Those concerns are still with us, right?

Dear First Pres SLO Family,

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the one whose Spirit calls us, equips us, and sends us into the world as his ambassadors. Being ambassadors—being Christ’s witnesses in the world—will be our focus this Sunday as we complete the story of Stephen.

It’s our way of commemorating Reformation Sunday.

In the 16th-century Reformation, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and Cranmer led a religious and political revolt that gave us what we call Protestantism. Note that right there in the name of our branch of Christianity is the word “protest”. Protest was what drove those early reformers—a sense of protest that the church was too tied to politics, and that it had lost the true message of the Jesus story.

Those concerns are still with us, right?

As we journey through the Book of Acts together this fall, we’re being reminded of how the church lived in its earliest days. They communicated their faith without fear, which is saying something with the Roman Empire in control of their country. They shared what they had with each other and their community, and they started a movement that continues to this day. We should all notice that the early Christians focused on caring for people and sharing the message of Jesus. Nowhere in the early days of the church did they even dream about having any political power over other people. I’m guessing we should learn something from that.

Acts is a good part of the Bible to reflect on during Stewardship Season. We’re hearing from a wide range of ministries at First Pres as a way of inspiring each other to give and to partner in the work we’re doing together. I learned some new things on Sunday about the history of service to the hungry in this congregation. Maybe that was true for you, too. We’ll hear more as we go along.

Our church is building on the work of other Christian sisters and brothers, a line that goes back to the early church, passes through the Reformation, right up until the present day. The Book of Acts is teaching us new ways to be the church, even in its 2000 year-old stories. During this season, as we talk about how to accomplish the work we’re doing together, I hope our message series is inspiring you to even more service and generosity.

In the meantime, this Sunday we’ll see what we can learn about being faithful disciples and witnesses from Stephen’s death. See you on Sunday, one way or another.

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor John

PS: The passages for upcoming Sundays are below.

October

31 Acts 7:54-8:1a Reformation Sunday

November

7 Acts 8:26-40