile or to associate with Gentiles. Peter explained his violation of the "Law" by referring to his vision of the "unclean food". Peter tells Cornelius and his family about the "Good New" of Jesus Christ and as Peter tells his story the Holy Spirit descends upon all who were listening to Peter's message and then Peter baptised the entire group in the name of Jesus Christ.
This Chapter 10 is important to us at Salem Church because it is this recorded "out-reach" by God thru Peter that brings the Gentiles and thus us into the the Covenant with God. Because of this act by God we all can now know that we are also God's chosen people! As I mentioned earlier, this event involved a Roman army Captain who was a God Fearing man and so we see the "seed message" of Jesus Christ beginning to enter the mainstream of Roman society and, after a string of multiple events, will lead to the spread of Christianity to the entire world; including those of us along Manchester Road!
Next week we will see Peter reporting this event to the apostles in Jerusalem and how the ripple effects begin to occur.
Jane and I hope everyone has a safe and blessed Thanksgiving Holiday this week and as always -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Sunday, November 8, 2009
November 9, 2009
Good Morning!
Social Stuff!
This past week was a beautiful weather week; and with Jane up in Madison, Wisconsin visiting Amy and her family, it was pretty quite around our home. I mulched leaves a couple of times but this afternoon it looked like I hadn't done anything what with leaves falling at a great pace. Jane had a good visit to Madison, and Amy's family is doing well. This past week they received a contract on their House in Freeburg, Illinois and made an offer on a house in Madison so things are moving along on that front. Audra and Ryne are doing well as is Wendy Jane who received a good report for a visiting nurse. Our other daughter Rebecca seems to be doing fine and happy in Columbia with her interpreting work.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Genny Maas, Betty Caswell, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Pator Suzanne Lyons, and Terry Pursley
Prayers were requested for:
1. The Nicewonger family who has and is experiencing very terrible health and death issues in their immediate family.
2. Amanda Vogt's continued battle against cancer.
3. Betty Caswell's continue good health experience.
Special Note: It was suggested and agreed upon to work with Pastor Lyons to coordinate a worship service with this year's Thanksgiving Dinner. The thought being that we could offer the service to all attendees; including our guests, and perhaps provide an aspect of "Spiritual Feeding" that we have not previously provided. We will work with Pastor Lyons to see how this might be best implemented.
Class Material Studied:
We viewed Chapter 9 of the Book of Acts and found it to be very interesting. After watching the DVD we discussed the following points.
In verses 1 thru 31 we read about the conversion of Saul (Paul) and noted the following.
1. Saul sincerely loved God with all his heart. Saul was a very well educated man and read the scriptures very intently; but even though he loved God and knew the scriptures well, he still missed the true message. Saul honestly believed the early Christians were evil because of their faith in Jesus, and Saul thought it was his rightful task to punish (persecute) these people. It took direct action by God/Jesus on Saul's journey to Damascus to change Saul's thinking and to understand Jesus was indeed the Son of God. This point emphasized for us that we as modern day Christians must not assume we have 100% proper understanding of the scriptures even though we may have studied them for years/decades.
2. Once Saul understood his understanding of God's Word was wrong, Saul did not spend time defending himself. He simply began preaching the revealed Good News and did not need to defend his previous pistons. Saul was more interested in preaching God's Word rather than defending himself. This is a lesson all of us should take to heart.
In verses 32 thru 42 we read about Peter performing great miracles; including raising people from the dead. The importance of these verses seemed to be that:
1. Peter's actions are described in Chapter 9, along with Saul (Paul's) conversion because it would appear it was important to communicate to us that God was working in very strong ways in the lives of both Saul (Paul) and Peter.
2. God was working in Peter's life to such a strong extent that Peter could bring the lady Tabitha (Dorcas) back from the dead.
These scriptures are telling us that both Saul (Paul's) conversion; along with the subsequent preaching, as well as Peter's many great miracles were all happening during the same time period; thus the people were being exposed to the great power of God thru these two men. The relationship between God and Humans was undergoing a dramatic change and these two men are the leaders through which God is implementing these changes. Our "lesson learned" is to be prepared to respond to God as he leads rather than in a way we "think" he will lead us. We must listen, move forward in faith, and be prepared to adjust as God illuminates our thinking.
