Acts 1:1-11

1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7 He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

We continue thinking about the Bible basis for St. Andrew’s Church’s mission statement: To accept Jesus Christ’s love, embrace Jesus’ teaching and share Jesus with those both near and far.

The disciples had Jesus to themselves for 40 days. A retreat, a spiritual high, they were safe with the risen Jesus. All was good. But then Jesus went away, ascended to heaven. And before Jesus left, he said, “You will receive the Holy Spirit and you are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

That promise of the Holy Spirit and the sending command were for the first disciples (the followers of Jesus) and for us, the followers of Jesus today. We have been given the Holy Spirit, and we are witnesses to the story of Jesus and the ways Jesus makes a difference in our lives. The first disciples were challenged to think about being witness to people in 4 areas – Jerusalem (the town they lived in); Judea (the county they were part of); Samaria (the people from another culture who lived as their neighbours); and the ends of the earth.

At St. Andrew’s we support mission in Haiti and send teams to El Salvador (the ends of the earth). Our Jerusalem would be Fergus – how might we live the story of Jesus in our community – both as a church and as individuals? Our Judea is Centre Wellington and up towards Arthur and over towards Belwood and beyond – how do we reach beyond just Fergus to connect with others living close by with the story of Jesus? The Samaritans were people of a different ethnic background who lived as neighbours to the first Christians – the Samaritans for us are people of ethnicities different than our own, how can we show them the good news of Jesus with our lives and with our words?

PRAYER:

O Lord, we have been sent by the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to your Son, Jesus Christ, move us from fear to courage, from apathy to commitment, and from silence to letting you speak through us giving voice to the hope that is ours in your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Matthew 7:24-27

24 ‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’

We continue our thinking about the Bible basis for St. Andrew’s Church’s mission statement: To accept Jesus Christ’s love, embrace Jesus’ teaching and share Jesus with those both near and far.

The verses from Matthew come at the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and in summary he says – “It is not enough to hear these words I have spoken and say, ‘Those are good words, Jesus speaks so well.’ No, the real measure is, are you acting on those words, are you putting them into action in your life?”

It is easy to say that Jesus said amazing things, and Jesus did say amazing things – things that sound very different than the words we hear in our world much of the time. Words of challenge that say, living a moral life is the best way to live life. Words of challenge that say, when people ridicule you and laugh at you, don’t retaliate. Words of challenge that say, meekness and humility are the way to a fulfilled life. Words of challenge that say, following Jesus means you can expect persecution.

St. Andrew’s Church mission statement says that our goal as people of St. Andrew’s is to take Jesus’ words and to embrace them, adopt them, as being the pattern of our lives, as being central to the way we will live our lives. Knowing that living the Jesus way means living a very different pattern than the one the world around us says is the way to live life.

As we set our lives on following the Jesus way we will be changed more and more into being like Jesus in our actions and words and attitudes – we will be shaped/formed into people who are more like Jesus. Loving and embracing Jesus’ teaching and words will change us and we will be made into new people. People who are resilient in the challenges that life brings.

PRAYER:
O Lord, your Son Jesus Christ said amazing things that challenge our lives, we quickly endorse his words as being the words of life, but we are slower to actually live them in our lives. Teach us the joy of adopting the Jesus way as our way of life, our way to life. Show us how we might embrace Jesus words as being the center of our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.