2 Years Later

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I hope this finds you safe, healthy, joyful and warm. As I write this it is Thanksgiving Day here at the Newsome House. We have much to be thankful for this year. I could never cover it all in one post. Yet, we are extremely thankful for our parents who constantly support us in every way possible. We are thankful for the amazing staff we serve with at Antioch. We are beyond blessed by the loving church family we have a Antioch. We appreciate all the support from all our friends and family that make everything we do possible.

Fall Carnival Fun!

The nice thing about homeschooling is the flexibility. School is whenever we say it is as long as we get all the work done. We started on August 1st. So we got to take a nice fall break in October including a surprise trip to Great Wolf Lodge! 

One of the things we did for school yesterday is we filled out an A-Z thankful list. They had to come up with something they were thankful for each letter of the Alphabet. They got pretty creative with it including "Obadiah" for the letter O. As in the book of the Bible. It's really that they just think the name is funny but I was impressed they came up with it none the less.

Two years ago I wrote this post.

http://lindseyandglen.blogspot.com/2015/12/reunion.html

It became our most popular post at that time and is still our second most popular post as of writing this. Our most popular one presently is Macho Dad from last year. Unless of course, at least 6 of you have clicked on that link then it is the most popular post!

For those that didn't, or don't remember it. That is the post where we announced our role reversal. Lindsey went back to work as an ED Nurse at both DRH & PMH. I became a stay at home dad who home schools. It's hard to believe that it's been two years. Yet, as much as I don't want to admit it, I can't dispute the evidence.

The above picture is Lucas from 2015 the below one is Lucas from last month. He's definitely much bigger. There's also the fact that he can walk, talk, and we are working on potty training him. Also, another reminder of how long I've been "retired" from Information Technology is how long it took me to line up those pictures properly for this post. The technology has left me rapidly since retiring! For the first 6 months or so of last year I did some random IT Consulting here and there. I haven't done anything remotely like that this year as best I can remember.

I occasionally see people and they ask how things are going and if I'm interested in going back to work. I'm really not. I don't miss it one bit. It was time to move on and the last 2 years have confirmed that in so many different ways.

There is no such thing as a typical day. My homeschooling / stay at home dad philosophy is as follows.

Yes, this is from an episode of The Flash. Yet, it applies so well. This is why I have a Captain Cold Key-Chain clipped to my book bag. It's my reminder to throw away the plan and move on to the next one. 

Now time for a funny Lucas story. I know that's what everyone has been hoping for. I'm usually up right after 6. I hit the shower and try to get in some quite time before 6:30 and all the other kids start moving around. I start working on breakfast. Most mornings that's usually cereal and milk. I try to cook stuff occasionally. One of the kids favorite things (well 3 of the kids) to eat is Sausage. Madison does not care for it. Lucas absolutely loves it. The other morning I'm cooking Sausage in the pan and things are going well. 

Then Lucas finds out about it. He is super excited about the Sausage. He does not yet understand why he has to wait for Daddy to cook food before he can eat it. The following exchange ensued. 

That's him trying to climb my legs. I tried picking him up to hold him while I finished cooking but he just lunges for the frying pan instead. Madison found this hilarious and took photos of it. It was a lot of work keeping him safe while also finishing breakfast. It ended up taking almost twice as long simply because he didn't want to wait for the sausage to be ready. Yet, he would have burnt his hands and mouth badly if he didn't. 

I think that's where a lot of us are at this time of year in our walk with the Lord. There's something we want, and we want it badly. We think we can't live with out it and we have to have it right now. Yet, if we were have it right now we would get hurt and not be able to enjoy the very thing we were trying to get. 

Isa 40:31 "But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint"



I want to end this by telling you how thankful our family is for you! Nothing in the last two years would have been possible without the Grace of our Lord that was demonstrated through you. You have prayed for us, encouraged us, held us accountable, and provided for us in times of need. Keep seeking the Lord in all that you do the remainder of this year and the years that follow.



Love in Christ,

Newsome Family

The Great Commission (Revival Message 5 of 5)

Much like Who is the Gospel for? This sermon on the Great Comission has been preached in various forms at various churches. It's a great go to sermon when called to preach on short notice. You're taught in seminary always keep at least one sermon in your pocket, this is my pocket sermon. 

Pastor Glen

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”

Does anyone know what this passage is called? Right! The Great Commission!

What is a Commission? It is an authoritative order, charge, or direction.

