Do you want to experience the joy of blooming where God plants you?

To some of you, it must seem like I’ve gone underground. 

But ministry work has been occurring behind the scenes for both the ReKindle devotional series (beginning on Ash Wednesday February 10th) as well as preparing for a morning event for Lent presented by the women at the First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield.

Full Bloom. 

That’s the name of the program and it’s how God designed us to live.

Enjoy this video explaining all the details.  The public is invited to attend, so if you are in the area on March 12, 2016, please sign up.  We’d love to see you at this women’s special event.  It will begin at 8:30 am and includes both a continental breakfast and lunch.  The rest of the time will be devoted to spiritual refreshment in the Living Word, experiencing the Living Water of Jesus Christ, and encountering the Spirit of Life.  We will seek to be intentional about growing to Christian maturity and to living life in Full Bloom.

For more details, send me an email or contact the First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield, 824 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield IL 60015   Tel 847-945-0560 .  Speaker proceeds will be donated to Feed My Starving Children.

Wow, can you believe it? It’s the last of our sermon series on the Book of Acts, but the end is actually a beginning. It’s going to prove to us that the story continues. It continues with you and it continues with me.

That’s actually a great thing about stories. Until there’s the two word page stating “The End”…it goes on.   Chapter by chapter or in the case of Star Wars, it goes to a trilogy or an expanded series or like James Bond, it never goes away or even ages (!), just different people to play the same role.

The story continues.

Well, last week we left off with setting the record straight about Paul’s time on Malta and learned about the kindness of those barbarians. Also we heard about the good will that Paul and Luke and the others had engendered by the healing ministry they had and the demonstration of a servant’s heart. Let’s continue our story:

Acts 28:11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.

I love that. It’s so understated and yet in an economy of words, something that’s a foreign concept to explainers by nature like I am…Luke simply states “And so we came to Rome.” There’s a simplicity to it that makes it even more profound. Like Shakespeare’s “Brevity is the soul of wit.” It was a culmination of the Gospel going forth to the whole world! The Apostle Paul had been commissioned to do the larger work of getting the Gospel throughout the known world as Jesus’ missionary to the Gentiles. Rome was the crowning location of the Gentile ministry. Remember God encouraging Paul?

Acts 23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

It’s how Paul knew the shipwreck wouldn’t be the end of his story or the end of his life. He’d actually been building to this point ever since the Jews back in Jerusalem felt Paul shouldn’t live because of his preaching the Gospel. Everything pointed to an end of the story which likely happened in Rome. But I get ahead of myself because for now, the story continues:

15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

Paul’s situation as a prisoner wasn’t like how things were at Alcatraz or at Folsom prison. Paul wasn’t in a cell—he was under house arrest. His being allowed to live by himself basically meaning that he paid for his own rented apartment but he had a government-supplied guard chained to him. The palace guard took 4 hour shifts with Paul. I have to laugh thinking about how some prison guards might view it that their punishment was greater than the prisoner’s … being chained to a pastor preaching at you for 4 hours every day. And some of you may even get bored after the first 20 minutes of my preaching. Imagine 4 hours…every day!

Philippians 1:12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

In Paul’s case, the palace guard is having an unintentional, unplanned small group Bible study and the Gospel story? It continues…even with Paul in chains, the Gospel is not chained. It’s going out through Paul, through the palace guard, and through the brothers who are free and courageously and fearlessly proclaiming the Gospel. So the story continues.

17 Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews.

This guy just never quits. He’s in prison because of the Jews back in Jerusalem…and now he is inviting visitors to the house prison…not just any visitors though. The leaders of the Roman Jews who don’t even know that Paul was public enemy #1 back with the Jerusalem Jews.

When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar– not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. 20 For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” 21 They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.”