Next week we will study Chapter 10 of the Book of Acts and we will see how Peter continues to work miracles and bring people to Christ. Until then -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Social Stuff!
This past week was a beautiful weather week; and with Jane up in Madison, Wisconsin visiting Amy and her family, it was pretty quite around our home. I mulched leaves a couple of times but this afternoon it looked like I hadn't done anything what with leaves falling at a great pace. Jane had a good visit to Madison, and Amy's family is doing well. This past week they received a contract on their House in Freeburg, Illinois and made an offer on a house in Madison so things are moving along on that front. Audra and Ryne are doing well as is Wendy Jane who received a good report for a visiting nurse. Our other daughter Rebecca seems to be doing fine and happy in Columbia with her interpreting work.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Genny Maas, Betty Caswell, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Pator Suzanne Lyons, and Terry Pursley
Prayers were requested for:
1. The Nicewonger family who has and is experiencing very terrible health and death issues in their immediate family.
2. Amanda Vogt's continued battle against cancer.
3. Betty Caswell's continue good health experience.
Special Note: It was suggested and agreed upon to work with Pastor Lyons to coordinate a worship service with this year's Thanksgiving Dinner. The thought being that we could offer the service to all attendees; including our guests, and perhaps provide an aspect of "Spiritual Feeding" that we have not previously provided. We will work with Pastor Lyons to see how this might be best implemented.
Class Material Studied:
We viewed Chapter 9 of the Book of Acts and found it to be very interesting. After watching the DVD we discussed the following points.
In verses 1 thru 31 we read about the conversion of Saul (Paul) and noted the following.
1. Saul sincerely loved God with all his heart. Saul was a very well educated man and read the scriptures very intently; but even though he loved God and knew the scriptures well, he still missed the true message. Saul honestly believed the early Christians were evil because of their faith in Jesus, and Saul thought it was his rightful task to punish (persecute) these people. It took direct action by God/Jesus on Saul's journey to Damascus to change Saul's thinking and to understand Jesus was indeed the Son of God. This point emphasized for us that we as modern day Christians must not assume we have 100% proper understanding of the scriptures even though we may have studied them for years/decades.
2. Once Saul understood his understanding of God's Word was wrong, Saul did not spend time defending himself. He simply began preaching the revealed Good News and did not need to defend his previous pistons. Saul was more interested in preaching God's Word rather than defending himself. This is a lesson all of us should take to heart.
In verses 32 thru 42 we read about Peter performing great miracles; including raising people from the dead. The importance of these verses seemed to be that:
1. Peter's actions are described in Chapter 9, along with Saul (Paul's) conversion because it would appear it was important to communicate to us that God was working in very strong ways in the lives of both Saul (Paul) and Peter.
2. God was working in Peter's life to such a strong extent that Peter could bring the lady Tabitha (Dorcas) back from the dead.
These scriptures are telling us that both Saul (Paul's) conversion; along with the subsequent preaching, as well as Peter's many great miracles were all happening during the same time period; thus the people were being exposed to the great power of God thru these two men. The relationship between God and Humans was undergoing a dramatic change and these two men are the leaders through which God is implementing these changes. Our "lesson learned" is to be prepared to respond to God as he leads rather than in a way we "think" he will lead us. We must listen, move forward in faith, and be prepared to adjust as God illuminates our thinking.
Next week we will study Chapter 10 of the Book of Acts and we will see how Peter continues to work miracles and bring people to Christ. Until then -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Sunday, November 1, 2009
November 2, 2009
Good Morning!
Glad to see the rain stop and the sun shine!
Social Stuff!
A rather wet week to say the least but at least it stopped in time for a great Halloween! Amy, Todd and their children, Audra, Ryne, and Wendy traveled from Madison, Wisconsin this past Wednesday to visit us as well as Todd's family for the Halloween weekend. We had a very good time with our Grandkids and Wendy is doing well. She smiles a lot at both her grandma and grandpa and leaves her exposed to a significant amount of "spoiling" behaviour on our part. Jane and I figure this is our job and we dare not "shrink" from this responsibility. Saturday night we went to Freeburg, Illinois so we could go out with the grandkids for "trick or treating" and it was special. A very good time was had by all.
Koinonia Sunday School Class!
