Dual Citizenship (Acts 9:1-22)
Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC... [Slide] Dual Citizenship ( Acts 9:1-22 ) [Slide] Happy 250 th to America! During our bicentennial in 1976, I visited the Freedom Train, a museum of American history on rails. Jimmy Carter was in the White House. The number one song in 1976 was Silly Love Songs by Paul McCartney and the Wings. It was a great summer! I’ll be 114 when the tricentennial rolls around! Think I’ll make it? An artificial heart, hips and knees, and kidneys, liver and pancreas, I’ll be good to go! [Slide] In our reading, we meet Saul, a Pharisee, of the strictest sect in Judaism. The Pharisees appeared shortly after the Maccabean Revolt against Greek occupation. In some ways, Pharisaism was a reaction to Israel’s unfaithfulness. In the Pharisee’s mind, oppression by foreign powers is the direct result of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. They created a system of over 600 laws to make sure Israel kept the law of Moses in every conceivable situation. The Ph...