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Questions in this GPS marked with Ø are particularly recommended for group discussion. Group leaders may add other discussion questions, or substitute other questions for the marked ones, at their discretion.
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"Peter’s testimony: a key to fully accepting Gentiles"
Saturday, 30 September 2017
Acts 15:1 But some men came down from Y’hudah to Antioch and began teaching the brothers, “You can’t be saved unless you undergo b’rit-milah in the manner prescribed by Moshe.” 2 This brought them into no small measure of discord and dispute with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. So the congregation assigned Sha’ul, Bar-Nabba and some of themselves to go and put this sh’eilah before the emissaries and the elders up in Yerushalayim., 5 But some of those who had come to trust were from the party of the P’rushim; and they stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Torah of Moshe.”
6 The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter. 7 After lengthy debate, Kefa got up and said to them, “Brothers, you yourselves know that a good while back, God chose me from among you to be the one by whose mouth the Goyim should hear the message of the Good News and come to trust. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving the Ruach HaKodesh to them, just as he did to us; 9 that is, he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their heart by trust. 10 So why are you putting God to the test now by placing a yoke on the neck of the talmidim which neither our fathers nor we have had the strength to bear? 11 No, it is through the love and kindness of the Lord Yeshua that we trust and are delivered — and it’s the same with them.”
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Was circumcision required for Gentile men to be truly Christian? That issue kept causing conflict in the early Christian community. When church leaders met in Jerusalem, Peter was a strong voice. He drew on his experience of preaching to Romans to point out that God “made no distinction between us and them.” His testimony was a major factor in the decision James made to welcome Gentiles without heavy behavioral requirements (cf. Acts 15:13-14). This was Peter’s last appearance in the historical narrative in Acts. Christian tradition says he eventually died as martyr for Christ. In a letter he wrote, we find the spirit in which he ministered, and probably faced the end of his life (cf. 1 Peter 5:6-11).
• The big issue at the Jerusalem Council is not a big issue among Christians today. (No one demands enforcing circumcision as a condition of being a Christian!) As we face our issues, we can learn from the fact that the Council chose to respect the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s activity, and not the concrete demand that all Christians follow Genesis 17:10-14. And we can learn from the example of Peter, Paul and “believers from among the Pharisees” who met at the Jerusalem Council. They disagreed about circumcision, but agreed on more central truths. They were all committed to following Jesus, and to trusting him as their Savior. What can you learn from Peter’s deep trust in Jesus’ grace, and his determination to share it with anyone who would listen to him?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that, like Peter, I get to stretch my soul in the spacious atmosphere of your grace. Thank you for the widely varied family of which that makes me a part. Amen.
Family Activity: No one is perfect, but we can all use our God-given gifts and abilities to serve those within and outside of the home. Use construction paper and crayons to draw pictures of your home, your neighborhood and the world. On the pictures, write or draw the gifts of each person in the places where they might be best put to work. Also, write or draw about ways each person’s gifts can be used to serve others in those places. Display your family’s pictures as reminder to serve and care for those who are in your home, neighborhood and world. Thank God for giving these gifts to you and pray that despite your imperfections, God will use you and your family to share His love with the world.
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Carol Cartmill
Carol is the Executive Director of Mission and Outreach at Church of the Resurrection. She serves with and guides a gifted team of individuals as together they engage the congregation in serving, connecting and growing. She seeks to be used by God to help people on their journey to know, love and serve God and others.Reading the text for today, we may be tempted to think, “What’s the big deal about circumcision?” For the believers whose faith was deeply rooted in Hebrew tradition, it was a huge deal. Circumcision was not only required by the Law of Moses, but the practice dated back to the time of Abraham (Genesis 17) and it signified one’s identity as a member of God’s family.
As we fast-forward to the New Testament, we find this seismic shift in what signifies who is in versus who is outside of the family of God. Peter and Paul are teaching inclusion as a matter of faith in what Jesus accomplished. It is by grace we are saved, not by any action or deed on our part. Who is included? Everyone who chooses to believe in Jesus.
Humans continue to struggle with the idea of acceptance into the family of faith. As a child, I remember attending church in another denomination and my family’s struggles with acceptance. It was the 1960s. My mother was divorced. We were not prevented from attending church, but our family was not exactly warmly welcomed. Being made to feel “less than” by some of the members of the church had a profound impact on our lives. In fact, to this day, neither of my brothers attends church.
Divorce would not be an issue in most churches today, but we still have our human litmus tests for who qualifies for inclusion in God’s family, and who does not. I am so grateful for the vastness of God’s grace. No hoops; just pure acceptance. Why do we struggle so? Maybe fear. Were the people in my 1960’s church afraid if they compromised and starting fully accepting divorced women it would lead to something horrible?
Who are we excluding because of our own deeply-rooted beliefs, opinions that God may be convicting us to just let go? I think I’ll pray the prayer from today’s GPS again:
Lord Jesus, thank you that, like Peter, I get to stretch my soul in the spacious atmosphere of your grace. Thank you for the widely varied family of which that makes me a part. Amen.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Joy Hilliard Donoho and family on the death of her dear friend Neil Parrett, 9/18
•Angela Nelson and family on the death of her mother Erma Milton, 9/17
•Crystal Sixbury and family on the death of her father William Ray “Bill” Trueblood, 9/17
•Randy Wood and family on the death of his father John Wood, 9/17
•Doug and Dee Dickey and family on the death of their sister-in-law Ann Forest Dickey, 9/13
•Steve and Donna Leeder and family on the death of their daughter Laura Leeder Uriell, 9/12
•Katie Finkle and family on the death of her father Rex M. Whitton, Jr., 9/6
•Samantha Birdsong and Adam Hotujac and family on the death of their infant son Jaxton Hotujac, 8/25
• Marienne Brown and family on the death of her mother Jeanne Galamba, 8/7
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"Peter’s testimony: a key to fully accepting Gentiles"
Saturday, 30 September 2017
Acts 15:1 But some men came down from Y’hudah to Antioch and began teaching the brothers, “You can’t be saved unless you undergo b’rit-milah in the manner prescribed by Moshe.” 2 This brought them into no small measure of discord and dispute with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. So the congregation assigned Sha’ul, Bar-Nabba and some of themselves to go and put this sh’eilah before the emissaries and the elders up in Yerushalayim., 5 But some of those who had come to trust were from the party of the P’rushim; and they stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Torah of Moshe.”