Who does this apply to? All Christians. If you belong to Christ, if you claim to be a Christian then this applies directly to you. No if, and’s or butts. Regardless of your age, race, creed, nationality, wealth, fortune or social standing this commission was given to you authoritatively by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

While not all of us are called to be evangelists we are all called to evangelize. While not all of us are called to be missionaries we are all called to do mission work. We are not all pastors but we are all called to preach and teach the word. Most of us know the importance of witnessing, or sharing the gospel but still we struggle with it if we do it at all. Why is that? Let’s find some answers tonight while we finish up Acts 8 in verses 26-40. Acts 8:26-40

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

Philip has been through a lot in the last year or so. He converted to Christianity, served faithfully in the church, likely ended one of the first deacons and then right as everything was going well his friend Stephen is murdered and then the whole church body is scattered due to wide spread persecution. He ends up in Samaria a place that he was hated and that he had been taught to hate. Yet, the power of Gospel was greater than the power of hatred and God’s love was extended to all and people came to know the Lord.

Now Philip finds himself an evangelist and a pastor of a growing thriving ministry. He even has the seal of approval not only from Peter & John but of the Holy Spirit Himself. Things are going great for Philip and the church in Samaria. So of course, now is when everything has to change. Philip has to now leave and go out into the middle of nowhere.

Go? Go means to move from one place to another. What’s the opposite of go? Stop! Go isn’t standing still and inviting people in. Go isn’t sitting on my couch watching the game or dancing with the stars. Go is a verb, it requires action and movement! So where are we to go? Every nation. You can’t teach all nations unless we first go to all nations. Here’s our first problem with the great commission. We don’t want to go.

A lot of us, if we are honest with ourselves, have this fear, that God is going to send us to Africa. That the split second we fully surrender our lives to Christ that we are going to get put on  a plane to Africa and have to live in a grass hut, with a dirt floor, no electricity, no running water, eating bugs, walking around in waste high mud,  fending off incredibly deadly snakes and being absolutely miserable. That’s an incredibly spiteful God we serve if that’s the case. One that would send us somewhere that we absolutely hated. All the missionaries that I have met, all of them, whether foreign or domestic, all have one thing in common. A deep-seated love for those people that they work with.

Another question I hear whenever speaking about foreign mission work is “Why go overseas when there is so much work to be done here?” It’s a fair question. A few years ago I was part of a team that went to undocumented areas of Asia. As far as we know no Christians had ever set foot in these areas before. Here in Person County there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 churches. Here is pretty well covered. The thing that gets me about this question is that it’s the wrong question. The question isn’t why are you going over there? It’s where is God sending me next? 

When we look at the Greek for “go” we get a clearer definition “to pursue the journey on which one has entered” the Christian life is a journey that started at salvation and continues on the rest of your life. Going is part of it! Live the Journey! You’ll never feel more alive!

Romans 10:15 “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace”

Philip goes and overtakes a chariot which took a lot of courage and faith to do so. A chariot of the type would be the modern day equivalent of a limo. It was more then just this one guy in it as well. He would have had servants, guards, and a driver. How do I know this? This guy works for Candace. Candace isn’t a name, it is a title on par with Pharaoh, or Caesar. It literally translates to Queen so if there are any candace’s in the audience tonight your name means queen. Have fun with that on the way home. He was the treasurer for the queen. The CFO of ancient Ethiopia. This Ethiopia – much larger than modern-day Ethiopia – was the land where the Queen of Sheba came from, who saw the glory of Solomon’s kingdom and professed faith in the God of Israel. It’s possible that pieces of the Jewish faith were passed on through the centuries to men like this servant of the queen. One other show of this eunuch’s wealth was that he had a scroll of Isaiah.

Now us Americans. We suffer from Bible overload. There are Bibles all over this church. You can purchase them at the dollar store. You can find them in Hotels placed by the Gideons. You can listen to them online and put them on your smartphones. You know the ones you pretend to look at when you are texting during service? Bibles everywhere!  

This is a time well before the printing press and when scrolls were copied by hand. They were rare and they were expensive. Synagogues would own a few scrolls at most and almost no one had the full works of the O.T. For this guy to personally own his own scroll of Isaiah he likely spent the modern-day equivalent of a 5 figure sum. 

30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 

We now see the next part of the great commission. Teach. The guys is in Isaiah, reading about the Messiah and basically says “who can tell me about Jesus?” Philip goes I can! Philip teaches! Once we go then what are we to do? Teach! What do we teach them? The Bible!. How can we teach something we don’t know or understand? This is our second struggle with the great commission. We can’t teach something we don’t know or understand ourselves.

I used to work in the Computer Support Department for CCB in Durham. It was a job that provided very little training. You call the helpdesk because your computer is broke or you can’t figure out something on a program you are using? Often times I found out that I was going to be supporting a new application after someone had called me asking for help. On a rare occasion I find out the day before. Never, Never, did I actually get training on the application or have it installed on my computer so I could try to learn it. You can’t teach something you don’t know.

