Pastor Scott's Musings

 Sermon for Milledgeville & Centenary UMC... [Slide] Paul Before Herod Agrippa II ( Acts 26:1-32 )   Well, golly Bill, Marshall! IYKYK - Gunsmoke How many of you are familiar with the HBO series Game of Thrones? [Slide] It’s a series filled with political intrigue, murder and war. Houses of wealth and power compete for the control of the seven kingdoms. It’s part King Arthur and Lord of the Rings. There is magic and dragons, evil ghouls from the wintery north and, of course, teachery. It’s great fun!   [Slide] Paul finds himself in a game of thrones of his day. He stands trial before Governor Felix, then Festus, then King Agrippa and Queen Bernice, and finally to Rome to stand before Caesar.   [Slide] Felix was a duplicitous and cruel governor. He often sought bribes for political favors. Crime increased in Judea under his rule. He consistently put the needs of the Greek population ahead of the Jews. This caused angry disturbances among the Jews...

  Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC... [Slide] Paul’s Arrest in Jerusalem ( Acts 22:1-24 )   Last Sunday Paul and Silas were released from jail in Philippi. He left Luke behind to mentor the new congregation there.   [Slide] Paul, Silas and Timothy travel to Thessaloniki. Many Jews and Greeks come to faith in Christ at Paul’s preaching, but some turned the people against him and ran them out of town. Paul left for Berea.   The Berean Jews were much more open, but Thessalonians followed Paul and stirred up the Bereans against him. Paul left for Athens, but left behind Silas and Timothy to mentor the church.   [Slide] At Athens, Paul preached Jesus to a city filled with pagan shrines and idols. They brought him to Mars Hill to speak at the public forum called the Areopagus. Paul masterfully speaks to his Greek audience drawing upon their own poets and philosophers. When he told them of the resurrection of Jesus, however, some scoffed, ...

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC... [Slide] Beaten, Chained, and Free (Acts 16:16-34)   Paul and Silas in a Philippi Jail Today we continue our study of the Book of Acts with Paul’s second missionary journey. After his first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas returned to Syrian Antioch. [Slide] During this time, some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem visited the church in Antioch and told the Gentile Christians, “Unless you are circumcised, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1) Paul and Barnabas strongly opposed them. [Slide] This led to the famous Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15. Peter reminded them that God gave the Holy Spirit to Gentiles just as He had to Jewish followers of Jesus. God made no distinction. “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15:11)   The Church acknowledged that salvation was through the grace of Jesus, not the law of Moses. The Jerusalem Church issued a form...