Sermon for June 12th, 2016
Acts 16:6-15
6They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8 so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. 11We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
First Church: Come Over and Help Us
The story is told of a lady who was rather old fashioned, always quite delicate and elegant, especially in her language. After years of persuasion, her less-than-elegant husband finally convinced her to accompany him on a camping trip, so she wrote an email to the campground where they would be staying, asking for a reservation. She wanted to make sure the campground was equipped with what you and I would call a "Porta-Potty." However, she just couldn't bring herself to write the word "potty" in her letter. After much deliberation, she finally came up with the more refined sounding "Portable Commode," but when she wrote that down, she thought even that was too much. So she started all over again, rewrote the entire letter and this time referred to the portable commode merely as the "PC". "Does the campground have a nearby PC?" is what she actually wrote.
Well, the campground owner wasn't old-fashioned at all and when he got the email, he just couldn't figure out what the woman was talking about. That "PC" business really stumped him. After worrying about it for awhile he showed the email to several campers, but they couldn't figure out what the lady meant either. So the campground owner finally came to the conclusion that this obviously refined lady must be asking about the local Presbyterian Church. He sat down and replied to her email as follows...
"Dear Madam, I regret very much the delay in answering your letter, but I now take great pleasure in informing you that a PC is located nine miles north of the campground and is capable of seating 250 people at one time. I admit it is quite a distance away, if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches along and make a day of it.
They usually arrive early and stay late. It is such a beautiful facility and the acoustics are marvelous; even the faintest sounds can be heard throughout the facility. The last time my wife and I went was six years ago, and it was so crowded we had to stand up the whole time we were there. I would like to say it pains me very much not being able to go more regularly, but it is surely no lack of desire on my part. As we grow older it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in cold weather. If you decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time you go, sit with you, and introduce you to all the other folks (remember, this is a very friendly community)."
- Flexibility and openness to where God is leading us. Paul would have remained in Turkey.
- Direction often comes in our darkest hour.
- Verse 10: They becomes we.
- No Jewish synagogue in the city -- when the "familiar" doesn't work, we are forced to truly launch into the unknown.
- Connecting the dots.
