Let me ask you a question: how many of you would like to trade places with me on a Sunday morning? How many of you wish you could preach a few sermons instead of sitting and listening to them?
I read about one pastor who was shaking hands with his parishioners after worship. At the end of the line was a church member who always had something to say about his messages.
The woman shook the pastor’s hand warmly and said, “Pastor, today your sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God!”
The pastor beamed. “No one has ever said that about my preaching before. Tell me why you felt that way.”
She answered, “Your sermon reminded me of the peace of God because it passed all understanding, and it reminded me of the love of God because it endured forever!”
Ouch! I know that sometimes no matter how much study and prayer I put into a sermon, it doesn’t always come across the way I hoped it would. Still, I pray that in spite of my own failings, the Holy Spirit would speak through me to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
I read about another preacher who was also shaking hands with her church members after worship.
As one man passed through the line, he said, “Preacher, I’ve got to tell you something. You preach some powerful sermons. Thoughtful, well researched. I can always see myself in them . . . and I want you to knock it off! They’re hitting too close to home.” (1)
I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people feel like that when they leave Sunday worship. I feel like that as I prepare my own sermons. If I’m not stepping on my own toes, then I’m not accurately presenting the word of God. I’m not listening closely enough to my own message.
In 2014, a pastor from Florida made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for preaching the longest sermon on record. Pastor Zach Zehnder took 50 of his sermons that covered the major themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and preached them as one long sermon that lasted 53 hours and 18 minutes. He began on a Friday and ended on a Sunday.
Pastor Zehnder conceived of the record-breaking sermon as a way to raise funds for a Florida nonprofit that offers drug and alcohol addiction treatment services. A team of people from his church supported him during his marathon sermon, ensuring that he ate enough and stayed hydrated and took his mandated breaks. They also cheered him on. Pastor Zehnder says, “My goal of the whole sermon was to talk about God’s ridiculous commitment to his people . . . even though we give up on him that he never gives up on us . . . (2)
And as he preached through God’s word from Genesis to Revelation, Pastor Zehnder says Romans 5:8 stuck out to him as a key verse for the whole message: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (3)
I think about that theme and Bible verse Pastor Zehnder mentioned as I read our Bible passage for today. He said that as he tried to preach the totality of God’s word in his record-breaking sermon, the theme that emerged was God’s “ridiculous commitment to his people even though we give up on him that he never gave up on us . . .” And the key verse that emerged was, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Keep those two things in mind as you look at today’s Bible story.
Last week, we looked at the first part of Peter’s message from Acts 2. He tells the Jewish believers who have gathered in Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire that Jesus, the man whom they had arrested and crucified, was the Messiah sent from God.
Today’s Bible passage is the second half of that message.
Peter says, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
Not a blasphemer. Not a madman. Not even a prophet. Jesus is both Lord and Messiah.
Verse 37 reads, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.
“With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”
About three thousand were added to their number that day. Wow! What is it that Peter offered to the Jewish believers that day that drew them to God? The first thing Peter offered them in Jesus is a new life through repentance and baptism. Journalist Paul Kroll writes that Peter’s audience didn’t need to repent of some offense against God. They were good people. They were already observing all God’s laws and living in as blameless a manner as possible. But the literal translation of the Greek word for “repent” is “to change one’s mind” or “to transform one’s mind.” For them, repentance meant putting their entire trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
And this repentance, this change of mind, naturally led to the act of baptism. In Jewish practice, baptism had been a part of ritual cleansing or was reserved for Gentiles who converted to Judaism. But Jesus gave us an example of baptism as a symbol of death to our old way of life and resurrection into a new way of life that mirrors the priorities, values and actions of Jesus.
Peter’s audience that day understood that they didn’t have to give up their Jewish identity or traditions. They didn’t have to change their worship in the synagogue or the temple.
Instead, their worship was now illumined by the knowledge that the God of their ancestors, the God of their traditions, the God to whom they devoted their lives could be seen in the person of Jesus Christ. (4)
Victoria Arbiter is an expert on the British royal family and serves as a commentator on CNN. In an interview she listed four primary things that “commoners” should or should not do if they meet a member of the royal family.