6 The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter. 7 After lengthy debate, Kefa got up and said to them, “Brothers, you yourselves know that a good while back, God chose me from among you to be the one by whose mouth the Goyim should hear the message of the Good News and come to trust. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving the Ruach HaKodesh to them, just as he did to us; 9 that is, he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their heart by trust. 10 So why are you putting God to the test now by placing a yoke on the neck of the talmidim which neither our fathers nor we have had the strength to bear? 11 No, it is through the love and kindness of the Lord Yeshua that we trust and are delivered — and it’s the same with them.”
-------
Was circumcision required for Gentile men to be truly Christian? That issue kept causing conflict in the early Christian community. When church leaders met in Jerusalem, Peter was a strong voice. He drew on his experience of preaching to Romans to point out that God “made no distinction between us and them.” His testimony was a major factor in the decision James made to welcome Gentiles without heavy behavioral requirements (cf. Acts 15:13-14). This was Peter’s last appearance in the historical narrative in Acts. Christian tradition says he eventually died as martyr for Christ. In a letter he wrote, we find the spirit in which he ministered, and probably faced the end of his life (cf. 1 Peter 5:6-11).
• The big issue at the Jerusalem Council is not a big issue among Christians today. (No one demands enforcing circumcision as a condition of being a Christian!) As we face our issues, we can learn from the fact that the Council chose to respect the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s activity, and not the concrete demand that all Christians follow Genesis 17:10-14. And we can learn from the example of Peter, Paul and “believers from among the Pharisees” who met at the Jerusalem Council. They disagreed about circumcision, but agreed on more central truths. They were all committed to following Jesus, and to trusting him as their Savior. What can you learn from Peter’s deep trust in Jesus’ grace, and his determination to share it with anyone who would listen to him?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that, like Peter, I get to stretch my soul in the spacious atmosphere of your grace. Thank you for the widely varied family of which that makes me a part. Amen.
Family Activity: No one is perfect, but we can all use our God-given gifts and abilities to serve those within and outside of the home. Use construction paper and crayons to draw pictures of your home, your neighborhood and the world. On the pictures, write or draw the gifts of each person in the places where they might be best put to work. Also, write or draw about ways each person’s gifts can be used to serve others in those places. Display your family’s pictures as reminder to serve and care for those who are in your home, neighborhood and world. Thank God for giving these gifts to you and pray that despite your imperfections, God will use you and your family to share His love with the world.
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Carol CartmillCarol is the Executive Director of Mission and Outreach at Church of the Resurrection. She serves with and guides a gifted team of individuals as together they engage the congregation in serving, connecting and growing. She seeks to be used by God to help people on their journey to know, love and serve God and others.Reading the text for today, we may be tempted to think, “What’s the big deal about circumcision?” For the believers whose faith was deeply rooted in Hebrew tradition, it was a huge deal. Circumcision was not only required by the Law of Moses, but the practice dated back to the time of Abraham (Genesis 17) and it signified one’s identity as a member of God’s family.
As we fast-forward to the New Testament, we find this seismic shift in what signifies who is in versus who is outside of the family of God. Peter and Paul are teaching inclusion as a matter of faith in what Jesus accomplished. It is by grace we are saved, not by any action or deed on our part. Who is included? Everyone who chooses to believe in Jesus.
Humans continue to struggle with the idea of acceptance into the family of faith. As a child, I remember attending church in another denomination and my family’s struggles with acceptance. It was the 1960s. My mother was divorced. We were not prevented from attending church, but our family was not exactly warmly welcomed. Being made to feel “less than” by some of the members of the church had a profound impact on our lives. In fact, to this day, neither of my brothers attends church.
Divorce would not be an issue in most churches today, but we still have our human litmus tests for who qualifies for inclusion in God’s family, and who does not. I am so grateful for the vastness of God’s grace. No hoops; just pure acceptance. Why do we struggle so? Maybe fear. Were the people in my 1960’s church afraid if they compromised and starting fully accepting divorced women it would lead to something horrible?
Who are we excluding because of our own deeply-rooted beliefs, opinions that God may be convicting us to just let go? I think I’ll pray the prayer from today’s GPS again:
Lord Jesus, thank you that, like Peter, I get to stretch my soul in the spacious atmosphere of your grace. Thank you for the widely varied family of which that makes me a part. Amen.
-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Joy Hilliard Donoho and family on the death of her dear friend Neil Parrett, 9/18
•Angela Nelson and family on the death of her mother Erma Milton, 9/17
•Crystal Sixbury and family on the death of her father William Ray “Bill” Trueblood, 9/17
•Randy Wood and family on the death of his father John Wood, 9/17
•Doug and Dee Dickey and family on the death of their sister-in-law Ann Forest Dickey, 9/13
•Steve and Donna Leeder and family on the death of their daughter Laura Leeder Uriell, 9/12
•Katie Finkle and family on the death of her father Rex M. Whitton, Jr., 9/6
•Samantha Birdsong and Adam Hotujac and family on the death of their infant son Jaxton Hotujac, 8/25
• Marienne Brown and family on the death of her mother Jeanne Galamba, 8/7
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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