Reading: Acts 10:1-8 NLT In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.
Vision of Cornelius the Centurion Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (1621-1674)
One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.
Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”
As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
Prayer: Lord God – Give me a generous heart… and make me a God-fearing person of prayer. Help me to listen more than I speak… and give me a spirit of willing obedience. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Spiritual Song: “I will run to you” – Hillsong _________________________
Meanwhile, Peter traveled from place to place, and he came down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda.
There he met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up, and roll up your sleeping mat!” And he was healed instantly. Then the whole population of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas walking around, and they turned to the Lord.
There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas ). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. About this time she became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room.
But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, “Please come as soon as possible!”
So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them.
But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive.
The news spread through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord. And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, a tanner of hides.
Prayer:Heavenly Father – In my fast paced, on-the-go life… help me to slow down to “smell the flowers” as it were. Give me an openness to the people and events taking place around me. Holy Spirit – Speak your word of wisdom or knowledge to me so that I can understand what you want me to do. Lord Jesus – Give life and healing to those who come to you through faith. Hear their cries of desperation and distress… and grant them the desires of their hearts. For your name’s sake, amen.
Spiritual Song:“Sing to Jesus” – Fernando Ortega
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Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord!” he replied.
The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.
Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days.
Prayer: Lord God – Give me the courage to go where you want me to go, and do what you want me to do. Holy Spirit – Give me a willing spirit and direct what I say and do. And may I advance your Kingdom purposes in all things. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Spiritual Song: “Stand up, stand up, for Jesus” – George Duffield (1858)
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For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Soften the hearts of your children towards one another. May all who have been united with you in baptism, be united with one another in spirit… respecting our differences, yet encouraging one another as children and heirs of God. For your name’s sake I ask it. Amen.
As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah.
Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?”
So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”
[Some manuscripts add: Philip said, “You can, if you believe with all your heart.” And he answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]
He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.
Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.
Prayer:Heavenly Father – You send your emissaries to every tribe and nation… some go willingly, some go in spite of themselves. But wherever you send me, enable me to see it as another opportunity to share the Good News about Jesus. Holy Spirit – Open my eyes to see the opportunities that you have prepared for me. And give me the courage to seize the moment… and allow you to speak through me. Lord Jesus – May many confess you as Savior and Lord… and be baptized into your family. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 