Sermon for October 20th, 2024

John 17:20-24

20 “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Acts 2:37-42

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

American Reformations: The Stone-Campbell Movement

A ship was sailing past a remote island and discovered a man who had been stranded there alone for several years. They went ashore to rescue the man and noticed he had built three huts for himself. They asked him, "What is the first hut for?" He said, "That's my house." "Ok, so what's the second hut for?" "That's my church." "Ok, so what's that other hut over there for?" "Oh... that. That's the church I used to go to."

The history of Christianity—especially Protestant Christianity—is in many ways a story of disagreements, schisms, and fragmentation; churches splintering away from each other, often on the basis of small or insignificant beliefs and practices. This of course seems contrary to what Jesus would have wanted, as he prayed in his final prayer for his disciples that they might be one. There are, however, some bright spots in that history—for example in the book of Acts, where the very first believers were one in purpose and practice.

I’d like to shine a light on another one of those bright spots, as we continue our series on the spread of Reformed Christianity to America in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Last week we talked about the Revival movement known as the “Great Awakening” in the 18th century. Today, we’ll be talking about the Stone-Campbell movement in the early 19th century. Over the past year, we’ve had the pleasure of worshiping together a few times with First Christian Church. The Christian Church, also known as the Disciples of Christ, is a product of the Stone-Campbell movement. There’s also a direct link between Stone-Campbell churches like First Christian, and Presbyterian churches like ours: All four of the “founders” of the Stone-Campbell movement (who we’ll talk about in just a while) were of Scottish descent, and the two for which the movement is named (Barton Stone and Thomas Campbell) were ordained ministers in the Presbyterian Church. Like good Presbyterians, and like John Calvin and John Knox before them, they believed that the church should be continually reforming itself according to the Word of God. Their lives, and the movement they started, are a remarkable testimony to this core principle of the Reformation.