For starters, it is against royal protocol to take a selfie with a member of the royal family. It is recommended that citizens bow or curtsy when meeting royalty. Never call a member of the royal family by their first name. Always refer to them by their title, such as “Your Majesty” or “Your Royal Highness.”
And here is the most important rule: Don’t touch the members of the royal family. (5)
Now think about that final, most important of these rules with regard to the King of Kings. Don’t touch a member of the royal family.
The Almighty God, the Great I AM, could have remained distant and untouchable. God could have revealed Himself through the Law and the prophets and stopped there. Instead, God became flesh and lived among us. In this way, Jesus showed us the fullest picture of God’s character and purposes. To all who are baptized in his name, he offers a new life with God.
And the second thing Peter offered them in Jesus is the promise of the Holy Spirit empowering their new life. There are a few key qualities that the Holy Spirit develops in a believer’s life. It helps us understand the truth of God. It provides comfort and strength. It creates unity among believers. It is essential in the development of Christ-like character. And it bestows spiritual gifts upon believers that are essential for sharing our faith and building up the Body of Christ, the church. The Holy Spirit equips us to do the work of Jesus far beyond what our own limited vision and capacities would ordinarily allow.
Many years ago, Rev. John Hesselink served as a missionary in Fukuoka, Japan. His language skills were still limited, so he was nervous when a missionary colleague asked him to teach three Bible classes a week at the local prison. Two of the classes would be for prisoners who were scheduled for execution.
As if this weren’t intimidating enough, Hesselink was still learning the language and the culture of his new home. He worried that his inexperience would make him ineffective as a teacher.
John Hesselink says the weekly classes were held in a bare prison cell. Armed guards sat nearby and stared at them. The prisoners barely responded to his teaching. Weeks, then months, passed, and John Hesselink became discouraged.
But one day a guard let three prisoners stay after class to talk to John. One of the men said, “Reverend Hesselink, for several months now we have been studying God's word with you. You have told us that God loves even condemned prisoners like ourselves, and that Jesus died for our sins and will forgive us if we repent and believe in him. We do believe this. We also have read that we must be baptized and confess that we trust him as our Savior. Will you baptize us?”
It took a few more weeks of prayer and patience before the prison director agreed to let Reverend Hesselink baptize the three prisoners and bring them into a new life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. John Hesselink says he cannot take credit for this change in the lives of the prisoners. It was not his language skills or his expert teaching that convinced them of the truth. It was “the Holy Spirit working through the Bible” that brought these men to a saving relationship with God. (6)
Peter’s sermon could have sounded like a message of judgment, but in reality, it is a message of overwhelming hope. As Pastor Zach Zehnder said, his message pointed to “God’s ridiculous commitment to his people even though we give up on him that he never gave up on us . . .” And the promise he gave to them is the same for us today: through repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, we can receive a new life with God. And this new life will be empowered by the Holy Spirit living in us and equipping us for every good work God leads us to do.
1. Todd Coget.
2. “Florida Pastor Preaches Sermon Lasting 53 Hours and 11 Minutes, Breaks Guinness World Record” by Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter, https://www.christianpost.com/news/florida-pastor-preaches-sermon-lasting-53-hours-and-11-minutes-breaks-guinness-world-record.html.
3. “This Guy Preached the World’s Longest Sermon: The Whole Bible in 53 Hours” by Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition, January 8, 2015, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/this-guy-preached-the-worlds-longest-sermon-the-whole-bible-in-53-hours/.
4. “Studies in the Book of Acts” by Paul Kroll, edited by Michael Morrison, PhD. Copyright Grace Communion International, https://learn.gcs.edu/mod/book/view.php?id=4475&chapterid=55#:~:text=It%20is%20their%20rejection%20of,a%20change%20of%20worship%20practices.
5. “4 things you should never do when you meet a member of the royal family” by Talia Lakritz, Insider.com, Dec 26, 2017 https://www.insider.com/how-to-greet-a-royal-2017-12.
6. John Hesselink, Pastoral Renewal, February 1980, Vol 4 #8; Pg. 68.