Corinth

Have you noticed that those first Christians the book of Acts describes seemed fearless in taking the Gospel wherever they could? To the city, to the country, among the privileged or the poor, the people of the Jesus Way were remarkably effective in relating the message and person of Jesus to all persons and cultures. The Christian Church, as we have said before, was trans-cultural, and because of that, soon became multicultural.

That doesn’t mean there were not frustrations and challenges. Take Corinth, for example. Here is a cosmopolitan city in Macedonia with a breadth of intellectual, spiritual, and cultural diversity. If Rome was our Washington D.C., seat of government and power in the Empire, and Athens was our New York, the center of intellectual life, then Corinth was our Los Angeles, a real melting pot of cultures from all over the Mediterranean basin, both beautiful and vulgar, aspiring and debased. The fact that Paul went there more than once and wrote to the believers there more than once tells us something. He obviously had a heart for the city. Maybe Paul saw these contradictions in the city, he saw the great potential for the Kingdom but also experienced real frustrations.

Remember, Paul is fresh from Athens, the scene of great oratory and, well, success. There were detractors in Athens, but for the most part, Paul and the message he preached were well received. Many converts were made. The impact of the Gospel, both relationally and philosophically, in Athens would be felt for not just years, but centuries.
By most any measure, Paul had to have been pleased by his time in Athens.

Then he gets to Corinth. Corinth had a reputation in its own time of a place of moral free-for-all where pagan religions had little to do with morality; where religious rituals sometimes involved fornication. There where over 1,000 temples devoted to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. These “love temples” were as common as our fast food chains. Maybe there were signs outside the temples that read “Over a billion served,” I don’t know. Some biblical scholars have suggested that maybe Corinth’s reputation for wickedness has been a bit overblown, as Paul Achtemeier puts it, “Corinth was probably no more or less virtuous than any other cosmopolitan port city of the Mediterranean in the first century.”

I call that damning with faint praise. I’ve been to Amsterdam in the late 20th century and that cosmopolitan port city is famous for its red light district. The spectacle of human beings for sale in store windows is one not easily forgotten. Corinth must have been like that, and more. Paul encountered all kinds of immorality in Corinth. Not just outside the church. One of the church leaders was having an affair with his stepmother. And you thought the church today was messed up! Paul probably was not used to this kind of culture. He was a church boy. He grew up at the feet of Rabbis, learning the scriptures and living a life devoted to God. What he saw in Corinth while he worked at his tent-making business must have shocked his sensibilities at least a little.

If that was not enough, his preaching and teaching in the Corinthian Jewish synagogues was not going well.

“When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, ‘your blood be on your own heads! I am going to the Gentiles.’” Acts 18.6

I think I understand a little of what Paul must of felt at times. Did he ever ask himself, “Maybe this city and these people just won’t receive Jesus?”

We might ask the same question of our town or city. We might make excuses as to why we don’t witness to our faith or why our church doesn’t grow more than it does. We might resign ourselves to this – “These people that live and work around me, they don’t want to hear about Jesus. People never change.”

But then I hear this story from a friend. This is a true story about a guy in Altoona. He was living on the streets at one point, and in his own words, “God picked him up off the street and turned him around.” This man, I ‘ll call him Tom, had no home, no money, just the clothes on his back. The Salvation Army was the instrument God used to get him going in the right direction. The man has a steady job now. He still doesn’t have many clothes or anything else. Not because he doesn’t have money now, but because he saves his money for things that matter. He doesn’t need a lot to live on. He spends a lot of his time helping others. He is a ministry leader in his church. His pastor says that most of the good things happening inside and outside the church in that community have Tom’s imprint on them. Tom’s pastor cannot praise him enough for the depth of his Christian commitment. “He is constantly thinking through his life of what God calls him to be. He gets it.”

See, folks - Jesus still changes people. Jesus still changes people when people get the chance to hear about him and meet him for themselves.

We may get frustrated sometimes – and that’s okay. But despair or resignation is not an option for us, ever.

Paul seemed on the verge of giving up on Corinth. And then God speaks to Paul in a vision and says this:

“Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

Notice what God says first. Do not be afraid. Fearful people express their fear through anger and through depression and resignation. That was Paul. Is that ever you or me? If it is, don’t despair. Remember that even as the disciples stood on the mountain with the resurrected Jesus, some of them are thinking, “I’m not sure about this.”

Secondly, and this is really interesting to me, God says, “I have people here.” Is God talking about the church that has problems like leaders sleeping with their stepmothers? Is God talking about the very recent converts Paul has made through his ministry that he is conveniently glossing over or forgetting about? Or is God talking about converts that will be made if Paul just stays the course and keeps on witnessing?

