00:00:06 [Speaker 1] Hey. 00:00:06 [Speaker 1] You're listening to Cut for Time, a podcast from Faith Church located on the North Side Of Indianapolis. 00:00:12 [Speaker 1] My name is Claire Kingsley. 00:00:13 [Speaker 2] And I'm Dan Breitwieser. 00:00:15 [Speaker 2] Each week, one of us will sit down with the person who gave Sunday's sermon to discuss their message. 00:00:19 [Speaker 2] Cut for Time is a look behind the scenes of sermon preparation, and they'll share with us a few things that we didn't hear from the sermon on Sunday. 00:00:26 [Speaker 2] Thanks for listening. 00:00:30 [Speaker 2] It is Cut for Time. 00:00:31 [Speaker 2] We are halfway through, the month of July. 00:00:35 [Speaker 2] I'm a few states away, which is perfect if that's what, pastor Jeff, you were talking about the the fun of, travel and travel socks. 00:00:45 [Speaker 2] So welcome to another episode of Cut for Time. 00:00:47 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:00:48 [Speaker 3] Thank you. 00:00:48 [Speaker 3] I I'm, honestly still a little getting over jet lag. 00:00:52 [Speaker 3] I feel like I'm a couple of time zones away. 00:00:55 [Speaker 3] So, we'll we'll see how it goes. 00:00:58 [Speaker 2] But you found the socks that have made travel possible without interruptions. 00:01:03 [Speaker 2] So that's 00:01:04 [Speaker 3] So so far. 00:01:06 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:01:06 [Speaker 3] So far. 00:01:07 [Speaker 3] I I and I actually had, two or three people ask me afterwards if if they could borrow the socks. 00:01:15 [Speaker 3] Were they available for loan? 00:01:17 [Speaker 3] Did they work for other things? 00:01:19 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:01:20 [Speaker 2] Okay. 00:01:20 [Speaker 2] Well, this this could be a side business for you. 00:01:22 [Speaker 2] This could be really good. 00:01:24 [Speaker 3] Oh, I have none of that. 00:01:26 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:01:26 [Speaker 2] Alright. 00:01:27 [Speaker 2] Well, let's let's, let's start where we should always start, maybe not with puff and socks, but let's start with just kind of a a recap of, what you talked about on Sunday in your in the message from your sermon. 00:01:39 [Speaker 3] So we are kind of in the middle of Acts chapter 28. 00:01:44 [Speaker 3] We had sort of left Paul on the beach in Malta the last week where he'd been bitten by this poisonous viper then, survived. 00:01:53 [Speaker 3] And the the natives on Malta had first thought, well, you know, he must be a criminal because justice has caught him, and then he survives and they decide he must be a god. 00:02:01 [Speaker 3] And so we we sort of left it there. 00:02:03 [Speaker 3] We we pick it up. 00:02:04 [Speaker 3] And, the the next thing is, like, Paul like, the the spirit continues to work even more through Paul. 00:02:12 [Speaker 3] They end up, getting welcomed into the home of probably the the chief Roman official on the island, who shows him great hospitality. 00:02:21 [Speaker 3] His dad is very ill. 00:02:23 [Speaker 3] Paul prays for him, lays hands, and he's healed. 00:02:26 [Speaker 3] And then that leads to dozens and dozens of people on the island getting healed, who then send Paul and his companions off with a a ship full of everything they need. 00:02:38 [Speaker 3] Just again, this outpouring of generosity. 00:02:41 [Speaker 3] Luke picks up the story, kind of another bit of continuing the journey. 00:02:46 [Speaker 3] It's just smooth sailing from here though, and it's almost kind of anticlimactic. 00:02:51 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:02:51 [Speaker 3] Then we went to Sicily. 00:02:52 [Speaker 3] We hit the boot of Rome. 00:02:53 [Speaker 3] We landed near Naples, and we got to Rome. 00:02:56 [Speaker 3] And along the way, some brothers came and met us. 00:03:01 [Speaker 3] And that is kinda where the story ends. 00:03:05 [Speaker 3] So Paul gets to Rome. 00:03:08 [Speaker 3] But along the way, what we looked at was this interaction of things kinda happening behind the scenes. 00:03:15 [Speaker 3] Luke makes this interesting comment that the ship that carried them to Rome had the figurehead of the twin gods, Castor and Pollux. 