Tearing Down Fences!
Sermon Notes January 14, 2007
Human Relations Day
Jim O’Neal, Senior
Pastor
(480) 895-8766
Acts 10:1-48 NIV
1At
9About noon the following day as they were
on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to
pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal
was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
11He saw heaven opened and something like a
large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of
four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the
air. 13Then a voice
told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I
have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do
not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16This happened three times, and
immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
17While Peter was wondering about the
meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house
was and stopped at the gate. 18They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was
staying there.
19While Peter was still thinking about the
vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have
sent them.” 21Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking
for. Why have you come?” 22The men replied, “We have come from
Cornelius the centurion. He is a
righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his
house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23Then Peter invited the men into the house
to be his guests.
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers
from Joppa went along. 24The following day he arrived in
34Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does
not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation who
fear him and do what is right. 36You know the message God sent to the people of
44While Peter was still speaking these
words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come
with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out
even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47“Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we
have.” 48So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay
with them for a few days.
A.
Introduction
1. Wizard of Id
a. One day in the
“Wizard of Id” Comic Strip, a family arrives at the castle gate in a mule drawn
wagon. The father, mother and two
children look around and then see Sir Rodney the knight standing guard at the
gate. The father asks Sir Rodney, “Is there any prejudice in the kingdom?” Rodney inquires, “Why do you ask?” The father replies, “Emma is an Irish
Catholic and I’m a Polish Jew, but the kids are both Evangelical
Protestants.” Rodney says, “You’re
welcome to stay, but you won’t hear many jokes.”
b. Today’s message
deals with fences that divide. Today’s
message has to do with prejudice.
2. Mark Twain
a. In Mark Twain’s “Pud’nhead
b. We like Mark Twain
look down on some people. We, also, have
prejudice toward groups or “types” of people.
3. Today’s Scripture
a. Today’s Scripture
lesson illustrates the divisions between people, and the judgmental attitudes
that existed in Bible times. Many Jews
would not associate with Gentiles.
Indeed they looked down upon the people of other nations. They were unclean and unworthy of a place in
God’s Kingdom. Despite all that Jesus
had taught and demonstrated, the sinfulness of prejudice had reared its ugly
head in the early Church. So God sent a
vision to Peter. Now God understood
Peter the “Big Fisherman” and his love for food. So God used food as the “Sermon Illustration”
to show Peter that God truly loves and welcomes all people. If any edible food is ok to eat at God’s
banquet table, then we should welcome all people who turn to God at God’s
banquet table.
b. Perhaps Peter was
reminded through his trance of what Jesus said and did. Jesus healed a Roman soldier’s servant. Jesus spoke with some Greeks who sought Him
out. Jesus ate with tax collectors and
others looked down upon as sinners.
Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman beside the well. Jesus saved the life of a woman accused of
adultery. The Lord touched and healed
the lepers. And when Jesus protested
that God’s
B.
We are family!
1. Astronauts
a. During the early
years of NASA we were thrilled to see pictures of planet earth as taken by
astronauts from their space capsules. It
was a different perspective! We saw the
earth as a blue ball just floating there in the blackness of outer space.
b. Archibald MacLeish
would write: “To see the earth as it
truly is.. is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together..
brothers who know that they are truly brothers.” We are brothers and sisters of one God living
together on one planet.
2. All Quiet on the Western
Front
a. In High School, I
read the book ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.
It tells the story of World War I from the perspective of a German
soldier. In the book there is a vivid
scene I still remember: There is a
terrible battle. Machine-gun fire and a
mortar barrage are killing foot soldiers on both sides. The young German soldier jumps into a shell
hole and comes face to face with an English soldier. His first thought is to kill the man, but it
becomes clear that the Englishman is no threat.
The British soldier is dying. The
dying soldier motions to his pocket. The
German takes out a photograph of the man’s family. The dying man looks at his loved ones for one
last moment and then dies.
b. My friends there
is not that much difference between an Englishman and a German for us to have
fought two World Wars. We human beings
are family. We have one Father in Heaven. As the Bible says, “You are God’s dear children.” (Ephesians 5:1 TEV)
C.
We have a responsibility for one another.
1. Monk Cartoon
a. In Seminary we had
a bulletin board next to the mailroom.
One student put up a one-panel cartoon featuring two monks walking down
the cloistered halls of a monastery. One
says to the other: “What gets me about
this place is that they want you to love people you don’t even like!”
b. God does call us
to love and care about all people. And
that includes even the ones we don’t like and the people who do terrible,
horrible, cruel things. We don’t have to
like their actions, but we are called to pray for them. And not for bad to happen to them, but good
and most especially that they come to know God’s love in their heart.