The answer is yes – all of the above. God is telling Paul, look, I’m working hard here too. You don’t see all that I’m doing, all that’s going on. You just stay faithful and keep working.


I grew up in a small city in Pennsylvania. It was no Corinth or New York, or even Pittsburgh, but it was a place where I felt at home on its streets. As soon as I became old enough I found freedom in riding my bike across the city, or taking a city bus to my after-school job or to the library. The city to me has always been a place of opportunity, a place of grace. When I did an internship in Chicago it was impressed upon me by a mission coordinator there that “God loves the city as much as he loves the country.” God wants to redeem the city. Why? Because God loves people. People are God’s treasure. I’m not an expert, but I’ve found that cities tend to have more people in them. That’s got to be attractive to us.

People of Hicks, what an opportunity we have to be here in Blair County among all these unchurched people! We know that God is working hard here. He has people working on his behalf besides us. He has more people that he sees coming to Him in the near future. But who will go witness to them?

We need to pray for opportunities. Maybe if our people talk to His people, we’ll save more people.

Someone in the church left this on my desk the other day:

“Seize the vision. If we reject the possibility that it may work, we may miss the opportunity. The success of a vision rests on the willingness of people to examine the vision’s potential.”

Do we have a vision for God using us to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus? Are we living this vision so that people will be changed by God’s power in us?

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Full

We continue our series on the Book of Acts, the Church on the Move, the Church in Action. We’ve focused on putting our beliefs into action, on witnessing with our words and lives to this hope we have in Jesus Christ. We can’t just sit in our pews. But if we go, go, go, and do,do, do, we run up against a problem. We are like our automobiles in this respect, eventually we run out of gas. There must be something for us like there is for our cars. We must fill up with something again in order to go again.

The Scriptures tell us that “something” is the very presence of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter two is God “filling up” the believers with His presence. The emphasis is on the fullness of the church, fullness not in numbers only (though they had that), or in security (they were already beginning to be persecuted, but it didn’t matter) or in wealth or power (see Peter to the beggar “silver and gold, we have none. . .); but fullness through outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the fullness of the Trinity displayed among them in power.

The King James has Acts 2.1 as “when the day of Pentecost was fully come. . .”

When God comes there is a fullness to everything that was not there before. There is a fullness of time, as in the right time, and there is a fullness of meaning, as in, this is how it is supposed to be. And the believers gathered there were filled up with the presence of God. It wasn’t until this fullness they realized how empty they had been before. They begin to speak in tongues, witnessing and preaching to God’s mighty acts.

There were some skeptics there who mocked these believers, saying, that must be the wine talking. Peter responds with humor, “Come now, its too early for these men to drunk already. . .”

How early is too early? I remember the day I was driving to Wesley Forest for a camping meeting and my truck died. I was a couple miles away from the camp and there no one home at the nearest farmhouse, so I started walking toward camp. But soon help arrived in a pickup truck with a couple of local gents who stopped and asked me my trouble.

“My truck quit back there and I need a lift to the camp.”

“Your truck quit, well, shoot, hop in, and have a beer,” they offered. I took the ride but not the beverage, I will have you know. Since it was only about 9:30 in the morning, I got the idea that “have a beer” was the answer to a lot of life’s challenges for these guys.

Jaroslav Pelikan notes, “It is right to want to be “filled” with something, and the drunkard quite properly recognizes that human nature stands in need of some power that will take it out of itself.”

We all need to fill up with something. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at ways and images of fullness. (show pics)

The problem with alcohol, drugs, or any other addiction is that the power that takes you out of yourself also further corrupts your self.

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5.18

If you are filling yourself with wine, you probably don’t have room or inclination to be filled with God’s presence. That’s true for most anything your filling yourself with. We are too full for God. In the past we’ve talked about getting rid of clutter to make room for God. What do you need to empty yourself of to be filled with the Spirit?

Maybe you need to put away all the anger that has been festering. Maybe you need to get rid of pornography in your life. Maybe busyness is your addiction. Maybe you need to reclaim a sane lifestyle and schedule. How do you know if you are overscheduled?

Do you ever feel guilty about time? Do you feel like you shortchange your family? Do you feel like you’re missing out on your kids or your grandkids’ lives?