They obviously have no clue that if you open the door for Paul, he’s coming in. Paul is more than happy to share his “views” and to preach the Gospel at them full strength! Everyone is talking against this sect? Well, maybe not everyone. Maybe among their Jewish buddies there in Rome, but even that’s not necessarily the case. Remember Aquila and Priscilla? Acts 18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

Aquila and Priscilla were Jews and they’d been in Rome. Moreover, they were “completed Jews”…Messianic Jews…Jewish believers. Anyway, back to the Jewish leaders who say everyone is talking against this sect. Whatever…

23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: 26 “‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” 27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

That Gentile thing is always the last straw with the Jewish leaders who liked their exclusive little “God’s chosen people club” and didn’t want any Gentiles getting in and spoiling their good deal.

29 30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then boom! Unceremoniously, the Book of Acts ends.

The simplicity and directness with which Luke tells us “And so we came to Rome” is not followed by an equally simple or direct ending. There is no “And Paul died.” No words “the end.” It’s all past tense: not stays, welcomes, preaches or teaches. He stayed. He welcomed. He preached. And He taught. Past tense, the only indication we have of an enduring message is that Luke tells us the story continued for Paul for at least 2 whole years, preaching, teaching… and the story goes on. Furthermore, you and I can read our Bibles, and study Acts and it’s hard to believe we’ve finished this chapter, this whole book of the Bible. But it’s not the end. The story goes on.

I love to tell the story. What about you?

You see, while this is the last chapter of the Book of Acts and my last week among you, I didn’t want for you to be left on a note of a downer.

It’s not the end.

It’s just a new chapter getting ready to start.

For you and for me. 

The story continues.  And it’s a story of hope.

For 2 years Paul shared it in Rome. No one really knows what happened after that. Some people think he did eventually get his heart’s desire and go to Spain. Others get really creative and un-biblical as they pop out of Scripture to map out what was his 4^th missionary journey that we don’t have any details about in our Bibles. They’re making it up. Some think he died as a martyr at the conclusion of that time in prison just as the statute of limitations was about to expire on punishment. We can have a good deal of confidence that Paul did eventually appear before “Caesar” which means the higher court of Rome. How can we have that confidence? Remember the storm at sea? And God’s reassurance?

Acts 27:23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’

God is faithful even when we are not. If God said it, then I think we can be confident that exactly as that angel said, it actually happened to Paul whether the outcome was that he was released or executed.

Our story continues, why? Because all the way back at the very beginning of Acts, what did Jesus say?

Acts 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

The story of the Gospel, that Good News of Jesus Christ that began in the mind of God, continued in His Advent in which He was born as the Christ Child, would suffer and die for our sins and yet be raised from the dead with an empty tomb at Easter to tell us He is Risen…that Good News will go on until He returns…that 2^nd Advent.

Christmas, the first Advent, prepares us to receive His return.

What can we say about the future? It’s uncertain for all of us. It’s not for us to know the dates or times, but the confidence we have is the story will go on…the story continues…until His return. The story goes on for you and the story goes on for me. Let’s commit ourselves to be faithful as our story, the Gospel story continues…Let’s pray.

The Gospel Story Continues with you and me, even after the last chapter of the Book of Acts.  Was Luke intentionally vague about the ending to remind us of this truth?

This is the final message in the sermon series Acts of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles and is based on Acts 28:11-31.

While this represents my last Sunday at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine (WI), I can honestly say that God used this time as their regular pulpit supply to bless me every bit as much as they were blessed by this series.  We will surely miss one another, but God has formed “forever friends”–indeed the best kind because we’re formed in Christ.  For now, God takes each of us to the next chapter to share the story of the Gospel…a story we love to tell and we love so well…and to share it in tandem just like when the apostles were planting new churches.  In us and in many ways, the story continues.

Dear friends, as my time as preaching pastor at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine (WI) winds down, God is moving me into a new volunteer ministry based on Romans 13:10:

Romans 13:10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

As I ponder why God would have me assist my neighbors with storm water management concerns, I am reminded that if pastors cannot take Biblical principles and have them apply to civic duty and daily life, then they ought not to stand at a pulpit to preach.

You can visit the Facebook page for the Des Plaines Watershed efforts in Libertyville at https://www.facebook.com/MyNeighborInLibertyville/

I have decided to take Jesus’ discussion of the Good Samaritan to heart.  The expert in the law asks, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with a question: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  Then the expert replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

So I am.  Being a neighbor to others sometimes takes on a very practical side and a servant of God does not despise servant’s work…even if it involves sewers.