It’s important for all of us as Christians to get into the Bible daily. To listen to God’s word being preached frequently not just the one or two a week you hear from me and David.  To be in prayer daily. To be in fellowship with fellow believers constantly for the accountability that it brings. It’s a challenging thing to do day in and day out. I struggle with it and I am a pastor. Sometimes I just want to sit on the couch and do nothing but look at my phone. I keep Bible’s all over my house and scripture on my phone to remind myself of its importance.

So what should we teach? What did Philip teach?  Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 

We teach and preach Jesus to them!.

Luke 24:26-27 “, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nation”

You stick to that and you’ll go a long way. However, here is the catch while most of us have never stood in a pulpit and delivered a message our lives give a great sermon or a terrible one. We have to live what we teach or why bother?

36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

A baptism! We love a baptism don’t we? I mean, it’s in our name, Baptists! It’s an event when people get baptized. You invite the whole family, everyone dresses up, there’s a big family lunch afterwards and miracle of miracles it’s about the only time we are willing sit on the front row! This is nothing like that. They are out in the desert and as God would have it come across an Oasis. Remember, it was more than just the two of them. The whole caravan was stopped to watch this, for the Eunuch to declare publicly his devotion to Christ and does so by the act the of baptism. The question here is why?

What does it mean to be baptized? Why do we do it? The eunuch asks a great question here. What hinders him from being baptized? Philip says you have to believe with your whole heart. Our devotion these days is half hearted. How do I know this? I talk to you. I see what you post online. I hear those conversations in Walmart or the grocery store. We have more devotion to our political causes, our hobbies, reality tv relationships and our sports teams then we do the gospel. We may give intellectual assent to the reality of Christ but it is certainly not whole hearted devotion.

Jesus isn’t fire insurance, He’s not a get out of hell free card and I doubt He roots for your favorite team. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, The savior of our souls.

Why should a person come to the cross? Why should a person embrace death with Christ? Why should a person be willing to go, in identification, down to the cross and into the tomb and up again? Ill tell you why because it’s the only way that God can get glory out of human being!.

There is only one reason for you to go to the Cross, because until you come to the place of union with Christ in death, you are defrauding the Son of God of the glory that He could get out of your life. For no flesh shall glory in His sight.

Come to the cross to get victory, His victory. Come to the cross to get joy, His joy. The reason you embrace the cross and press through until you know you can testify with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ. It isn’t about what you’re going to get out if, but what God is going to get out of you!

Colossians 1 tells us that ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹ And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled ²² in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

²⁸ Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 

That’s whole-hearted devotion, that’s the gospel. That’s how revival starts and continues until the day of Christ Jesus.

Everybodies got a Price (Revival Message 4 of 5)

This was probably the one I enjoyed the most as I got to talk about professional wrestling as a lot of you know, I'll take any chance I can get to work wrestling into a sermon! I also love Ted DiBiase's testimony.

Pastor Glen

Acts 8:14-25

Everybody’s got a price.

Good evening everyone. Turn if you would to Acts 8:14-25 as we continue our journey with Phillip and The Gospel. Tonight’s message is entitled “Everybody’s got a price.” Any professional wrestling fans in here tonight? Let me rephrase, anyone willing to admit they are/were wrestling fans? I grew up watching wrestling with my grandfather and still enjoy it today. I loved Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Sting. Yet the person I despised most, was probably Ted DiBiase, the million-dollar man. He was a great villain. He would use his almost limitless wealth to pay off referees, announcers, other wrestlers, so he could win and gain even more power and wealthy. In his interviews he would always say “Everybody’s got a price.” Tonight, we are going to see that everyone does indeed have a price, but it might not be what you think.

Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Phillip has a successful ministry going! Phillip started off as a deacon on the run due to persecution. He ends up starting a church in the most unlikely of places. The church has great success. People are being healed physically and spiritually. People are coming to the Lord and getting baptized after they hear and believe the good news of Jesus Christ. Even Simon the sorcerer, the man once referred to as “the great power of God” has believed and gotten baptized.


Word has gotten back to the church in Jerusalem. Peter and John are sent to investigate this. After all, this would be the fulfillment of Jesus words in Matthew 28 where he mentions the Gospel would be preached in Samaria. Equally, the testimony of Peter & John would go a long way in smoothing out hundreds of years of ruffled feathers between those in Jerusalem and those in Samaria. They pray and the Holy Spirit comes down just as it did at the beginning of the book of Acts.

The fact that these Christians received the Holy Spirit in what seems to be a subsequent experience to their salvation has caused much controversy; there have been different explanations offered.

I. Some say they were never truly born again (converted) under Philip’s preaching. When Peter and John came, they really trusted in Jesus and then received the Holy Spirit.

We something similar to this when an adult gets baptized and they tell a story about how they were baptized as a child but didn’t really understand what they were doing.

II. Some say they were truly born again. Then, in a subsequent experience, they received the Holy Spirit in a pattern that believers should follow today.

