Ephesians 1 -- this is Mother's Day and we look at being a parent as a church.

This is Acts 10 where Peter is surprised by what God is calling him to do, set aside almost everything he has previously known.  What is it that we have previously held as true and God has surprised us with what we need to do?  

The text is from Acts 4: 5-12 but we backed up a little to include Acts 4: 1, and annoyance of the Religious Authorities.  

The focus is on Peter and his transformation.  He is done denying Jesus.  

Who are we in this scene?  The status quo?  The change?  The listeners who go with the SQ or change?  The questions are directed individually and corporately.  

Acts 3 -- Mario looks at Peter (and John) who focus on remembering Jesus as resurrected.  What does it mean indeed to live on this side of Easter?  Part of it of course is to remember "he is risen, he is risen indeed."  Mario relies on N. T. Wright for part of his settling down points.  Tom Wright has made a visit or three to Hilltop ... great source for helping us frame our conversations.  

I also like how he used Acts 3 to be a place to talk to 1 Corinthians and Paul.  I like illustrations from the scripture!   

"All of my eggs are in that basket!"  

Scripture is Acts 4: 23-33 and the focus is on how the early church was in unity.  I proffer that they were in unity in terms of mission, vision, and values.  The Resurrection is the engine that drove the growth in of the early Church.  

The focus here is on people, not buildings, or denominations.  This is an initial exploration of changing our belong, believe, become to something new and different.  Hospitality, helping, hope and healing.  There is a both an inward and outward focus simultaneously:  Caring for their people and carrying the story into the world.  

Our Easter Sunday sermon focused on Mary's encounter with and empty tomb and our risen Lord. Our text came from John 20:1-18. Our call to action was to ponder what will we do with the message of Jesus' resurrection. Will we keep it a secret and go and tell someone about it? Our encouaging word was to "Get out of here and go be love to someone to whom love is a stranger." Don't be suprised to hear Handel's Messiah in here as well. He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!