I’ll still be here writing devotionals even if Sunday will be my last sermon for a while.

in His grace and for His glory,

Barbara <><

Imagine for a moment that you created something.

You designed it. You planned it.

You gave this perfect thing to someone else and they broke it. And they considered it worthless, broken, and nothing but junk to be discarded. Or maybe they decided to worship it.

It was a created thing not a god and yet, people are worshiping this broken idol when you’re the brains behind it.

And they don’t care a whit for you.

* * *

Jesus was the Creator of this world, the Giver of the Law, the author and perfecter of our faith and what do we do?

• Many people deny God’s creative power shown in Jesus Christ. They put legs on a fish symbol and put Darwin’s name in the middle. They believe this marvelous universe just happened by good luck or random chance.
• Many people deny the Bible as God’s Word. They pick and choose what they want to believe. As self-appointed gods, they put their own spin on verses they don’t like or that don’t fit with the modern era as they see it. They are gods, judges, and juries over what laws to obey and which to ignore.
• Many people deny that Jesus is God and instead worship other so-called gods, idols, the environment or created things. Or worship themselves since there are no other gods they’re willing to worship.

How humiliating for Jesus Christ to be born under the Law He’d given to us! The Word made flesh! How humiliating that the Creator of all and the Giver of the Law would set that glory aside and suddenly be subject to it just as we are! That’s what happened in the Incarnation.  It was Jesus’ humility on display.

Galatians 4: 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Thought for the day: Jesus came, born under the very Law He gave us—and lived it in perfect humility—so that we’d be able to inherit eternal life as true children of our Father in heaven.

Questions for reflection:

1. What might be some reasons people deny the Incarnation—that Jesus came as God with us, Emmanuel?
2. Thinking about Jesus as the Creator of the heavens and earth and also as the One who blessed Adam and Eve. How should we let this knowledge shape our view of the environment and our care for it?
3. What is the distinction between caring for creation and worshiping it?
4. What separates being law-abiding from law worshiping?
5. Ponder those questions regarding issues of trust, pride, control, and idolatry.

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

For those of you signed up for devotionals, there will be one more sermon from Plymouth Church after this one on Acts 28:1-10 titled, “Setting the Record Straight” even while the daily devotionals continue for Advent.

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Misunderstanding might be our national pastime. We misunderstand each other, our circumstances, our identities, affiliations, and priorities. Sometimes the misunderstandings seem to be intentional like with the killers in San Bernardino and a stubborn official refusal to believe that a terrorist ideology was behind it—that what was in their heads and hearts had anything to do with what they had in their hands and the carnage they committed with it. Sometimes the misunderstandings are unintentional and sometimes they just happen because we get sloppy with our facts and figures…or our Scriptures.

Today’s passage of Scripture combined with a few others in the Bible, can lead us to places we don’t want to go, if we get sloppy.

So, let’s spend some time today setting the record straight.

Paul and his companions last week you’ll remember were having a rough sea journey and ended up with all 276 aboard becoming castaways on an island. The Alexandrian grain ship being used for transporting the passengers, including prisoners like Paul, ended up hitting a sandbar and the pounding surf broke the ship apart. All 276 made it to shore safely whether by swimming or clinging to debris from the ship.

The island, we find out today, is called Malta. The island of Malta is actually one of 3 islands in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean. If you think of Italy as a boot and Sicily as being kicked by the boot, Malta is about 1/ 4 of the way from the bottom of Sicily to Libya. They were far south of their target of Rome because of that nor’easter driving them off their planned course.

Fortunately, the islanders were not only friendly, but went above and beyond with kindness.

Acts 28:1 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.

The islanders, literally barbarians, didn’t speak Greek which is why they were considered barbarians. Let’s set the record straight: just because someone doesn’t speak your language or is a stranger to you doesn’t mean they don’t know how to be kind. These barbarians were immensely practical as well. They built a fire—the winter season of cool rainy weather (think November or March for us)—was upon them and they’d need warmth to survive and to dry out from having come ashore.