This is the stance a lot of our charismatic & Pentecostal brethren take. They view it as a graduation ceremony of sorts.

III. Some say they were converted in response to Philip’s preaching; yet God, in a unique move, withheld the gift of the Holy Spirit until Peter and John could bestow it on them. God’s purpose in this was to ensure continuity between the church in Jerusalem and the new church in Samaria, guarding against division.

IV. Some say they were really born again and did really receive the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion, but were given special gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit at the laying on of hands by Peter and John.

While these last 2 are hotly debated theologically they are functionally about the same. God displayed His grace in a special way as a stamp of approval for this particular church. This was to promote unity and community between these two churches and one church didn’t have an initial experience that the other church didn’t, or there would always be that argument over which church was better than the other. Thankfully, no such rivalry between churches exists today.

Now I see some of you thinking, well this is ridiculous, they are all Christians and they should get along. I agree. Let’s be honest about this for a moment, do all of you get along? There was a time when the Southern Baptist method of church planting was when half your congregation left and started their own church because they were angry over something. These are people in the same town! These are two different churches in two different countries with several hundred years of bad history between them. The Gospel here conquers hundreds of years of hatred in a mere moment.

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Simon the Sorcerer sees Peter & John, people that Philip considers his boss for lack of a better term. He sees the Holy Spirit come in power and immediately thinks. If only I could do that! I could regain my title, I could truly be the great power of God!

He slips right back into his old ways of thinking. Before we get to harsh on Simon we have to remember he’s been a Christian for a few months at both. He’s a baby Christian at this point and babies poop their pants.

We have a tendency in the church to let people have too much too soon after their conversion. It’s great when someone has that come to Jesus moment and is on fire for the Lord. They want to be at church every time the doors are open and want to share their testimony to whole congregation. So many times somebody makes a change in their life, and right away we let them or even press them into becoming some kind of marketer for Christ. You have to understand what Christ is about first. My first two months or so as a Christian I didn’t have an understanding beyond my way wasn’t working so I was going to try Jesus. The first time I gave my testimony on a youth retreat is the reason David now screens what people are going to say ahead of time. Ask him about it sometime when you would like a good laugh.

Simon falls back into his old ways, after all old habits die hard and Peter responds.

20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

I love Peter. He just gets right to doesn’t he? Sounds kinda harsh doesn’t it? You have no idea. If I were to ask you what the word Perish means how would you answers? You’d likely say “perish the thought” as in don’t think that way, or like when you leave the milk on the counter and it goes bad, it perishes. The greek word that we rendered perish is a bit more specific. It means “the destruction which consists of eternal misery in hell.”

Peter calls out Simon and cuts to the root of the problem. Your heart is not right in the sight of God. The thoughts of his heart were his problem, he didn’t murder anyone, commit adultery, rob a bank. Yet, none of that mattered. He sought his own glory instead of the Lords.

24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

25 So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Simon realizes his guilt, his sin, and requests prayer. He is humbled by the rebuke and has a contrite response. All his power, fame and money did not impress Jesus, or those that were walking with Him.

A few years ago I read Ted DiBiases Autobiography and an interesting thing happened to him. In the early 90’s he hit rock bottom. He had started thinking he was the character he played on TV and then reality sunk in. He was about lose his second marriage due to his infidelity. He turned to a pastor friend of his to help. His pastor let him know that he had an intellectual relationship with God and nothing more and that’s why his life had become such a mess. The Pastor, Hal Santos, told him that he was in a storm and that the only way to find peace would be to cling to the cross. DiBiases did exactly that and has ever since. "I can tell you with all assurance that I walk with that peace today," DiBiase says. He became an ordained minister in 2000. He serves in charitable organizations, has founded ministries, and works full time as a minister and evangelist.

I remember seeing him on TV a few years back and he was talking about the irony of how his old character said “Every bodies got a price,” and now as an evangelist, he goes around preaching to everyone 1 Cor 6:20 “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s”

I am a Great and Powerful Magician! (Revival Message 3 of 5)

Anyone that worked with me in IT the last 8-10 years of my career probably heard me say "I am a great and powerful magician" at least once. It's usually what I would proclaim after fixing something simply at first and later one after anything I fixed. I used to work with these two ladies from Columbia (South America not South Carolina) and they stopped calling me Glen and started calling me Magician. Good times! 

Pastor Glen

Acts 8:9-13

I am a great and powerful magician!

I have a secret to tell you, In addition to being a pastor and a former IT person. I am also a great and powerful magician!