00:03:24 [Speaker 3] And that got me to thinking, in looking at this passage. 00:03:28 [Speaker 3] There there's a lot going on, in a sense, almost like kind of a showdown between the gods in a sense. 00:03:38 [Speaker 3] So, Paul's been bitten by this poisonous viper, and the the locals end up thinking he must be a god. 00:03:44 [Speaker 3] And and then he's performing all these miracles. 00:03:46 [Speaker 3] And and then, these two Greek gods show up on the figurehead of the ship. 00:03:51 [Speaker 3] And, so we looked at, kind of that that was a launching point to just sort of explore the whole dynamic of, how we relate to sort of the the hidden forces that seem to control our world and how we fall into superstition pretty easily, like, luck or fade or chance or jinxes or throwing salt over our shoulder, you know, when we spill some, not walking under a numb what is it? 00:04:21 [Speaker 3] Don't walk under a ladder, don't cross a black cat's path, read horoscopes, don't see the bride 00:04:26 [Speaker 2] Cross your fingers. 00:04:27 [Speaker 3] Married. 00:04:27 [Speaker 3] Cross your fingers. 00:04:29 [Speaker 3] Wear your lucky jersey so your team wins. 00:04:34 [Speaker 3] There's there's something about superstition that recognizes there's unseen forces at work in this world that we don't totally understand and we can't control, and superstition is a way of offering us what seems like control over those forces. 00:04:50 [Speaker 3] So we talked about, how those forces are at work in this passage and how Jesus ultimately, of course, is the the one real power, And it's knowing Jesus control, Jesus power that gives us confidence in all these things. 00:05:06 [Speaker 3] So we don't have to be scared. 00:05:08 [Speaker 3] We don't have to be intimidated. 00:05:10 [Speaker 3] We don't have to worry, you know, did I jinx myself? 00:05:15 [Speaker 3] I don't wanna tempt fate. 00:05:16 [Speaker 3] I was just thinking about that one today too. 00:05:18 [Speaker 3] Like, you know, this this has worked four or five times in a row, but I don't wanna tempt fate. 00:05:23 [Speaker 3] What what does that even mean? 00:05:24 [Speaker 3] And and so it was an opportunity to just explore how for us as Christians, we we don't have to be worried about those things. 00:05:31 [Speaker 3] We don't have to be controlled by them. 00:05:33 [Speaker 3] We don't have to be fearful of them. 00:05:36 [Speaker 3] We live in a world that even though it's far removed from the ancient world is still in many ways just as superstitious and, still believes in forces bigger than us that are at work, but that doesn't scare us. 00:05:51 [Speaker 3] It doesn't intimidate us. 00:05:53 [Speaker 3] We can live in that kind of a world and acknowledge that there are forces and powers at work, but Jesus is control of all of them, and and that gives us great confidence. 00:06:04 [Speaker 3] So Paul is even able to be on this boat that is dedicated to these Greek gods, and they're even serving him. 00:06:13 [Speaker 3] They end up serving God's purposes because they carry Paul to Rome. 00:06:18 [Speaker 3] So it it's, it was an opportunity for us to maybe reflect, think about where does superstition show up in my life? 00:06:25 [Speaker 3] And do I really believe that Jesus is more powerful, than anything else going on around me? 00:06:32 [Speaker 3] And and I don't have to, either be afraid that I need to do the right things to get life to work, and I don't need to struggle with, you know, the second guessing myself of, oh, man. 00:06:44 [Speaker 3] If if I'd gone this way or if I'd made this choice, man, maybe things would have turned out better or differently. 00:06:50 [Speaker 3] Jesus is over all that, and he's in charge of all that, and he wants us to live with freedom and confidence in the knowledge of his power that's greater than all the other powers. 00:07:01 [Speaker 3] And if we're with him, then we don't have to fear anything. 00:07:05 [Speaker 3] So that was that was kinda what we looked at, sorta sorta sermon in a nutshell. 