Paul, we’ve mentioned before, was the kind of person who made friends wherever he went. And we know he was smart, but let’s set the record straight: he was also a hard-working man. You can’t say that about all theologians and pastors.

Paul was a tent-maker and used to working with his hands. He wasn’t just some smart guy who spent his time in a book and refused to get his hands dirty. Paul knows that without firewood the fire wouldn’t last so he pitched right in. He’s not like on Gilligan’s Island where the Skipper and Ginger and the Howells never seem to do much. The professor is often doing brainy things with gadgets instead of working on, say, a life raft and all the work is left to Mary Ann and Gilligan who was a notorious goof ball and screw-up. No wonder they weren’t rescued for 98 episodes over 3 years. Poor Mary Ann was doing just about everything, but that’s ok because she was a farm girl and was used to it. Paul was used to hard work too.

3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.

And now we begin the items that people misunderstand.

First, there was a “viper” and there are still vipers on Malta, but none of them are poisonous. Some people misunderstand thinking this proves the Bible isn’t true. Maybe there used to be poisonous ones but they were eradicated. No one knows. All we can do is take Luke’s word for how the islanders reacted. Luke was thoroughly accurate in his description of the sea journey, why start lying over a snake? Let’s just trust that there’s a good answer for this misunderstanding.

4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

Second misunderstanding. The islanders assume Paul is a murderer. Justice, a Greek goddess named Nemesis, comes around to bite you. What goes around comes around and Paul must be a murderer. Ah, but..

5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

Here’s another misunderstanding. This one is attached to none other than the disciple Mark of Mark’s Gospel…the Mark who deserted Paul way back when and became as a son to Paul in his final days. The disputed final chapter of Mark says,

Mark 16:14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

This viper and deadly poison thing is not a litmus test for true Christianity. I’d strongly recommend against picking up poisonous snakes (for that matter, any snakes) with your hands or drinking deadly poison just to test out the theory. Maybe Paul did the viper thing, but it was purely unintentional. He thought it was a stick because it was so cold and it wasn’t until being brought closer to the fire that it moved. So yes, Paul had a viper stuck on his hand and he shook it off into the fire and he was fine. But the Holy Spirit is proof that Paul is a Christian, not some snake-on-the-hand-is-worth-two-in-the-fire thing.

But it only made way for more misunderstanding:

6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

OK, this may be where the Ewoks and C-3PO did a little biblical reenactment. But the Bible is true and Star Wars, even the third in the trilogy, was just a box office success. The islanders think that Paul is a god. While Luke doesn’t tell us explicitly that Paul disputed that notion, Luke has already set the record straight on that one way back in

Acts 14:11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

Paul, as you may remember, stated that he and Barnabas were just men! This is an instance in which silence doesn’t mean that Paul conferred godhood on himself. Paul’s track record was already established (been there, done that) and Luke had something else he wanted to highlight on the island of Malta. Luke wanted to emphasize a healing ministry.

7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. (you can tell it’s physician Luke writing this) Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.

There was a whole lot of healing going on…and while Luke was a physician and no doubt had a role in that, it’s important to see that Paul went in. Paul prayed. Paul placed his hands on this islander and God supplied healing through Paul and probably Luke also. Here’s something of Luke’s interests and vocation peeking through the text…kind of like his watermark authenticating these words as being those of a physician…and of the Holy Spirit through a physician.

Moreover, there’s something to be said for practical ministry. So let’s set the record straight. It’s not just about going to church and sitting in a pew. Remember Tabitha, also called Dorcas? A servant lifestyle communicates great things to a watching world in which so many people are watching out for #1 only. They witnessed, they came, and they were cured. It probably led to some conversion as well. Practical ministry has spiritual benefit!

