June 11 devotional - Family Blessings

Acts 21:5         But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach, we knelt to pray.

One of the most beautiful and sacred parts of our Sunday worship at Erin takes place at the end of the Family sermon. That’s when our young children sit at the front steps of the sanctuary with their parents or grandparents, or aunts and uncles, all bowing their heads, closing their eyes, and saying a simple prayer. The prayer is led by whoever presented the Family Sermon and everyone repeats the words, phrase by phrase. It’s a wonderful blessing to see each of the families do this; listening to the voices of the youngest children pray out loud, often brings happy tears to my eyes. This is Family ministry at its simplest and best; this is how the Gospel is shared by one generation to another.

In today’s short passage from Acts 21vv1-9, we read about Paul and his companions leaving the city of Tyre. The whole church has gathered at the beach to say farewell – all of the disciples, their wives, and their children. It must have looked like a Sunday School seashore picnic, but it is also a wonderful description of how the Early Church operated. Families worshiped and prayed together; they served the Lord and witnessed as one. It must have been a beautiful scene, even though it was a sad farewell. The church at Tyre was intergenerational, showing to Paul that Christ’s message would endure across the generations represented on the shoreline.

            Churches are meant to be intergenerational – they don’t function well when they just cater to one age range or one eclectic group. The vitality of Christ’s mission depends upon each generation passing on the faith to the next generation. It never stays still and never looks the same, but it always truly connects with Christ across the centuries, throughout the nations, and among our precious families.

Questions for personal reflection

What opportunities for intergenerational sharing takes place at my church? How do these events strengthen the faith of the people?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You speak to people of all ages throughout the entire world. Your Spirit seeks to bless our families with services and events, as well as missions and programs that can be supported and fulfilled by believers of any age. Thank You for the Family ministries among our churches and for their vitality in our congregations. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask a question about today’s message, please send John an email to traqair@aol.com. John reads every email and learns much from your comments.

Today’s image is one of my latest Mackintosh rose drawings. It’s called “Celtic Roses.” If you would like to view a larger version,  please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7348/9002967262_20aa571af4_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: The Problem with Paul - Acts 21

Acts 21:4b       Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 

I honestly don’t know what to think or do with this verse. On the surface, it appears as though Paul, in deciding to continue his journey to Jerusalem, was blatantly ignoring the Holy Spirit’s counsel. At a deeper level, it seems as if the local church members and the itinerant church missionaries were given two separate agendas from the Holy Spirit. I can’t reconcile either of those scenarios in my mind because the outcomes would be hard to accept (a) that Paul sometimes ignored the Spirit in favor of his own opinion or (b) that the Spirit tests the mettle of the Church by giving opposing views.

Maybe I think too deeply; but I honestly believe that each verse of scripture is the inspired Word of God, so what kind of lesson was the Spirit inspiring when Luke wrote this account?

After pondering it for a while, I believe this to be the case: Paul was fallible and headstrong at times. He wasn’t perfect and sometimes his zeal for the Lord clouded his decision making. Even although he was a devoted follower of Christ, Paul still had his moments. He was a major influence in shaping our faith, but he wasn’t perfect. Pride and ambition, zeal and fanaticism caused him to make mistakes. He was a sinner, not the Savior.

For me, this does two things. Firstly, it shows me how authentic Luke’s account actually is – he writes about Paul, warts and all. If this was all make-believe, then Paul would come across as a theological Superman, who could leap tall temples and stop all opposition to his views. Secondly, it points me towards my own failings of being self-righteous, headstrong, and too zealous at times. Just because I’m a pastor doesn’t mean to say that I’m the only one in the congregation who is granted a vision by the Holy Spirit. I also need to listen to what the Spirit expresses through the local congregation.

As usual, the Spirit teaches all of us great lessons through seemingly insignificant verses.

Prayer:                        Holy Spirit, help us to become more attentive to Your voice and leadership in our lives. Grant us the gift of truly discerning Your guidance over every aspect of our lives and enable us to faithfully follow and sincerely serve Christ our Lord. In His Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s Winter 2010 drawings. He calls it “Choir Practice.” You can view a larger version of this print at the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4935124072_ebb48302b6_z.jpg

4 Minute Daily Devotions: God's Global Warming

Acts 21: 24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread.

Despite the recent surveys telling us that the demise of Christianity is imminent, the word of God continues to increase and be spread. Did you know, for instance, that there are presently more Christians on this planet than at any other time in the history of the world? Did you know that Christianity is the biggest religion on earth – it outnumbers its nearest rival Islam by 2 to 1. Did you know that Christianity is the fastest growing religion in Africa?

Perhaps not, because we tend to think about Christianity in Western or American terms. American Christianity only makes up about 5-7% of the world’s Christians. We are so parochial and narrow sighted. We think that our ways are God’s ways when in fact Africa, Asia, and South America have more worshippers, church members, and followers of Christ in each of their regions of the world.

I guess that means that when God looks on earth and Christ sees His followers, American Christians are at the back of the crowd. That’s kind of humbling and yet it’s also wonderfully reassuring. I wouldn’t like to think that our consumerist Christianity was the best that our faith has to offer.

Maybe it’s time to learn from other Christians in different parts of the world who constantly face hunger, famine, disease, and persecution. In the West, we tend to be restless and unsettled, unsure of our faith and treat it like a commodity. Perhaps if we went to bed hungry at night or faced the horrors of sickness with scarce resources our faith would be substantially different.

I suppose this devotion is a wake up call for me as well as for you. Despite our weak and watered down Western Christianity, the word of God in other parts of the world continues to increase and be spread. So let’s get with the program, people!

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we tend to look at our own faith through our own blinkered eyes. Instead of seeing a vast world of Christian people, we focus on dwindling denominations and a diminishing influence on Western society. One day in the future, missionaries will come back to this land from Africa, Asia, and South America to reintroduce our society to Your ways, Your words, and Your works. Thank You, Lord, for ever increasing and spreading the word of God throughout the world. In Your Holy Name, we pray, Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.