I spent 16 years in the computer support field. I was really good at repairing problems I was not so great a customer service.  I have a tendency to come across arrogant and condescending. If I have come across that you way to you in the past, I apologize. I most likely didn’t mean it. I spent a few years driving around the state repairing computers and printers at different SunTrust locations. I would drive an hour, an hour and a half in one direction to get there and find the computer wasn’t plugged in, or the power strip was turned off. I would plug it in and turn it on and then the manager would ask “What was wrong?” and I would go “It wasn’t plugged in, so I plugged it in” and then they would get mad at me and complain to my supervisor and I would have to be lectured or take the customer service training.

One day I drove 90 minutes because a printer wasn’t working at a branch. I got there, and it was out of paper. I put paper in it and it started working again. I had gotten in trouble at this branch about a month earlier and I just knew I was going to get in trouble again the minute the manager asked me what I did. So when he approached me and asked what I did I came up with a response. One that was Inspired by the Wizard of Oz. I said in a deep dramatic voice “I AM A GREAT AND POWERFUL MAGICIAN!” I figured if I was going to get in trouble, at least it should make for a funny story. The manager looks at me and goes “Cool. Help yourself to some bagels in the break room.”

For the rest of my IT Career anytime I fixed something simple like plugged in a cord, or unpressing the mute button, that has my been my response. I did that for 8 years, I never got one complaint about it.

Tonight, we learn about Simon, the Sorcerer and you might notice some similarities.

But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, ¹⁰ to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” ¹¹ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³ Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

A lot has been going on in Acts. Heavy persecution of the church in Jerusalem has scattered them all over the place. We talked about how There are two different words in the ancient Greek language for the idea of “scattered.” One has the idea of scattering in the sense of making something disappear, like scattering someone’s ashes. The other word has the idea of scattering in the sense of planting or sowing seeds. The world looks at this and sees the first meaning, God’s word has this written at the second one.

The resulting good of the spread of the gospel shows us how this persecution was inside the will of God. God can and will use pressing circumstances to guide us into His will. Often we have to be shaken out of our comfortable state before we do what God wants us to do.

Philip, is sent to Samaria. An area where he would have been hated just for being a Jew. An area full of people he had been taught all his life to hate because they were different. However, Philip did not give in to his fear, as we often do, but let God’s perfect love cast out his fear and he presented the Gospel to them in word and deed. The result? People coming to know the Lord and a whole city rejoiced because of it.

The growing church, the ministry of Philip, this attracts the attention of a man called Simon. What do we know about Simon? He practiced sorcery in the city, he astonished all the people and he claimed he was someone great. The people believed him saying “this man is the great power of God” and he had been doing so for a long time.

The scriptures call Simon a sorcerer or magician depending on your translation of the Bible. When I say witch what do most of you picture? Someone who looks like the wicked witch of the west most likely. The green skin, long pointy nose, black pointy hat, threatening to get someone and their little dog too.

Deut 18 lists witchcraft and related things as forbidden for God’s people. They were the pagan religious practices of the time and as we know from the Old Testament God’s people were easily swayed away from the Lord the moment things got difficult. Which is not that much different from the church these days. We believe as long as God operates according to our plan and time table and when He doesn’t? We throw a tantrum and start chasing whatever might give us the answer we want.

It was common practice back then to take the title of Magician or Sorcerer to prey on the superstitions of people. Among the ancients, the practice of sorcery had an interesting association. That of, altered states through drugs and potions. There was understood to be a connection between drug taking and occultist practices.  The English word sorcery is rendered our word witch from the Greek pharmakos which is where we get our word Pharmacy.  A big aspect of his “sorcery” was simply knowledge about drug interactions. Knowing that this root will make you sleepy, this powder will make you see things, and this herb is a pain killer. The right combination of drugs can have you seeing and believing just about anything.

I imagine there was also a great deal of sleight of hand involved in his “sorcery.” I remember as a kid attending family reunions and my Uncle Wayne would put on a magic show. He did all sorts of tricks, guessing the card you picked, pulling items out of the air, making stuff appear in your hand or your pocket, making items disappear and reappear. He could even saw part of his arm and then heal it. I was just amazed and my Uncle Wayne’s magical powers!  Then my cousin Johnathon informed me that Uncle Wayne did not have magical powers. Just trick items. A fake arm, a special deck of cards, accomplices! It was all a sham! Just toys and misdirection. Simon was likely much closer to Harry Houdini then Harry Potter. Whatever power Simon had, real or fake, it was not from God.

Before Philip showed up Simon has a pretty good gig going on. He’s the big fish in a small pond. People refer to him as “the great power of God”. He’s got the respect of the public, he has a big name, and he is rich. He’s made a lot of money off of being Simon the Sorcerer for a while now.  Everything is going pretty well. Then this Philip guy shows up.

Philip would have drawn a crowd initially just by being a Jew in Samaria on purpose. On mission trips overseas to SE Asia I drew attention in public areas just because I was from America. Random people would come up and ask if they could take a picture with me. It amuses me greatly that somewhere in China there’s a picture of me on someone’s fridge.