I’ve been praying about what God will have me do when Acts is finished here. God has a strange way of answering prayers. If the past week is any indication, my next “ministry” may be as an unpaid volunteer doing storm water management and watershed conservation advocacy. When Warren and I were walking and talking about this and how ill-equipped I feel about doing it and how I really don’t want to do it, Warren asked, “Does a servant of the Lord do what she wants or what God desires and expects?” I coulda slugged him. God gives us spouses so we can be hit upside the head with truth that hurts and we’ll still love and be loved. Servant work is rarely glamorous or sexy…and oftentimes it’s not particularly satisfying work on its own. It’s who you’re serving—God Himself—that makes the work a joy.

So it was with Paul. Whether he was preaching or teaching or collecting firewood or making tents or healing people with dysentery, let’s set the record straight: Paul had a servant’s heart.

So the barbarians…at the end of all this,

10 They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

The generosity, the welcoming, the caring, were a gift during the winter, but the kindness of the barbarians supplying everything that these 276 people needed to make the journey by sea—including a ship that had overwintered on the island—was honor upon honor. The captain, the crew, Julius and the officials, the prisoners including Paul, Luke and the other passengers would set sail with everything they needed to get from port to port and eventually to Rome.

So what’s our take home from today? I’d like to encourage you in 3 ways:

1. Be a careful student of the Scriptures and don’t be led to litmus tests for Christianity except the one the Bible says: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit guaranteeing our inheritance, promised to every believer.
2. Be observant of actions and don’t be led astray by prejudice. Barbarians can be generous hosts instead of being labeled as savages.
3. Be open to God’s will and don’t despise servant’s work. There is no retirement from serving God. We serve Him here until we die and then we serve Him in heaven. With an openness of heart and a gracious spirit recognizing it is Jesus we serve, our service will be a joy. We don’t outgrow serving God even if our roles change as we age.

Even Jesus said Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” That’s what we’ll remember in a few moments at the Lord’s Table through the ordinance of Communion. So let’s go to the Lord in prayer and thank Him for setting the record straight on Paul and on the spiritual benefit of practical ministry.

In Acts 28:1-10, Paul displays the spiritual value of practical ministry and gives us an opportunity for setting the record straight.

The last of the sermons from the Book of Acts at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine, WI, will be included along with the Advent Devotionals for the next 2 weeks.

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We’re nearly finished with the Book of Acts of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles. Interestingly the only apostle we’ve really been seeing much of lately has been Paul. Luke, our narrator, now rejoins Paul as we can see from the “we” passage we resume today. Luke takes us on a personal journey—a sea-faring journey—that will take Paul from prison in Caesarea to prison in Rome. Because it’s such a good story and like that lady in Forrest Gump might say, “You tell it so well…” we’re going to let Luke tell us this story as an eye-witness.

The Bible doesn’t need to be boring or a dull read. And we can see today how it applies to life–to your life and mine! Some things are timeless. Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and Mary Chapin Carpenter both sing about a timeless truth.

Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug. Yes, life is like that.

Sometimes the wind is at your back. Sometimes it’s in your face. Sometimes the wind and circumstances are with you and make your journey an absolute breeze. And sometimes in life, frankly, the winds are all against you and your life is a shipwreck waiting to happen. Such it is today with Paul.

Acts 27:1 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.

This is one of those instances in which we see that even though Paul was a really smart guy his great learning did not make him insane despite what Festus said last week. Paul’s intellect did not keep him from having a great many friends who loved him. Everywhere Paul went, he made friends. The Gospel does that.

4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

If you knew the wind was against you, wouldn’t you want to stop in a place called Fair Havens? Sounds like a good place to take a rest stop and wait out the bad weather. But it’s not a good place to do that. It cannot live up to its name and well, Luke wasn’t in charge. Neither was Paul. Things can go from bad to worse. And they often will.

9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.”

Paul, being a prisoner, didn’t have much authority even if he was right about most of it, apart from an act of God. No one listened.

11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.

After all, who was Paul compared to the owner and pilot of the ship? One can only wonder if their experience was clouded by their desire to be paid. Sometimes people make riskier decisions when it’s not their cargo aboard.

12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest. 13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.

When the wind is against you there is sometimes little you can do but accept that it will carry you where you do not wish to go.

16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17 When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along.

