Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction (10 Minutes)
I am so glad that summer is finally here.
It’s warm, it’s green, it’s not cold.
And summer for us means outdoor work and something we haven’t done for a while but are getting back into.
Fishing.
The kids wanted to fish and so we went down to the river and caught some and now they are at the age where they can bait their hooks and they can take the fish off themselves.
It’s pretty intimidating that first time especially when they try to clamp down on your finger, but then you realize that it doesn’t hurt, the catfish doesn’t have teeth.
So it didn’t take long after watching dad and trying it out themselves that they were getting pretty bold when it came to getting hooks out of the fish mouths!
I use that word bold on purpose because what we are going to talk about today has to do with being bold.
In chapter 3 of Acts there is a story about how Peter and John were going into the temple and teaching and there was a man there that was crippled who was begging for money.
Peter looks at him, gets his attention and tells him that he doesn’t have money but will give the man what he does have and tells the crippled man to get up and walk!
And he does!
This creates a huge stir in Jerusalem.
Remember, there are 3000 new Christian, men with very possibly up to 3000 families that have just become Christians and it is probably the talk of the town.
Peter and John and the other Apostles and probably even the new converts are preaching Jesus.
They do it on the street corners and even in the temple area.
This is we pick up today.
This morning I am going to do something I don’t think I have ever done before.
I am going to use an acronym to outline the sermon.
The acronym is the word BOLD.
They were Bold
I want to use that word because of how bold Peter and John are in what is going on here.
Peter and John have been arrested.
Arrested for the controversy about a crippled man who had been healed, and by the name of Jesus Christ who had been recently found guilty of blasphemy in the same town.
They have been arrested by the Temple police they would face trial by the Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin was the supreme court of the Jews.
71 members made up mostly of the Sadducees (did not believe in the resurrection of the dead)
Scribes (who were experts in the law)
Pharisees (who were fanatics in keeping the law)
And elders who were older respected members of the community.
Along with some priests and former priests.
The Sadducees (the most influential over these types of matters) main goal was to keep the status quo so that they could retain their position and their riches.
So Peter and John have to face this court.
So Peter and John have to face this court.
Now, this is a really big deal and since we know a lot about Peter we forget that this is early on in Peter’s preaching career.
And he is about to face the highest court in his country among his people.
And he is bold.
This is a big deal and this trial is supposed to be intimidating for Peter, but Peter’s courage is incredible.
William Barclay says that there are two types of courage: first is reckless courage where one is blind to the dangers they face.
The other is cool courage where one understands what they face as dangerous but still proceed through.
So when Peter gets up and speaks to this group of elites it is incredible.
And impressive.
71 men are looking at you accusing you.
Looking to pronounce the guilty verdict on you.
This court is made up of the most influential, most wealthy, most powerful men in society and they want blood.
And remember that it was this court that not that long ago illegally tried Jesus and had him executed.
They want to know about how this man was healed and Peter proceeds to tell them about Jesus, the one who you killed, he says.
And the word says that when he gets up in front of the most elite men of his day, he defends Jesus.
That is so bold!
My first job was a pot washer down at Sandy Cove in North East, Maryland.
It was a really simple job.
Dirty pot gets dropped off, I put it in the sink with some comet at a green scrubbie, or a brillo pad to clean it.
It’s like how Brad Pitt was in Thelma and Louise.
Big star but very early in the career.
And he is very bold in the way that he comes out here.
Bold
Next letter is O.
They were Ordinary men.
That was my job.
All summer long, every weekend.
I washed those pots.
yeah, it was good that I did that, and I did a good job but there wasn’t anything mentally impressive about that job.
Truly.
I had one decision to make when any pot came into my sink.
Green pad or brillo.
That was it.
One decision and it was multiple choice.
And honestly, either could work.
Next letter is O, for Ordinary men.
Peter was a fisherman.
I am sure that there were parts of his trade that required some skill, but speech giving and preaching wasn’t one of them.
So when he gets up in front of the most elite men of his day it was pretty amazing to witness.
Really amazing.
acts 4
This trial was supposed to be a slam dunk.
Like catching fish in a barrel.
Easy peasy.
Ducks on a pond.
Peter was a fisherman, no problem.
There wasn’t much to being a fisherman.
Not to knock being a fisherman, but in Peter’s day it was kind of menial work.
They wouldn’t expect much from him when they questioned him.
A fisherman wouldn’t be able to say much.
It reminds me of my first job.
It was a job, it wasn’t anything impressive.
I was a pot washer at Sandy Cove in North East, MD.
My job description was this.
Pot gets put in your sink, clean it, dry it.
That was it, there wasn’t much to it.
As a matter of fact, I had only one decision to make while washing pots: do I use the green scrubby pad or the steel brillo pad?
So my one decision was a multiple choice and technically (in a lot of cases) you could have used either anyway.
But that kind of job just didn’t require a whole lot of grey matter up here.
And if you know anything about Peter you don’t think that this is a very big deal for him.
We know Peter and how bold he is, how he wrote a couple of books of the bible.
But this happened before all of that.
This is kind of early in his career Peter.
This is when he was in the minors, Peter.
It’s like how Brad Pitt was in Thelma and Louise.
Big star but very early in the career.
Lots of potential.
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