Are you a multi-tasker? Do you constantly have to be doing two or three things at once? People do this in the car. The top three most dangerous activities in the car have to do with multitasking, “driving while. . .” The third most dangerous is talking on the cell phone. If you are experienced a rude driver lately, they probably didn’t notice you because they were on the phone. The second most dangerous activity is putting on makeup. Women put on makeup while they are driving. And the most dangerous activity while driving is. . .reading. People read while they drive. Nuts –I tried it once.
I’ve lived to tell about it, but barely.

The USA today did an article once in which they gathered a panel of experts in varying fields and asked them, “What is the minimum amount of time a human being has to devote to your particular area of expertise in order for that person to function okay?”
These experts where from fields like personal fitness, sleep, vocation, family health – they each weighed in on their area. When you totaled all the time for this average person to just get by, you know how much time a person needs, according to the experts? Thirty-six hours a day. No wonder we feel hurried.

I feel hurried every day. The stuff I want to read, for example, I end up skimming a lot. And I suspect I skim other areas of my life – my relationships, my prayer time, my health and peace.




Not long ago I was out somewhere and observed a father and his teenage son together. It soon became clear that they were angry with each other for some reason. That didn’t really shock or surprise me. What caught my attention was the lack of respect and the utter contempt that the son held for the father. I’m not making this up, I physically cringed and shuddered as I listened to them. I had this scary thought – will my sons one day look at me with contempt?

But I have a better idea, a better picture. I don’t imagine in my wildest dreams that my relationships with my sons are or will be idyllic. But I do have this vision of health, and love, and respect and I know that vision is part of the fullness that God wants to bring to us.

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11.28

Jesus offers rest and life to us. We grudgingly give him a little time once in awhile. We think we just don’t have time for more. Any more time to God may interfere too much with our lives. But Jesus isn’t here to interfere with our lives, Jesus is here to give us our lives.

“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15.8-11

In our Gospel reading for today, John 7, Jesus tells the crowd that soon he will be going away, to a place they cannot immediately come. The priests and Pharisees have plans to arrest him. They scoff at him and say, “Where’s he going to go that we cannot find him?” It’s ironic. Jesus may have asked the same thing of them – Where are you going to go where you cannot find me?

Jesus brought the life of the Father to earth, so that it “may be done on earth as it is always done in heaven.”

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.”

Jesus is the stream of life. And he fills our hearts full.

“Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.

What happened at Pentecost to the believers was the fullness of God’s life in them. Their spiritual awakening didn’t take them out of life, but put them in the very center of life. They caught a vision of what their lives can be. I want to catch and live that vision.

I was walking the dog through the neighborhood the other evening, and it was just one of those beautiful days that maybe can only happen in the month of May. The scent of lilac was everywhere. There is chirping and buzzing and laughter. Spring is in riot. Everything is loaded, everything is bursting. I saw it, felt it, and smelt it. It takes me into the mystic and I know God’s light is shining on me and his life is full all around me. Most of all, it’s because his life is full in me.

Can There Be Only One True Religion?


Why are we here?

“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.’”


The apostles wanted to know about their kingdom, their tribe. When will things be set right? When will the Romans leave and we have full sovereignty again?

Jesus doesn’t answer that question. Much like the questions I ask of God, what about my church, what about my tribe, when will our success come? Jesus doesn’t answer that. This is his answer – look outward and be my witnesses, first near, and then far, and finally everywhere.

One of the things that prevents us from obeying Jesus is our doubts about the “rightness” of witnessing to our faith. We think, “Who am I to tell someone else that my beliefs or my way of living is better than theirs?” Can there be only one true religion? If there can be, then how do we know Christianity is it?

Everyone makes absolute truth claims in their lives, especially people who say there is no absolute truth.


There is the old story about the blind men and the elephant. Several blind men are walking along and come upon an elephant that allowed them to touch and feel it.
“This creature is long and flexible like a snake” said the first blind man, holding the elephant’s trunk. “Not at all –it is thick and round like a tree trunk,” said the second blind man, feeling the elephant’s leg. “No, it is large and flat,” said the third blind man, touching the elephant’s side. Each man could feel only part of the elephant – none could envision the entire elephant. In the same way, it is argued, the religions of the world each have a grasp on part of the truth about spiritual reality, none can see the whole elephant or claim to have a comprehensive vision of the truth.

But the illustration backfires on the teller. The story is told from the point of view of someone who is not blind. How could you know that each blind man only sees part of the elephant unless you claim to be able to see the whole elephant? How could you possibly know that no religion can see the whole truth unless you yourself have the superior, comprehensive knowledge of spiritual reality you just claimed that none of the religions have?

We all base our lives on some answer to the questions of what is true and false about spiritual reality, whether we are Christian, Jew, Muslim, or atheist.

