Jerry’s Grill: The Rest of the Story
Up until this time, some are still wondering what the appropriate title for the Book of Acts should be. It is generally called “Acts of the Apostles”. But, looking at the contents of the book it would be well described as the “Acts of Peter and Paul,” the former occupying a prominent place in chaps, 1-5, 10-12 and 15; the latter being the central figure in Acts in 7:58, chapter 9, in 11:25-30 and from chapters13 on through 27.
On the other hand, a more appropriate title would seem to be that of Origines Ecclesiae - the history of the growth and development of the Church and of its mission work among the Gentiles. The starting-point and close of the book are, in this respect, significant. It begins at Jerusalem; it ends at Rome.
From another point of view, Acts is the history of Christ and His discipleship program. He appointed the twelve witnesses (Acts 1:24), who, after He has received the Spirit, sends Him down on the Church (Acts 2:33), who adds to His Church (Acts 2:47), and is ever near His people, turning them away from their iniquities (Acts 3:26). He works miracles, both of healing and destruction, in testimony to His apostles’ preaching (Acts 3:6,10, 30; 9:34; 13:11; 14:3; 19:13).
In the Gospels we see the grain of wheat falling to the ground and dies, in Acts we have it represented - for the Church is the body of Christ - springing up and bearing fruit abundantly, spreading into all parts of the world, and enriching human nature with the gifts of Divine grace. In other words, we see in Acts the rest of the Story – the Jesus Story – taken up and continued by His Body, the Church.
As such, the book of Acts serves as a strong reminder to all of us that we are the Church and that being the church demands more than attendance. Like the early Christians they didn’t talk about going to church; they talked about being the church - continually learning, loving, worshipping and growing.
More than anything else, the rest of the story in Acts ought to give us confidence that when the world tries to stop our witness, the message will continue to bear fruit and the messengers will continue to speak out. Acts shows us a picture of the people of God—both servers of the Word and servers of tables—teamed up in serving God.
This leaves us with the challenge – “are we willing to step up and become involved in serving the Lord?” We know there are so many different ways to do that, and it doesn’t only have to be in the context of church. But if this is your church, if this is where you get fed the Word of God, if this is where you come for your kids to get dedicated and married, if this is where you worship Sunday after Sunday, then you need to find a way to serve here.
Every week there are opportunities. There are Sunday school classes, youth ministries, small groups, ushers, greeters, prayer warriors, coffee makers, food servers, flower arrangers, hospital visits, meals to make for hurting families. I could go on and on. Maybe some don’t feel qualified. Maybe some don’t have a good reputation, or aren’t filled with spiritual maturity or practical wisdom.
If that’s the case, THEN WHAT ARE WE DOING TO GROW?
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
pastor, am sorry if I’ll use this site for our quarry. did you received our advance letter of invitation thru email? that will be on aug.17 pastor, please let us know kung ilan kayong darating for your accommodation purposes.
thank you
thank you for your web too. madami kaming natututunan. bye!