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Perhaps now more than ever, we need to bring forward the lessons from Jesus’ final week leading up to his Easter resurrection.
Find out more about The Week That Changed The World.
In the meantime …
A Special Bonus
“Inclusion” and “The Power of Love” are two of the pillars of our church’s faith.
As a special bonus, the following is Part 2 of a 4-part series, by Madelon Maupin, World-Renowned Bible expert, Master of Theological Studies, and the speaker for The Week That Changed The World.
The Promise of Inclusion and the Power of Love – Part 2
By Madelon Maupin, MTS
Speaker for The Week That Changed The World
The New Testament’s book of Acts of the Apostles teaches how God’s love breaks down boundaries and prejudices.
Acts records the mission-driven activities of Jesus’ followers after his resurrection and ascension, when they no longer had the personal Jesus around to help them. This makes their story relevant, because we learn how ordinary people—fishermen, tax collectors, wives, and mothers—developed extraordinary courage and boldness to prove and share what they had learned of God’s transforming love.
These apostles (from the Greek, apostolos, a representative sent out) expressed an authority that came not from compelling human personalities or advanced rhetorical skills. Rather, it was the Holy Spirit that infused and empowered these early Christians.
This divine influence is described in various ways throughout the Bible (particularly in Luke and Acts), including:
- The prophetic voice of King David that pointed to the Messiahship of Jesus Christ
- The divine power present at Jesus’ baptism
- The divine power operating at the Pentecost when Jews from various nations each heard Jesus’ followers speak in their native tongue
- The holy influence that strengthened Peter and other apostles with the divine authority to speak truth to power
- The guiding Spirit that directed Jesus’ followers to include and love those who would have before been considered ritually unclean
- The Holy Spirit brings the power of God as divine Love to the receptive heart, guiding and emboldening individuals to accomplish what they might never imagine
The book of Acts has multiple examples of this power of divine Love, God, such as when Peter, Jesus’ disciple, had long obeyed Jewish dietary laws that forbade both eating non-kosher foods and eating with Gentiles. Yet through a dream, Peter received a new directive: “Never consider unclean what God has made pure” (Acts 10:15, Common English Bible).
Immediately after this, Gentile men sent by Cornelius, a Roman Gentile centurion who loved God, appeared to Peter. Acts 10 describes the encounter between Cornelius’ men and Peter, a meeting that broke through prevailing ethnic, socioeconomic, linguistic, and religious barriers.
The Holy Spirit revealed the love of God that unites rather than divides, moving together the most disparate of parties toward unity and peace.
“Then Peter replied, ‘I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right’ ” (Acts 10:34, 35, New Living Translation).
What a timeless and loving directive that can break down barriers today!
Watch next week for Part 3 of this series in which we talk more about how this love breaks down boundaries and prejudices.
In the meantime, if you would like more information about The Week That Changed The World, or the speaker, Madelon Maupin, click here.
For more about the sponsor, First Church of Christ Scientist, Morristown, NJ, click here.
Note: This article is based on a talk the author gave to the World Parliament of Religions. Madelon Maupin is from Scottsdale, Arizona, and will be speaking in our area in March.
This post is an advertorial piece contributed by a Patch Community Partner, a local brand partner. To learn more, click here.