00:07:11 [Speaker 2] I think this kinda continues a theme that really has been a part of the last several messages 00:07:17 [Speaker 3] Yes. 00:07:18 [Speaker 2] You know, going back to, you know, what, Nick had had talked about in terms of, you know, we don't have to have all the answers because we know the one who does. 00:07:28 [Speaker 2] You know? 00:07:28 [Speaker 2] And and and, you know, that yeah. 00:07:32 [Speaker 2] Just it just comes up in a different way. 00:07:34 [Speaker 2] And I will just give a quick shout out. 00:07:36 [Speaker 2] You know, the the one city you didn't mention as a proud Syracuse grad would be, of course, Syracuse, but, you know, that's alright. 00:07:43 [Speaker 2] Fine. 00:07:44 [Speaker 2] We can just skip over that. 00:07:45 [Speaker 2] Maybe not important. 00:07:46 [Speaker 3] I didn't even know you'd gone to school in Italy. 00:07:48 [Speaker 3] I'm I'm sorry. 00:07:49 [Speaker 3] Right. 00:07:49 [Speaker 2] Mhmm. 00:07:50 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:07:50 [Speaker 2] Pizza was fantastic. 00:07:53 [Speaker 2] What do you think is the correct posture for Christians to have about superstitions? 00:07:59 [Speaker 2] Should we throw them all out, including your puffin socks? 00:08:02 [Speaker 2] Or what's the proper you know, I certainly had my I got my superstition, you know, thanks for Euchre or when the Pacers are playing and, you know, they're trying to win a championship. 00:08:12 [Speaker 2] Like, what's the what's the right balance between that? 00:08:18 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:08:18 [Speaker 3] That's a that's a really good question. 00:08:20 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:08:20 [Speaker 3] Like, is it okay to wear my, you know, make sure I wear my lucky hat, you know, when the Pacers are playing or, make sure I eat the right thing, you know, whatever it is. 00:08:29 [Speaker 2] It's sitting in the exact same spot on the couch and not really at the point. 00:08:33 [Speaker 2] You know, if it's Oh. 00:08:34 [Speaker 2] Things are going well, you know, you don't need to change the posture. 00:08:37 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:08:38 [Speaker 3] Man, that's a that's a really good question. 00:08:40 [Speaker 3] I think it's one one of the things that I think I mentioned in the passage is, like, Paul, for example, is, like, he's he's free to use those things. 00:08:50 [Speaker 3] He's free to not be intimidated by them. 00:08:54 [Speaker 3] Right. 00:08:54 [Speaker 3] Like, he's on a boat dedicated to pagan gods, and he's like, okay. 00:09:00 [Speaker 3] Whatever. 00:09:00 [Speaker 3] It's dedicated to pagan gods. 00:09:02 [Speaker 3] I know there's no such thing as these, you know, deities. 00:09:05 [Speaker 3] They're not really real. 00:09:07 [Speaker 3] So I, you know, I don't care. 00:09:09 [Speaker 3] It's fine. 00:09:11 [Speaker 3] So I I think if we hold it loosely in that way, like, I mean, I I jokingly mentioned at the end of the sermon, you know, I'm I'm gonna wear those puffin socks the next time I travel with Amelia because, you know, it's worked so far. 00:09:24 [Speaker 3] But I also know in the in in my deepest, you know, sanest part of my heart that it doesn't make any difference. 00:09:30 [Speaker 3] And and eventually, I'll wear the puffin socks and things won't work out, and and it won't be because, you know, the socks ever had any real power. 00:09:37 [Speaker 3] At this point, it's just, you know, it's like a it's a tradition. 00:09:40 [Speaker 3] It's a habit. 00:09:40 [Speaker 3] It's an inside joke. 00:09:42 [Speaker 3] And and, you know, so we just kinda have fun with it. 00:09:45 [Speaker 3] And and if I don't have the socks the next time I travel with Amelia, I'm gonna remind myself that I, you know, I don't have to be fearful and and, you know, I don't have to worry that something's gonna happen because I'm not wearing the socks. 00:09:57 [Speaker 3] So, you know, just have fun with it. 00:10:00 [Speaker 3] Hold it loosely. 00:10:01 [Speaker 3] Recognize that, you know, it's a, there's nothing really real there that that has power over us or over the outcomes. 