The Good News Is For Everyone

Scripture Passage

Acts 10:30–48 (NLT)

30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. 31 He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! 32 Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.” 34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35 In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. 38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 “And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, 41 not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. 43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.” 44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked, 47 “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” 48 So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.

Focus Statement

The unstoppable power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ breaks down barriers,

so that all might know the transformative love of God.

Point of Relation

Sharing one’s faith can be a difficult thing…not something we find ourselves feeling natural about...

Why? Because we know of consequences for doing so.

From the extreme of being martyred or killed for one’s faith...

to the subtlety of losing friendships or being thought a Jesus Freak.

I remember that in my teens, I was embarrassed to talk about going to church...

especially since a lot of my friends didn’t.

Yet, when I became Wiccan...

I couldn’t shut up about it...

I would tell people how I found a faith that didn’t judge me...

that I had friends in that faith who treated me better than many Christians ever did...

that my religion respected nature and really sought to “harm none”.

Of course, Christianity does all those things too...

But I didn’t seem to see the Christian message, at the time, as that Good of News...

because I had fallen away from it being REAL for me...

I NEEDED TO FIND WHO I WAS as much as I needed to find WHO I WAS IN GOD.

In 2004, when I came back to Christ…thank God for His patience…amen?…when I cam back to Christ...

IT WAS THEN that I rediscovered just how REAL Christ was...

and I started to share my faith with others…perhaps overzealously...

Losing some friends along the way.

That brought me back to a state of hesitating to share my faith...

EVEN AS I WAS WORKING TOWARD becoming a Pastor.

It is this that made me discover a secret about myself…and I suspect most of us...

If we TRULY believe in something…if it’s real for us...we’ll share it.

Or, if we are too afraid to still, we will at least feel the call to share it...

a call that keeps nagging at us as we resist it.

But if we learn to be natural…to share our faith as we would share a great movie…or an amazing restaurant...

We will find that evangelism is one of the most NATURAL things in the entire world...

And we will be more aware of great opportunities to share.

Things to Consider

Friends, we often miss the greatest opportunities to proclaim the good news to “everyone”

because we have blinders that keep us from seeing and connecting with the people around us.

Our churches often fall short in reflecting the communities in which they’re located.

Sometimes, even if we don’t realize it,

the community feels excluded or rejected by the church because of past occurrences or preconceived notions.

But the scripture passage today reminds us of

the call to an every-member commitment to witness to everybody we can in every way we can.

How can we do that unless we seek new ways to reach out a

nd challenge one another to open our eyes and hearts even wider?

What Scripture Says

Note: Read all of Acts 10 in preparation to get the greater context.

We see earlier in chapter 10, verses 11-16,

Peter receives a vision.

God was already breaking down obstacles in Peter’s life by showing him this vision.

Up until this point, Peter had been keeping strictly Jewish law.

This vision was to show him the fulfillment of the Law, that through Christ all things can be made clean.

Cornelius then calls for Peter to come to his house.

Upon entering Cornelius’ house, Peter was greeted not only by him but friends and relatives.

Cornelius then shares the story of his vision.

This prompts Peter to recognize that God shows no partiality but accepts every one of every nation

(the word for nation, in Greek, actually means race)

and he begins to share a message centered on the Good News:

God loves everyone.

This is a powerful message,

especially in a world where we take sides

and feel comfortable with our peers

but are unwilling to share life with those who look, love, and speak differently.

Friends, God loves all with no barriers and invites us to do the same.

If you look at Acts 10:17

you will notice that Peter was originally puzzled by the vision he’d received from God.

It wasn’t until the men sent by Cornelius came

and Peter had the courage to show hospitality to them and listen to the prompting of the Spirit,

that he was able to understand the point of the vision

and share God’s message of love, even across differences.

Let’s pause here to think, for a moment, how we might connect with people who are different from us...

Perhaps through something as obvious as inter-faith dialog...

Or perhaps by going to places we normally would find ourselves hanging out...

I know that my holding a small group at a brewery might make some uncomfortable…or even rub some people the wrong way...

But that’s just it, isn’t it?

It’s not all about us or what we like or approve of...

It’s also about others…who were lovingly and fearfully made by the same God who made us...

And are equally loved by God as us.

At the same time, not everyone is called to do everything and so spiritual discernment is needed.

But if you are feeling like you should do something...

But are hesitant to do it because “it’s not your gig”…

Remember that while the activity or location might not be your gig…

sharing the Gospel to ALL people…and being where those people are…is EVERY CHRISTIAN’S GIG!

Noice, as Peter continues to share,

the Holy Spirit falls upon all who are listening.

Eating pork and doing ceremonially unclean things like eating with Gentiles was not Peter’s gig...

but he was open to the direction of the Holy Spirit.

As such,

Peter recognizes again that there are no obstacles for anyone to be a part of the community of faith

and calls for all those who believe to immediately be baptized.

What This Means for You

I want you to reflect on this:

Was there a time where you felt there was an obstacle between you and sharing the Gospel?

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What would it take for those obstacles to be removed?

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Or, if you are new to the faith…or weren’t always Christians...

What were some obstacles in your life that prevented you from hearing the Good News

or going to church?

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How did God remove those obstacles?

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Is there a specific group of people you have a heart for reaching because of this?

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What This Means for Us

What would it look like if our community decided

to share the transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone, no matter who they are?

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Well, we are, aren’t we?

We’re sharing the good news

through Manna House,

through Treasures of Hope, through Christian Education,

through our Potluck Suppers,

and now through Theology on Tap,

Hypnosis for Health

and an upcoming video study on Jesus, the Christ, and the earliest Christians...

Just to name a few.

How can we as a congregation continue to be attentive to the places that God is breaking down barriers

and putting opportunities in front of us to connect with people we wouldn’t normally?

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Together, if we put our faith in God and into action,

we will be the Jedi Knights of evangelism...

Amen? Amen!