What did Philip do once he showed up in Samaria? He was preaching the Gospel! Not only that, he was meeting people’s physical needs as well as their spiritual needs. It said earlier in the chapter that “ many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.” 

I want to touch on this for just a moment. If I were to take a survey and ask why most of you started coming to church the most frequent answer I get is “someone who loved me, invited me or brought me”.

We try to make the Gospel complicated and it’s not. It’s rather simple. We love God, We love our neighbor. Before we make a decision, take an action just ask yourself “Is this loving God? Is this loving my neighbor?” If not then don’t do it. If you can honestly answer Yes to both of those then go for it.

Philip was out there doing just that. It was drawing crowds. Philip was building a reputation as man preaching God and working miracles. He even healed those that were paralyzed and lame! We have tendency when reading the scripture to overlay the narrative with our modern day concepts. Most of us know at least one person who has to use a wheelchair or otherwise requires assistance walking. This is 2000 years ago in the middle east. There was no ADA, there were no motorized wheel chairs. Not only that but the prevailing theory was that God, or the gods,  had done this to them because of their own sin or the sin of their parents if they were born that way. They were shunned by society and considered outcasts. They had one job available to them and that was to beg on the side of the street. These were people that had tried everything to get better but didn’t. This was there lot in a very short life. Then they were suddenly given a new lease on life! They were healed! They can walk! They can work. The curse is lifted!  Don’t you know that these people had tried being healed by Simon the Sorcerer and had found no solace there.  I’m willing to place these people as those that rejoiced the loudest when the whole city rejoiced.

Simon shows up, wants to know what all the fuss is about. I sometimes watch this show called “Fool Us”. It’s hosted by famous magicians, Penn & Teller. They have up and coming magicians come on the show and perform their best trick. Then Penn & Teller try to guess how it was done. More often than not they get it right, yet occasionally someone does manage to fool them and wins a trophy. I think there’s an aspect of this going on with Simon coming to see Phillip. Professional curiosity, a checking out of the competition as it were.

Then this radical thing happens! He gets saved! What did Philip do to reach such an important man? A man who was wealthy, influential and thought himself something? Does Philp get into a debate and do point and counter point? Does Philip have a miracle contest and see who can perform the most difficult trick? Does Phillip roll out the red carpet in hopes to impress him? I know! He tags him on a facebook article with a comment that says “Read this, it shows that I’m right.” No, he doesn’t do any of those things.

It’s right here in the text. “they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ”

Phillip preached the Gospel, plain and simple. We waste so much time trying to argue people into Christ. For those of us who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we should speak with, compassion, confidence, and love.  We don’t have to answer every question that is asked us or accept the terms that are given to us by the world.  When the wrong question is asked, we offer better questions.  When we are given a multiple choice test, we answer in essay.   When we are asked for a clear answer, we respond with a parable.  When we are asked for a position, we give our testimony

Romans 1:16 “¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,^[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes”

While we will be shamed because of the Gospel, we need not feel ashamed because of the gospel. When we alter the gospel to make it popular and inoffensive we also make it ineffective. It’s why so many churches are dying out. We can pass all the laws, sign all the petitions, and create all the hashtags you want but you cannot legislate morality. We will never design a system so perfect that people need not to be good. That requires a change of heart and only the Gospel has that power.

1 Cor 1:27 “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,”

I mentioned my love of Ric Flair last night, and tomorrow night I’m going to talk about Ted DiBiasie but part of the reason I’m so attached to wrestling even to this day is that God used something as foolish as pro wrestling to bring me to Christ.

I mentioned on Sunday I had a friend that had been inviting me to church, and inviting me to hang out with his church friends for almost 6 months. It was wrestling that got me in the door. I was hanging out with Nick one Sunday afternoon and he was getting ready to leave because he was going to watch some wrestling thing with a friend of his. I said wait a minute? Halloween Havoc? The PPV? And Nick says “yeah” and I immediately start begging! Please please please can I come?

Nick had to appreciate the irony of me begging to hang out with his church friends after 6 months of blowing him off politely and sometimes not so politely. He goes, uh sure. Then about 2 weeks later Nick invites me again to watch wrestling at another person’s house. You know him as David Chambers. As I started hanging out with this people more and more I experienced the love of Christ. A few months after that I finally started paying attention to what they were saying about Jesus. God used pro-wrestling to being me to the gospel. God can use whatever He chooses to bring people to the gospel.

The gospel alone brings forgiven sinners to final, everlasting joy. Nothing in the world can do this except the gospel of Jesus Christ. Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam — they do not have a Savior who can solve the problem of separation from a holy God through sin, and offer sinners hope by grace and not works. Only one message saves sinners and brings them safely into the presence of God: the gospel of Jesus Christ. It alone is the power of God unto salvation.