Sounds like the Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald on Nov 10, 1975. Gordon Lightfoot was every bit the story teller that Luke is.

• The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
• as a wave broke over the railing
• And every man knew, as the captain did too,
• T’was the witch of November come stealin’
• The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
• When the gales of November came slashin’
• When afternoon came it was freezin’ rain
• In the face of a hurricane west wind
• When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck
• sayin’ Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya
• At seven pm a main hatchway caved in,
• he said Fellas, it’s been good t’know ya
• The captain wired in he had water comin’ in
• And the good ship and crew was in peril
• And later that night when his lights went outta sight
• Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
• Does anyone know where the love of God goes
• When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
• The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay
• If they’d put fifteen more miles behind her
• They might have split up or they might have capsized
• They may have broke deep and took water
• And all that remains is the faces and the names
• Of the wives and the sons and the daughters

Here’s Luke telling of their journey, not with the sad ending of the Edmund Fitzgerald because why??? Paul was on board. And unlike the story of Jonah we heard in our Scripture reading this morning, Paul is not at fault. He’s not running from the Lord. He’s trusting. Oh, is he trusting!

18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

But here is Paul. Trusting! Not so much saying I told you so. But with encouragement and practical solutions.  Paul believed God and God would get them through it…together. Maybe not with their ship, but with the lives that mattered.

21 After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’

The lives of everyone mattered to God just as they had in the Jonah story. And how beautiful is it that God shares this encouragement with men who are scared out of their wits and fearing their end. Because Paul loves God and God loves Paul, here’s God’s encouragement spoken through an angel: God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.

25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” 27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.

Do you ever feel that way? You don’t know what to do, where to turn, or what to think? Drop some anchors and pray for daylight? Praying that even though it’s darkest before the dawn somehow that you can have enough faith the dawn will come and it’ll be a new day?

Not everyone responds favorably to the encouragement. Some try to save themselves anyway…in spite of God’s gracious promise. Not that much different than the gift of salvation itself. Everyone with Paul would be spared, but some didn’t want to depend on someone else. It’s how, frankly, a lot of people will be regarding Jesus. They’ll want their own way, their own lifeboat, their own control, and to command their own destiny….all the way to their demise. If ya’ aren’t with Jesus, you aren’t saved. And in our passage today, if you’re not with Paul, you’re going down.

30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”

There ya’ go. What a great pattern of deliverance! No one saves himself. It takes doing things God’s way. And God’s way was going to be deliverance through the stormy seas. “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”

32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away. 33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food– you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

I’ve gotta believe that Paul’s encouragement, the angel’s words of encouragement, and ultimately God’s encouragement might have prompted a few to believe in God…to want to know this God whom Paul trusted with his very life. Testimony often happens best in the test.

39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf. 42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how you get there. Jumping overboard, swimming and being the first to get to land. Some will be grasping planks, pieces of the ship, and being carried ashore by wind and wave. Everyone reached land in safety…because they did things God’s way.

So, today is the first Sunday of Advent. The world is in a world of trouble…not all that different from the turmoil that existed when Jesus arrived as a baby in a manger. For 33 years, He’d live among us, face the same world of trouble that we’d know, and yet, He knew the Cross was why He was sent. Apart from Jesus, we’re a shipwrecked people trying to lower our own lifeboats which would capsize and crash. But with Jesus, we may still be a shipwrecked people, but ones who can all reach the other side in safety. Because we’re with Him and God is faithful.

As you spend the next 4 weeks of Advent preparing your heart for the coming of the Christ Child, remind yourself that Jesus doesn’t care whether you come to Him by swimming or barely holding onto His Word in prayer with white knuckles and trembling knees. Just stick with Him. He’ll get you there. It’s why He came. Let’s pray.

The last of the sermons from the Book of Acts at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine, WI, will be included along with the Advent Devotionals for the next 2 weeks.

Our narrator Luke tells us of the shipwreck as the Apostle Paul was being transferred from prison in Caesarea to Rome.  It’s a great story that Luke tells in gripping detail.  This message was first preached at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine, WI on November 29, 2015 by Barbara Shafer.