All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master’s disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.

He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice:

“Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?”

(Acts 9:1-4, MSG)

This Sunday we continue our walk through the Book of Acts, Luke’s companion letter to his Gospel.  Each week during this series I invite you to read through the Book of Acts with me.  Each Sunday our sermon will focus on a specific reading from that portion of scripture.  This week we are reading Acts chapters 6-9.

Have you ever noticed that Church is messy!  Well, let me put that a different way…people are messy, and people are what make up the church.  In our reading this week we see just how messy the church is.  We find the Apostles are continuing their mission to spread the Good News of Jesus to all who would listen.  The religious leaders continue to persecute the Apostles, but the Apostles don’t back down. 

One such religious leader, a Pharisee named Saul, even sanctions the stoning of Stephen.  Yikes!  But, friends that is just the beginning of the messiness.  That religious leader has a miraculous conversion!  Saul, on his way to Damascus with papers in hand to arrest and condemn the Apostles, has a life altering encounter with the living Christ!  (And things get messy real fast!)  Saul becomes Paul the great Apostle to the Gentiles!

There are many things I love about being a Presbyterian!  One of them is our motto, decently and in order.  This motto guides and directs all that we do – our worship, our polity, our way of being church.  I love that we seek to do things decently and in order and smile when chaos erupts.  I often think about my expectations, my desire for perfection and order and often have to laugh (it is better then crying) when things go sideways.  In all my attempts to keep the “messy” at bay…the mess (the people) is always present. 

This is truth I hold to…God uses the mess in beautiful, unimaginable ways.  God calls us together, gives us a purpose, uses our unique qualities to do amazing things.  That is the beauty of the church!  That is beauty in the mess we call church.

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

But the Master said, “Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I’m about to show him what he’s in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job.”

(Acts 9:15-16, MSG)