Attendees: Genny Maas, Josh Schlobohm, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, Betty Caswell, Bob Hardcastle, Jane and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
1. The Nicewonger family who continue to grieve for the loss of their daughter, and the injury (broken back) incurred by their son.
2. David Heartsock continued recovery from his sky diving accident.
3. Amanda Vogt who continues to deal with cancer concerns after her recent surgery.
Material Studied:
Today we watch the DVD of the Book of Acts Chapter 8 which had three basic sections.
Chapter 8 verses 1 thru 3: In these verses we see the young christian believers experiencing a great wave of persecution that began at the stoning of Stephen and which is being led to a large extent by Saul (soon to be Paul). The believers are scattered over the whole areas of Judea and Samaria.
(Special Note: From a Men's Bible Study I am involved with, I learned that the people of Samaria were descendant from people who were transported into the region during the reign of Assyria and took the place of Jews who had been relocated out of the area. These new Samarian's were of various cultures and worshiped multiple Gods. If is for these reasons (foreigners and believers of multiple Gods) that Jews had little or nothing to do with these new "Samarians". This helped me better understand why the Samarians are always portrayed in the Bible as people despised by the Jews and why the people were so surprised when Jesus was found talking with the Samarian woman at the well, in another Bible passage.)
Chapter 8 verses 4 thru 25: In these verses we see where the apostle Philip was in the city of Samaria preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and drawing large crowds. Simultaneously, there was a sorcerer named Simon who had lived in Samaria for a number of years and who could and was performing many amazing acts and thus who was known by many Samarians as "the Great One-the Power of God". Even as great as Simon was, he was also impressed by the words and message of Phillip to the point where Simon asked to be baptized along with a great number of other Samarians. When Peter and John, who were in Jerusalem, heard of the large number of people in Samaria being baptized they decided to travel to Samaria. Until the arrival of Peter and John, the scriptures tells us the people were being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but after their arrival, Peter and John "laid their hands" on the people and the people received the "Holy Spirit". When Simon experienced this receipt of the "Holy Spirit" he asked if he could purchase this power of giving the "Holy Spirit" This angered Peter and he chastised Simon for saying and thinking the "Holy Spirit" could be purchased. Simon asked Peter to pray for him and the scripture narrative stops here without us knowing if Peter did or did not pray for Simon. The "lesson learned" here is the presence of the "Holy Spirit" in our lives is not something that can be bought or even earned. The "Holy Spirit" is a gift that is given by God to those who truly believe in Jesus Christ.
Chapter 8 verses 26 thru 40: In these verses we are told of a meeting between an Ethiopian eunuch and Phillip. Phillip is told by God to go meet this eunuch who is a very high ranking official of Ethiopia returning to Ethiopia from Jerusalem where the eunuch had been worshiping. While traveling the eunuch is reading from the book of Isaiah and Phillip asks the eunuch if the eunuch understands what the eunuch is reading. The eunuch replies that he cannot understand unless the meaning is explained to him. With this opening Phillip explains the Good News of Jesus Christ. After hearing this explanation the eunuch declares he wants to be baptized and since there is some water nearby they stop and Phillip does indeed baptize the eunuch. Immediately upon the completion of the baptism Phillip is taken away by God and the eunuch never saw Phillip again, but the eunuch continued his rejoicing as he continued his travel. There are probably several lessons to be learned in this story but one Lesson Learned is the Good News of Jesus Christ is provided for all people regardless of their nationality or their sexual condition. It is important that we understand it is the "content of a person's heart" that determines their acceptability to God. The eunuch accepted the Good News without reservation, and God accepted the eunuch with the Holy Spirit in the same way. We as Christians must learn that as we continue in what ever travels God sends us upon that we must be prepared to provide the Good News message to all those we encountered without reservation.
Next week in Chapter 9 we will see how God deals with Saul (Paul) and how this life is turned from a one of destruction to one of construction! In the meantime -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Glad to see the rain stop and the sun shine!
Social Stuff!