2. Ambrose Bishop of
a. After the
b. My friends there
are people in need out there. There are
hungry people to be fed. There are those
who don’t know God, who are spiritually dying.
Hear God’s command: “You shall open
wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land.”
(Deuteronomy 15:11 RSV) Do
you care enough to feed them and tell them about Jesus? Do you care enough even if they don’t look
like you or me? God loves them too, and
calls believers to open the doors of the Church to all people.
D.
Christ is the answer!
1. Calvin Hooper and the
Bully
a. Skinny Calvin
Hooper was being picked on by a bully at school. His single mom didn’t know what to do, so she
took Calvin to see their pastor. This
wise pastor arranged for the boy to go to a local gym to get weight training
and boxing lessons. The only charge was
to spend 30 minutes in Bible Study with the minister. The lad quickly agreed, and dreamed of the
day he good clobber the bully. Each day
after school Calvin came to the Church and he and the pastor studied the Word
of God. Then they went to the gym. The boy worked hard and his muscles grew big
and strong. Then Calvin had the growth
spurt that boys often go through. He got
taller and bigger and got that first hair on his chin! There then came the day when the bully again
tried to pick on Calvin. This time
Calvin picked the troublemaker up by his collar. The bully turned white as a sheet. Calvin then tossed him aside and the bully
ran away. Calvin could’ve easily caught
the boy and beat him up, but he did not do that. When a friend asked him,
“Calvin, why didn’t you beat that jerk silly?” Calvin replied, “Well, I knew I could, cuz the preach sure beefed me up
on the outside. The trouble is the
pastor also filled me up with Jesus on the inside!”
b. Jesus is the
answer. He is “the
way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6 NRSV) If we are to ever get along as people in this
world, it will only happen by following the teachings and the life of Jesus.
2. Hansi
and Corrie ten Boom
a. Hansi
was a Hitler Youth. She mistreated Jews
and did some terrible things. In time
she became disillusioned with Nazism, and became a Christian. She wrote a book about how God changed her
from an angry young woman to a person of love.
Most of us are familiar with the name Corrie
ten Boom. Corrie
and her family hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II. They were found out and the entire family was
thrown into several Concentration Camps.
All except Corrie died in the Concentration
Camps. Corrie’s
sister died in her arms. After the war, Corrie would write a book about her experiences. Back sometime around the early 1970’s, there was a large “Book Convention” with a number of
authors present. Hansi
and Corrie were both there. Each sat, some distance from each other, at a
table autographing books. Suddenly Hansi told people that she could not sign any more
books. She got up and made her way
across the Convention Center to where Corrie
was. Hansi
fell at the feet of Corrie ten Boom and cried. She said, “Corrie,
I’m Hansi.” Corrie embraced the younger woman and gave to her both
forgiveness and acceptance.
b. Only Jesus Christ
can do that. He truly IS our hope. (see I Timothy 1:1)
Only He can forgive us of our sins.
Only His love can move us to forgive those who have hurt us. Only He can break down the barriers that
divide. Only He can teach us to love as “He first loved us.”
(see I John 4:19)
E.
Conclusion: Jesus has
something that He wants all people to understand:
1. We are family!
2. We have a responsibility
for one another.
3. Christ is the answer!
Acts 10:1-48 NIV
1At Caesarea there was a man named
Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and
all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need
and prayed to God regularly. 3
One day at
about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of
God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is
it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered,
“Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before
God. 5Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is
called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of
his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8He told
them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
9About noon the following day as they were
on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He
became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being
prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let
down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well
as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a
voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I
have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do
not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16This
happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. 17While
Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius
found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18They
called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
19While Peter was still thinking about the
vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20So get
up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to
go with them, for I have sent them.” 21Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking
for. Why have you come?” 22The
men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is
respected by all the Jewish people. A
holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what
you have to say.” 23Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
The next
day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went
along. 24The following day he arrived in
34Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does
not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation who
fear him and do what is right. 36You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the
good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know what has happened
throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power,
and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of
the devil, because God was with him. 39“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews
and in
44While Peter was still speaking these
words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The
circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of
the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For
they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47“Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we
have.” 48So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay
with them for a few days.
Tearing Down Fences!
On Human Relations Day, Jesus teaches us:
1. We are family!
2. We have a responsibility for one another.
3. Christ is the answer!
“My House
shall be called
a House of Prayer
for all peoples.”
Isaiah 56:7 NRSV