From the desk of Pastor Edd

    Acts 10:23b The next morning, Peter and some of his friends from Joppa, accompanied these men back to Caesarea. 24 Cornelius was waiting for them to arrive having gathered many of his friends and relatives to hear what Peter might say. 25 As Peter approached, Cornelius fell to the floor and began to worship at his feet. 26 Peter helped him up saying, "I am nothing more than another man, I do not deserve any honor." 27 As they talked, Cornelius brought Peter into another room where all of the people were waiting. 28 He said,   "All of you know that it is not lawful for me, a Jew, to be friends with a foreigner or enter his house, but God showed me clearly that I should not consider any man unclean or unholy.   29 "I have come readily without fear or question." Then turning to Cornelius he asked, "Why have you summoned me here?"   30 Cornelius said to Peter, "About this time four days ago I was praying in the mid afternoon and I saw a vision of...

Peter is settled in at Joppa for a few days and has a jolting experience as God leads him to change the whole paradigm he has grown up with. God clearly reveals to him that all people are God’s people. But the story begins in another town with a man whom Peter, being a Jew, considered inferior, because he was a Gentile, and a commander in the Roman army.        Acts 10:1 Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian cohort, lived in Caesarea. 2 He devoted himself to the ways of God, along with all who lived in his house. He prayed often and was very generous with his riches in caring for the Jewish people of the town. 3 About 3 o'clock one day an angel of God visited him in a vivid vision. He said, "Cornelius!" 4 In great surprise, he turned his attention to the angel and said, "What is it, Lord?" The angel replied, "God has received your prayers and gifts as a memorial offering. 5 I want you to send some of your servants to Joppa, to look for a man called Peter, 6...

  The first half of Acts chapter 9 tells us the story of Saul’s conversion to Jesus and his calling to take the message of Jesus to the nations outside of Israel. Peter, however, was the first of the apostles that we know of to make his way outside of Jerusalem to begin the move of the church beyond the racial, religious, and regional borders of Judaism.     Acts 9:31 And the church was at peace, growing, and experiencing the fear of the LORD with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. 32 Peter came to Lydda to spend some time with the saints who were living there. 33 He was taken to a paralyzed man named Aeneas who had spent eighty years in his bed. 34 Peter said to him, "Jesus the Messiah has healed you, Aeneas. Get up and make up your bed." And he got up and was well. 35 The people of Lydda and the nearby town of Sharon all recognized the miracle done to Aeneas and they became followers of Jesus.   With Saul no longer hunting down the people who believed in Je...

If you remember back to the stoning of Stephen, just at the end of chapter seven, “ those participating in this stoning were laying their outer garments at the feet of Saul, a young up and coming leader from the school of Gamaliel.” (Acts 7:58 EBV)   When Saul, whom we now call the apostle Paul, tells his story, he takes on the title of a Pharisee.     “I am sure you know of my background. I grew up trained in the ways of Judaism. And I used to bring great persecution upon the church of God, attempting to destroy its very existence. I was at the head of my class, gaining status and prestige throughout the leaders of Judaism and I held the highest respect for the traditions of our fathers.” (Galatians 1:13-14 EBV)   “My background would allow me to put my trust in what I have done in comparison with any other human. My mother had me circumcised on the eighth day, as is the custom. Born into the nation of Israel, my family is from the tribe of Benjamin. I am fully Hebr...

  Sue C.'s grandmother in front of the Egyptian pyramids.Read more about her spiritual influence in Faith on the Mountain . Luke not only tells the story of Philip in the vicinity of Samaria but then tells us of the next adventure as Philip speaks to a high ranking official from Ethiopia who had come to Israel to visit Jerusalem and worship God at the temple.     The actual history of Christianity in Ethiopia is not documented in detail before about 330 BC when the king at the time declared Christianity to be the official religion of the land. Evidence shows that Jews had moved to the area many years before this, possibly in the time of Solomon, and there is even some evidence that Christianity came to Ethiopia in the time following the movement away from the church in Jerusalem. The official in our story in Acts, clearly accepted Jesus as his Lord and probably took the message back to his homeland following his encounter with Philip.     Acts 8:26 Philip receiv...

  Acts 8:1 Saul agreed with the leadership's choice to stone Stephen. That event caused a great movement against the church in Jerusalem and many of the followers of Jesus moved from Jerusalem into the regions of Judea and Samaria. The apostles stayed behind. 2 Some of the devout followers of Jesus buried Stephen and wept greatly for him and for the loss to the young movement. 3 The event also energized Saul to increase his hatred for the church and he started entering the houses of people connected with the church and took both men and women to prison for believing in Jesus as the Messiah. The stoning of Stephen becomes a turning point in the story of the early church. Jesus told the disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, the location of the story so far, and then Judea, Samaria, and out to the ends of the earth. So, Luke now takes us on the journey beyond the city into the countryside and out to the remainder of the world. Like most of us, we get comfortable in our space and...