Stories They Don't Tell You In Sunday School - W4

Intro

Welcome back everyone. Share about upcoming events (Splash Attack). We are on week 3 of this series: Stories They Don’t Tell You In Sunday School.

Falling Asleep

Have you ever fallen asleep in church? Check out this video of Mr. Bean having trouble staying awake: https://youtu.be/6B1V1PFsyho

In the New Testament, specifically the book of Acts, there is a story about a young man who gets into trouble after falling asleep in church as Paul was talking. It might be one of those stories that you won’t hear in Sunday School because he doesn’t just bump his head or slobber on his neighbor when he falls asleep. Nor is there a funny moment where everyone starts clapping and all of a sudden he wakes up and claps to (though he doesn’t realize what for). No. Instead, as he sleeps, he falls from a window and dies.

Yes you heard that right. In fact, let’s read this section of Acts.

Read

In , the Apostle Paul is going to various places preaching about Jesus and end up in a city called Troas. He calls the elders of the city together fo an impromptu worship gathering. Among the crowd gathered is a young man named Eutychus. Paul, because he is ready to leave the next day, decides to preach and gets a bit long-winded. Paul preaches all night!

The worship gathering was held in an upper room. Because electricity obviously wasn’t a thing back then, they used candles. As a result, the room became hot and stuffy. Eutychus sat in the window ledge probably to cool himself off. Believe it or not, where you sit matters. USA Today released an article discussing where students sin in a classroom. The article suggested “where you sit communicates something to the professor and affects your engagement in the classroom” (Julie Mastrine, “Does Where You Sit in the Classroom Say a Lot about You?,” USA Today, January 5, 2012, http://college.usatoday.com/2012/01/05/does-where-you-sit-in-class-say-a-lot-about-you/).

Sitting in or near a window can be distracting. You might want to look at what’s outside. Think of things that can cause a believer to become distracted from the church and things of the kingdom. Hopefully none of you are falling out of windows at church (there aren’t really any), but what about falling asleep? Verse 9 described Eutychus as “sinking into a deep sleep.” People can be asleep emotionally, socially, and even spiritually. What are other ways that people can become in a deep sleep? (physically)

See, similarly to Paul, Jesus also experienced those that he was talking to, falling asleep during a critical point. In , Jesus is praying just before he is about to be crucified. He has a few of the disciples with him but when he comes back from praying he finds them sleeping instead of watching and praying: “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?’’ he asked Peter. ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’” Jesus is emphasizing the importance of being alert, watching, and praying. It is possible to fall into trouble because we are sleepy, both physically and spiritually. When one is sleepy, one is not as attentive to the dangers around and is more likely to be overcome by trouble.

One thing that we can gleam from both these instances of people falling asleep during something important and not keeping watch, is that even when we make mistakes, God offers us mercy. That sounds like a line straight out of VBS.

“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving was responsible for 72,000 crashes, 44,000 injuries, and 800 deaths in 2013.” The CDC reports, however, that they believe the annual number of fatal crashes caused by drowsy drivers may be as high as 6,000. 1. What a scary thought so many people are operating vehicles while sleepy. It is also scary that people are operating their lives while spiritually sleepy. They are headed for possible crashes unless they become alert and attentive. Stay alert and do not fall into temptation or fall into a place from where there is no recovery.