Who is the Gospel For? (Revival Message 2 of 5)

This is one of my favorite sermons, it's also one of the ones that was rather difficult to write and even more so to preach. I've preached some variation of this sermon on multiple occasions in various churches over the years. Yet, it is something I have to constantly remind myself of. That all people are in need of the Gospel, not just the ones I like. 

Pastor Glen

Who is the Gospel for?

Tonight we will continue in Acts 8. Turn if you will to Acts 8:4-8

A few years ago I was on my way to the post office and I saw a man walking down the street. I automatically assumed the man was up to no good based on his appearance.  He looked angry, disheveled and had the glazed over eyes and shaky hands of an addict. As I was judging this stranger by making assumptions concerning his lifestyle and family history the Lord convicted me. Does this man need the gospel? Yes. Did I want to be the one that stopped everything I was doing to give it to him? No. My own fears, my own prejudices were preventing that. How many other people that are in need of the gospel that would never receive it from me because of my own fear? More than I want to consider. 

I went to the post office and had completed my errand and on my way to the next one. It was then that God brought some old memories from 5^th grade. I did not grow up with an abundance of friends. I started 5^th grade most of my friends were in a different class then mine so I did not see them much, couple this with my parents’ divorce, and it wasn’t a great time in my life. Yet, I did make a new friend that year. We will call him Matt. Me and Matt had known each other for years and were friends but in 5^th grade we spent a lot of time together during school. We had a love for Nintendo, Ninja Turtles, and Nature Boy Ric Flair! We got along great and would partner up and challenge each other frequently. We stayed good friends through middle school, but by high school we never had any classes together and would just chat occasionally in the hall. Then after graduation he went off to college and I no longer saw or heard from him. Then it hit me. The angry man I saw walking down the street earlier was my friend Matt. I had condemned my old friend to hell because I didn’t like the way he looked anymore. 

Acts 8:5-8 ⁵ Then Philip went down to the^[a] city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. ⁶ And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷ For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ And there was great joy in that city.

Philip being sent out from Jerusalem due to persecution went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ. Why is this such a big deal?. Samaria was one of those areas for the Jews hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated the Jews. This hatred had been going for hundreds of years. 600 years prior, the Assyrians conquered this area of northern Israel and deported all the wealthy and middle-class Jews from the area. Then they moved in a pagan population from afar. These pagans intermarried with the lowest classes of remaining Jews in northern Israel, and from these people came the Samaritans. the Jews of that day hated the Samaritans. They considered them compromising half-breeds who corrupted the worship of the true God. “There was deep-seated prejudice, amounting almost to hatred, standing between the Jews and the Samaritans.

Back in my earlier story why did I ignore my old friend? Because of fear.

It’s easy to be afraid these days. Just turn on the local news. Stabbings, shootings, muggings, robberies. It’s not upstate NY or downtown LA. It’s not a far off place like the Middle East or Africa. It’s terrifying and depressing and makes you feel hopeless. Makes you want to lock your doors and keep a gun by your bed.  It reinforces the stereotypes we have in our minds of the people that would commit these sorts of crimes. Before you even click on the link or watch the actual story you already know what the perpetrator looks like don’t you? You already have that image in your head and when you see those people in real life we do like I did and ignore them and keep on going. We all know what parts of town to avoid what blocks to take the long way around. Fear it’s a terrible thing and turns us into terrible people.

If anyone has learned properly to harness the power of fear it’s the media. Fearful messages spread, especially those that play into our anxieties. They capitalize on it, after all fear is very lucrative.  They tell us to be afraid of terrorists, homosexuals, heterosexuals, law enforcement, criminals, the government, illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, liberals, conservatives, the rich and the poor, etc. etc.  There’s so much to be scared of!  Finally we shout out that someone should do something, just as long as it isn’t us.  

There is nothing more contrary to God and the things of God than fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

God is love. Per the above scripture that love casts out fear. Love and fear cannot co-exist. When God redeemed us He did so by giving us a new spirit that is to be of love, and a sound mind. Not the paranoia that fear drives us to. There should not be a more secured and proactive people than the church of Jesus Christ. Yet, we exist as one of the most fearful, reactionary, and sometimes downright hateful organizations in existence. Why? I would put to the reason is that we believe the Gospel isn’t for everyone. Oh, we will give lip service and quote John 3:16 but we don’t believe it. Not fully.

In the gospel of  Luke. The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly trying to get Jesus. They wanted him to slip up in some way. So they tried trick questions and in Matthew someone asked what is the greatest commandment?  Jesus answered and cut right to the heart of the matter.