A rather wet week to say the least but at least it stopped in time for a great Halloween! Amy, Todd and their children, Audra, Ryne, and Wendy traveled from Madison, Wisconsin this past Wednesday to visit us as well as Todd's family for the Halloween weekend. We had a very good time with our Grandkids and Wendy is doing well. She smiles a lot at both her grandma and grandpa and leaves her exposed to a significant amount of "spoiling" behaviour on our part. Jane and I figure this is our job and we dare not "shrink" from this responsibility. Saturday night we went to Freeburg, Illinois so we could go out with the grandkids for "trick or treating" and it was special. A very good time was had by all.
Koinonia Sunday School Class!
Attendees: Genny Maas, Josh Schlobohm, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, Betty Caswell, Bob Hardcastle, Jane and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
1. The Nicewonger family who continue to grieve for the loss of their daughter, and the injury (broken back) incurred by their son.
2. David Heartsock continued recovery from his sky diving accident.
3. Amanda Vogt who continues to deal with cancer concerns after her recent surgery.
Material Studied:
Today we watch the DVD of the Book of Acts Chapter 8 which had three basic sections.
Chapter 8 verses 1 thru 3: In these verses we see the young christian believers experiencing a great wave of persecution that began at the stoning of Stephen and which is being led to a large extent by Saul (soon to be Paul). The believers are scattered over the whole areas of Judea and Samaria.
(Special Note: From a Men's Bible Study I am involved with, I learned that the people of Samaria were descendant from people who were transported into the region during the reign of Assyria and took the place of Jews who had been relocated out of the area. These new Samarian's were of various cultures and worshiped multiple Gods. If is for these reasons (foreigners and believers of multiple Gods) that Jews had little or nothing to do with these new "Samarians". This helped me better understand why the Samarians are always portrayed in the Bible as people despised by the Jews and why the people were so surprised when Jesus was found talking with the Samarian woman at the well, in another Bible passage.)
Chapter 8 verses 4 thru 25: In these verses we see where the apostle Philip was in the city of Samaria preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and drawing large crowds. Simultaneously, there was a sorcerer named Simon who had lived in Samaria for a number of years and who could and was performing many amazing acts and thus who was known by many Samarians as "the Great One-the Power of God". Even as great as Simon was, he was also impressed by the words and message of Phillip to the point where Simon asked to be baptized along with a great number of other Samarians. When Peter and John, who were in Jerusalem, heard of the large number of people in Samaria being baptized they decided to travel to Samaria. Until the arrival of Peter and John, the scriptures tells us the people were being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but after their arrival, Peter and John "laid their hands" on the people and the people received the "Holy Spirit". When Simon experienced this receipt of the "Holy Spirit" he asked if he could purchase this power of giving the "Holy Spirit" This angered Peter and he chastised Simon for saying and thinking the "Holy Spirit" could be purchased. Simon asked Peter to pray for him and the scripture narrative stops here without us knowing if Peter did or did not pray for Simon. The "lesson learned" here is the presence of the "Holy Spirit" in our lives is not something that can be bought or even earned. The "Holy Spirit" is a gift that is given by God to those who truly believe in Jesus Christ.
Chapter 8 verses 26 thru 40: In these verses we are told of a meeting between an Ethiopian eunuch and Phillip. Phillip is told by God to go meet this eunuch who is a very high ranking official of Ethiopia returning to Ethiopia from Jerusalem where the eunuch had been worshiping. While traveling the eunuch is reading from the book of Isaiah and Phillip asks the eunuch if the eunuch understands what the eunuch is reading. The eunuch replies that he cannot understand unless the meaning is explained to him. With this opening Phillip explains the Good News of Jesus Christ. After hearing this explanation the eunuch declares he wants to be baptized and since there is some water nearby they stop and Phillip does indeed baptize the eunuch. Immediately upon the completion of the baptism Phillip is taken away by God and the eunuch never saw Phillip again, but the eunuch continued his rejoicing as he continued his travel. There are probably several lessons to be learned in this story but one Lesson Learned is the Good News of Jesus Christ is provided for all people regardless of their nationality or their sexual condition. It is important that we understand it is the "content of a person's heart" that determines their acceptability to God. The eunuch accepted the Good News without reservation, and God accepted the eunuch with the Holy Spirit in the same way. We as Christians must learn that as we continue in what ever travels God sends us upon that we must be prepared to provide the Good News message to all those we encountered without reservation.
Next week in Chapter 9 we will see how God deals with Saul (Paul) and how this life is turned from a one of destruction to one of construction! In the meantime -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
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