Acts 5

I was teaching acts five on Wednesday and discovered how Psalm 118 shaped the Apostles' ministry. I am emboldened by what i see them doing. basically evangelism is telling others that the amazing stuff happening in their community is a result of God raising Jesus from the dead. When someone is healed, the apostles said, "jesus did that." And they were willing to say it to anyone, anywhere. And they didn't avoid confrontation. In fact they practiced ministry in Solomon's porch because it was the meetingplace/marketplace between temple Judaism and the gentile world. Itwas the mediating space between the holy of holies and hell on earth. where the saints and the sinners met together.and they turned the porch into a school, a hospital, and a soup kitchen. As a result, the community gathered in that public space became a sign of the kingdom of GOD announced by Jesus. What if we could be the kind of church that was open, public space where people might gather to receive the gifts of Jesus---healing, forgiveness, food, water, shelter, peace, compassionate mercy, economic justice through sharing. I pray that others might come to see and hear the apostles' ministry in Acts as an example of our own baptismal vocation in this age.