Matthew 22:36-40 “36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

So what’s the difference between loving your neighbor and loving your neighbor as yourself? We all love ourselves. We’re very concerned about our own welfare, our own comfort, safety, interests, health, etc. We have a hope we want to realize it. We have a desire we want to fulfill it. We have a need we see to it that it gets met. Is that how we treat other people? Are we even that good to our friends? Our family? Our spouse and children? What about random strangers? This is a difficult command. In fact it’s an impossible command. With a command so difficult you really need to figure out who your neighbor is don’t you?

Luke 10:29 “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The teaching of the day was to love your neighbor. However, there also was a very narrow definition of neighbor. It consisted of people that you liked. Tax collector? Not your neighbor.  prostitute? Not your neighbor. Adulteress? Not your neighbor. Criminals? Not your neighbor. Gentiles? Definitely not your neighbor. 

Jesus then answers his question, and by proxy our question, with a parable. The parable of the Good Samaritan. In a traveler goes on a journey and is a set upon by men of ill tent, they rob him, strip him of his clothes, and leave him bleeding in the dirt. A priest comes by, sees him, ignores him, a Levite sees him also and ignores him and goes about his business.  The a Samaritan sees him and begins to aide him regardless of the circumstance or personal cost. He tends his wounds, applying oil and win, carries him to an inn. Gives him all the money he has to take care of him and promises the inn keeper more if more is required. The Samaritan did this because he was his neighbor. We read that story and are deceived by our true nature thinking we are the Samaritan when the reality is that we are the ill intent and set upon the travelers that get on roads we feel they should not be on.

Who is your neighbor? Everyone. The world that Jesus died for. You know who that includes? Everyone. Annoying neighbor? Your neighbor. Person you blocked on Facebook? Neighbor. That co-worker you wish would quit/get fired? Neighbor. Relative you have prayed would move to another state/country? Neighbor. Atheists trying to get all public expressions of Christianity outlawed? Neighbor.  Junkie going down the street that makes you roll up your windows and lock your doors? Neighbor.

It’s difficult to love folks, because love is messy. What’s the most loving thing you can do for someone? Give them the gospel, both in word and deed. But Glen! You say. Those people aren’t deserving of the gospel. Agreed. Neither are we. No one is. 

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”

We so quickly transition from grace right back to the law. “That’s not true!” You say. Sure it is. We all do it. We have an image of what people at our church should look like. We know their skin color, clothing choices, background, personality, sexual orientation, political preferences, etc. etc. When they don’t immediately look like that when they walk in the door they can either conform or walk right back out. It’s no different than telling someone they are too sick to enter our hospital. We can’t help you we say. The gospel is not for you. Is it any wonder the headlines are so horrible? 

When we look at the world today we are in need of a movement of God! Racial tension, economic instability, moral collapse, violence, terrorists, wars… it’s time we as followers of Jesus stopped talking politics and started getting broken over the hurt and pain of a world without God! Our solution is not coming from Raleigh, NC. Our solution is not coming from Washington, DC. It doesn’t matter if you are black, white, Latino, Asian, middle eastern, or European.  It doesn’t matter if you are old, young, gay, straight, male or female. It doesn’t matter where you fall on the political spectrum the answer and the hope is not legislation, the answer and the hope is not in some policy, procedure or election. The answer and the hope is only in the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, because when God moves people get changed from the inside out and it is real genuine lasting transformation. 

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains

might quake at Your presence!”—Isaiah 64:1

As Christians,  we believe that the absolute worst thing that could ever happen has already happened. The torture and crucifixion of Christ. We killed the one person who had never done us any wrong, that only had our benefit in our mind. Who loved us more than anyone would ever love us. I’m here to tell you that the absolute depravity of man cannot touch the power of the resurrection. That there is no sinner so far from God that His grace cannot bring him back. The Bible teaches us that the resurrection of Jesus changed the world. Even if the world doesn’t want to admit it yet. In fact, since the resurrection we have been on an unalterable course towards renewal and rebirth. The power of the resurrection heals all, including our fear. 

“This is not the time for labeling, blaming, and condemning.  For those of us who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, this is the time to speak with, compassion, confidence, and love.  It is not the time to answer every question that is asked us or accept the terms that are given to us by the world.  When the wrong question is asked, we offer better questions.  When we are given a multiple choice test, we answer in essay.   When we are asked for a clear answer, we respond with a parable.  When we are asked for a position, we give our testimony.”

Phillip got this! Phillip understood this! Philip was driven by this! He didn’t want to go to Samaria. No Jew did. Phillip didn’t like these people and didn’t want to be around them but Philip loved Jesus and Jesus loved these people so Philip loved these people and loved on these people! He went out there and meet their physical needs and their spiritual needs! And the result? People got saved and a whole city rejoiced!

You know what none of you have ever heard? It was that insulting comment you left on my Facebook page that really turned my life around and I now have all the correct political views.

You know what you can hear? I came to your church and you showed me the love of God and now I have Christ as My Savior.

Matthew 28:18-20 “18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen”