Acts 20:7–16: Don't Sleep during Sermon is not the Application

Introduction:

Guy sleeping in church each Sunday

Many lamps burning: Ambiance!

Light Show

Luke’s Eye-witness account:

Sunday evening service most likely after work.

Third floor private house

Vs. 12: Eutychus=boy, 8–14 years old.

Many lamps: “Stuffy and oily” Stott.

Accident happened: Not everything is a ‘heart’ issue.

Passaged doesn’t tell us what to do.

Passage tells us what happened.

Passage still has relevance for us today...

How?

First Day of the Week with “Agape Feast”

Long Sermon:

First, sunset to midnight (7).

Second, Midnight to Sunrise (11).

Verb: Dialogomai (7, 9): Discussion

v. 11: Homileo: Sermon.

“Scripture and Sacrament”

How are is the Word and Sacraments connected?

Different traditions

Worship

Uncomfortable Worship: What are you thirsty for?

Pictures of India: Kids who wanted to be there like no other. Fill this place in!

Muslim girl reciting Psalm 23… Just beautiful.

Sunday

Shift to Sunday? No judgment on Sleeping in a Sermon

Can you blame him?

Child: Falling asleep.

Worship Descriptions

High school:

“This is not prescriptive, this is descriptive.”

I was like..., “What??”

Descriptions: Let’s say your sick, and you go to the doctor: You describe your symptoms: “I’m woozy, don’t feel well. Feel like a negative 5 out of 10.”

Prescriptive: Dr. write out prescriptions: If you have an infection, Dr.’s may prescribe antibiotics.

In this passage, Luke is describing for us a very unique event involving a boy named Eutychus.

Luke’s NOT prescribing HOW to worship, he’s describing this event in Troas.

BUT, even so, I do think Luke describes this story in such a way that we can pull out some really important principles of worship…

That’s what we’ll be doing today:

Not worship PRESCRIPTIONS, but worship DESCRIPTIONS that I think still shapes they way we need to think about worship...

The WHEN of Worship

7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.

Can you spot what’s so significant about verse 7??

What’s recorded here first has literally changed your life…

“ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK.”

When was this?

Saturday or Sunday night??

Greek Calendar= Sunday Night

Jewish Calendar=Saturday night

Either way, the significance of worshipping on a Sunday is no small thing!

FF. Bruce: This “is the earliest unambiguous evidence we have for the Christian practice of gathering together for worship on that day.”

Official until Emperor Constantine:

Edict of March 321 (Codex Justinianus 3.12.3): “On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all the workshops be closed”

Government sanctioned change…

Took hundreds of years:

Church met on Sundays but had to still go to work!

Rather than getting ready for the work week or recovering after a work day, this group gathers to listen to a sermon...

Passion: Eager listening group!

The WHAT of Worship

“When we were gathered together to break bread”

Acts 2:42 “42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

John Calvin used Acts 20:7 and Acts 2:42 to prove that the church ought to practice weekly communion:

They performed communion on the first day of the week!

John Calvin: This is clearly communion because there’s just too many people to feed with standing room only a children sitting on windowsills. Good point??

Story with Pastor Allen: I remember sitting down with a seasoned and well-respected pastor before we held worship services. We moved down here and I was talking with him about whether or not we should have communion each Sunday.

Perhaps not the strongest argument… SO why do we do it?

Because we get to!

It reminds us of our dependence on Jesus.

Creates a sense of urgency.

It guarantees you’ll hear the gospel.

Reminds us of Christ’s spiritual presence.

Forces our children to ask about it: “I want that!”

It ‘normalizes’ communion. Jesus was flesh, normal. He made the divine normal.

Preaching: LOTS of Preaching

Luke has no judgment here:

Long sermons are ok...

IMAGINE: Rental agreement until 3pm today so I can preach for an addition few hours!

Descriptive not prescriptive…

Question of the Heart:

Do you looooong to be fed the word??

Something about the eagerness to learn from Paul: Planning to leave the next day, last chance to listen to this guy...

Apathy towards the word:

Year ago, youth ministry:

Moment we opened the scriptures

Youth Group: 30-40 teens

Room filled with kids eager to learn about Jesus… They couldn’t get enough of it. They couldn’t wait to show off what they’ve learned. A little girl from a Muslim family reciting Psalm 23… I’ll never forget it.

Eyes kept looking at the back corner: Older ones, teenagers. I’ll never forget their eyes: SO EAGER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND THE SONGS.

WHO are Welcome into Worship

What are kids doing there??

Poor Eutychus: 8-12 years old: How’s he supposed to be stay awake when this adult is talking all night!

Why didn’t First Church of Troas have a children’s coordinator send the kids to a safer place: ON THE FIRST FLOOR!

IF there’s one thing that should be PRESCRIBED in this passage is that children DON’T belong in worship! BECAUSE THEY’LL FALL OUT OF WINDOWS! There’s a reason why we make sure curtains cover our balcony. It’s for your own protection.

Joking!! NO CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING!

Children were there listening!

Need to be together! Not a bad thing for children to sit there watching.

Life to Death: Keller “On the spot” preaching

Theory:

Exodus 20:8-11: 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God... 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Creation

Deuteronomy 5:12-15: “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God… 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

Salvation