There's no better place to start a study of the Book of Acts than the account of Pentecost. Now, this is a moment we often identity as the birth of the church, that moment when God's blessings poured down upon us and the church tasted God's goodness.
But what happened that momentous day, and what does it all mean for us today? The story of Pentecost makes us wonder about a different world. Wouldn't life be easier if we were all the same? If we all spoke the same language, wouldn't we avoid so many of the conflicts and rifts that destroy our relationships? If we all shared a common culture, wouldn't we all be much better off?
Read full transcript...If you break today's parable into three parts, you have 1) the obvious, 2) the comfortable, and 3) the uneasy. The first part of the parable is seen in every walk of life, in every community, on every continent. It's obvious what is going to happen when the first invitations go out to those people. At a very early age we learned who was "in" and who was "out." It is told at dinner tables, over tea, sipping coffee, and on the way to worship. You know from experience what happens next. It's comfortable. This is how our people respond to "those people"--how they live their life or worship or "call themselves Christian," or worst of all in this day and age, how they vote. So when we hear about "those people" in today's parable, it's obvious that they are going to laugh at the invitation. As a matter of fact, it's pretty clear that they are serious enemies, because they even kill a few of the servants. That's what enemies do. It's obvious. These lines have been drawn all over society and all over the world for generations.
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