This is Jesus’ claim – “Father, glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” John 17.1-3

All religions are not the same.

This is the opposite of a popular notion that keeps coming around. It got a lot of attention post 9-11 when we were trying to make sense of the differences between West and Middle East. The truth is, the differences between Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity are huge. If you said to a Buddhist or a Muslim that their beliefs were basically the same as a Christian’s, they would look at you like you were crazy, and they would be right to do so. The insistence that doctrinal differences don’t matter is really a doctrine itself, and one that you find only here in the West.

Remember when the apostles went out of Judea and Samaria into Asia Minor and the Mediterranean Rim, they were going into cultures foreign to them, and the message they were bringing was a new doctrine about spiritual reality. The people of Athens said to Paul, “What is this new teaching that you are bringing?”

Paul knew that he was in a different culture, but he believed that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was a message that all cultures needed to hear and receive.

Christianity translates to all cultures.

Why has Christianity, more than any other major religion of the world, been able to infiltrate so many radically different cultures? Andrew Walls writes, that:

Cultural diversity was built into the Christian faith, in Acts 15 which declared that the new gentile Christians didn’t have to enter Jewish culture. . .The converts had to work out a Greek way of being a Christian. So no one owns the Christian faith. There is no “Christian culture” the way there is an Islamic culture which you can recognize from Pakistan to Tunisia to Morocco. . .

Lamin Sanneh, a former Muslim, says that Christianity has “translatablility.” In Islam it insisted that the true Qu’ran cannot really be translated. To truly hear God’s word, you must learn Arabic. But Christianity (according to Acts) was born in the miracle of Pentecost in which every hearer heard the gospel in their own language. So no one language or culture is privileged over any other. The Bible is translated into every culture and language.



So why are we here in this particular country with its history, language, and culture? Why are we here in this northeast region where we say youins, and crick, where we pickle our eggs and our cabbage and still shoot wild animals? Why do we live in this county called Blair and this peculiar little town called Duncansville?

We are here to share Jesus in way and language people can understand.

Do you know anyone that needs Jesus?

Who do I know that has it so together they do not need Jesus?

The reality is everybody sins. Everybody dies. Everybody faces an eternity with or without Christ.

Take out your wallets and purses. Don’t worry, we’re not taking the offering just yet. Do you have any pictures in your wallet? Show them to the person sitting next to you or in front of you. If you have pictures of your kids or grandkids, point out to your neighbor how good-looking they are, your kids that is.

In those pictures, do you have a picture of someone, or can you just picture in your mind someone that you would say about them – “I’m concerned about their spiritual well-being”? Can you picture a family member, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor in your mind?

What is keeping me from pointing people toward Jesus?

If I have committed my life to this Jesus Way, this claim on spiritual and all other reality; if this is good news for me then it’s good news for everybody. What must I do to share this grace with others?

If I take the risk of pointing someone toward Jesus, who can I count on to be at work?

The answer is God. God is at work with us in this awesome calling. When we risk this we step into the stream of Holy Spirit power. There is nothing better inside or outside the church when we give the invitation to someone to come follow Jesus with us, and they accept. It’s a beautiful thing!

We are not the Church in the museum, or the Church in the bunker; we are the Church on the Move!

God Is Still Great

“I find your lack of faith – disturbing.” Darth Vader


Timothy Keller begins his excellent book, The Reason for God, with this quote from Star Wars. Keller’s book is a response to the host of books that have come out in the past two years trumpeting a new atheism. Books like The God Delusion and God is not Great by authors like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins have hit the bestsellers lists, prompting some media to declare 2007 the Year of the Atheist. To listen to these voices is to get the impression that millions of people are declaring their unbelief. Well, not exactly.

As Keller points out, we live in polarizing times, beliefs have become more strident and loaded with other things, like politics, for example. But to suggest that we as a nation or the whole world itself are turning away from God is to simply ignore the facts completely. Religion in general and Christianity in particular is on the rise in most parts of the globe, including the United States. There is an increase in influence, perhaps, among those who profess “no belief” or “agnostic” belief. Skepticism, fear, and anger toward traditional religion are growing in power and influence, but so is a robust orthodox faith.

For example, despite the secularism that has reigned for well over sixty years on most university campuses, it is now estimated that 10 to 25 percent of all the teachers and professors of philosophy in the country are orthodox Christians, up from less than 1 percent just thirty years ago. Keller goes on to say that some of the doubts and questions that people have today are a little different but the atheism is basically the same. He writes his book for a this current generation, much like C.S. Lewis wrote the classic, Mere Christianity, for his.

That Star Wars quote, it should be noted, is from a series of films by George Lucas, who stated that he wanted to tell a story that would give young people a reason to believe in God again. Every generation must again tell the story of God’s revelation to this world. Every generation must give reason for why it believes.

That’s what the Apostle Paul is doing, giving an account of this faith to all who would listen. It was his custom in every city he visited to first go to his fellow Jews at the synagogue. There he would present his biblical arguments for the distinctive Christian interpretation of the Messiah as one who had to suffer and be raised from the dead. Then Paul would speak to the Gentile inhabitants. Some rejected his message and started riots to stop Paul and the others.

“They shouted ‘these people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also . . .They are acting against the emperor’s decrees and are saying that there is another king, named Jesus.” Acts 17.6-7


Some Jews and Gentiles received him very favorably, like in Beroea.

“These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examine the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17.11

When Paul arrives at Athens he is upset to see the city full of idols and idol worship. This was upsetting to him as a monotheistic Jew and as a proclaimer of Jesus as the One true Lord. Notice Paul’s attitude was not laissez-faire or what passes for tolerance these days. Paul thought that worshipping the wrong god was not only an offense to the true God but also destructive to the people and their society. Last week we mentioned how those first Christians lived in a beautiful moral contrast to the pagan societies around them in the way they cared for the sick, the poor, and the marginalized.

“The Greco-Roman world’s religious views were open and seemingly tolerant – everyone had his or her own God. The practice of the culture was quite brutal, however. The Greco-Roman world was highly stratified economically, with a huge distance between rich and poor. By contrast, Christians insisted that there was only one true God, the dying Savior Jesus Christ. Their lives and practices were, however, remarkably welcoming to those that the culture marginalized,” Keller writes.

Paul taught that beliefs have consequences and that the truth of Jesus was meant for every culture. The popular religion in Athens was expressed in the paganism of the common people in the myriad of gods and goddesses and idols. But the highest expression of Greek thought and religion was found among the philosophers, and that’s where Paul went to find common ground and fertile soil for the Gospel. Paul went to the Areopagus, or Mars Hill, in Athens, which was an open air plaza where the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers held court. The Epicurean taught that human happiness can only be found in the pleasures of the body, while the Stoics said that happiness was only resident in the soul and the body was hopelessly corrupt. All these philosophers were interested in new ideas. I said Paul went to them, but really, they brought him there because they heard him proclaiming “foreign deities” and a new teaching, so they wanted to hear more.

They were the kind of people who delighted in “seeing through” your ideas or your life. They were ready to pounce on inconsistency or irrationality. They were ready to show how their thought was superior. We have lots of people like them today. Many self-described atheists and skeptics tend to be this way.






C.S. Lewis said that ideas are like windows, but windows that are supposed to look out on something Real. Ideas, or rather, true ideas, are not meant to be explained away.

You cannot go on “explaining away” for ever: you will find that you have explained
Explanation itself away. You cannot go on “seeing through” things for ever.
The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it.
It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond
It is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? . . .a wholly transparent world
Is an invisible world. To “see through” all things is the same as not to see.

Now Paul knew this. And he used the Greeks affinity for systematic theories of the universe teach one of his own.

“Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. . .I found among (your altars) an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What you therefore worship as unknown, I proclaim to you . . .”

In Greek philosophy and poetry Paul found a bridge idea among these men on Mars Hill. Paul witnessed to the classic New Testament definition of faith:

“the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11.1

Paul begins to give a name and a face to this “unknown God” and preach about Christ’s death and resurrection. Not all believed – “some mocked.” But others listened and responded with, “We want to hear you again about this.”


Now that the Democratic Primary in Pennsylvania is over with, I think it’s safe for me to make a comment. Many were upset by Obama’s characterization of Pennsylvanians as people, “who cling to their guns and their religion.” Like the headline in the Altoona Mirror, I reply with, “Darn right!” Religion and guns, that’s me. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!

But let’s put our guns aside for a moment and ask the question, “Do we cling to our religion as a crutch against life’s pain and doubts?” Or do we follow Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, as the one true God? If the former is right, then we probably are just bitter; but if the latter is true, then we are hopeful and we are humbly confident that God is not a crutch or a fable. God is great, in every sense of that word.

We live among modern Greeks and Romans. Some will mock, but some will want to hear more. Mars Hill is another name for the school you attend, the factory where you work, the neighborhood in which you live. The Lord has called you to stand up and give account on his behalf. For such a time as this we have been created.

“Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14.23