00:10:13 [Speaker 3] And in that way, then, you know, just whatever. 00:10:16 [Speaker 3] If if it helps you enjoy the game more, and there's just this sort of a tradition and, you know, you can kinda hold it loosely and have fun and laugh about it, then, sure. 00:10:24 [Speaker 3] Why not? 00:10:25 [Speaker 3] I I I think I think that's kind of the attitude that the New Testament takes about those things. 00:10:32 [Speaker 3] You know, Paul so some of what I, you know, had to cut for time was, a couple of passages where Paul talks about, some of those things. 00:10:42 [Speaker 3] Like in in first Corinthians eight, Paul says, we know that an idol has no real existence and and that there is no god but one. 00:10:50 [Speaker 3] Even though there may be so called gods in heaven or on earth, yet for us, there is one god, the father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist. 00:11:00 [Speaker 3] So in other words, he's seeing, you know, the thing about meat sacrificed to idols. 00:11:04 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:11:04 [Speaker 3] Like, if your conscience lets you eat the meat, eat it. 00:11:07 [Speaker 3] And and if it won't, then don't. 00:11:08 [Speaker 3] But don't worry about it because the idol doesn't the only power the idol has is whatever we give it. 00:11:16 [Speaker 3] And and so if we remember it that way, it's just, you know, the big picture is, Paul Christ wants us to be free, to be free in him, not not to be burdened by superstition, not to be freaked out about, you know, what we did or what we didn't do if we said the right thing or didn't, you know, whatever. 00:11:35 [Speaker 3] I because honestly, you know, we can also step back from those things and kinda laugh at ourselves. 00:11:39 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:11:40 [Speaker 3] Like, you're you're wearing your lucky Pacers jersey, but, you know, the the guy cheering for the Knicks is wearing his lucky jersey. 00:11:46 [Speaker 3] So how does Jesus decide? 00:11:48 [Speaker 3] I mean, if you're both believers, like, one of you prayed more or prayed better. 00:11:54 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:11:54 [Speaker 3] So I yeah. 00:11:56 [Speaker 3] Just enjoy it. 00:11:57 [Speaker 3] Hold it loosely. 00:11:58 [Speaker 3] Have fun with it. 00:11:59 [Speaker 3] And, remember, it doesn't really have any power. 00:12:02 [Speaker 2] And I think the point you made, which I really liked, was just thinking through, you know, God's power being over everything, and and really truly truly believing that the same power that is available, or was available to Paul and and the scriptures that we read throughout, you know, both the old and new testament is 00:12:22 [Speaker 3] Mhmm. 00:12:23 [Speaker 2] Is, still available to me and hasn't changed. 00:12:27 [Speaker 2] And so, you know, to be you know, I think that, aware of that, and I think so superstition tries to give us the illusion that we're in control, and that's, a dangerous mindset to have, because there will be times in your life where you won't be in control and and that superstition, you know, really will be seen as a sham that it is. 00:12:49 [Speaker 3] Right. 00:12:49 [Speaker 3] Right. 00:12:50 [Speaker 3] And and in those moments where the superstition fails or, you know, didn't didn't turn out the right way, am I turning to Jesus and and the promises that he gives me in that moment? 00:13:02 [Speaker 3] Or am I, you know, maybe well, maybe I needed a different lucky coin or maybe this isn't the you know, maybe this isn't the right thing and, you know, then I get maybe I get mad at the jersey. 00:13:13 [Speaker 3] And I said, well, fine. 00:13:14 [Speaker 3] If you're not gonna help the Pacers win, then the heck with you and, you know, then I get rid of it. 00:13:20 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:13:20 [Speaker 3] I I think those are the opportunities where kinda the the rubber meets the road, so to speak, and our our faith comes into play. 00:13:27 [Speaker 3] And I can, like, slow myself down and remind myself, like, okay. 00:13:30 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:13:31 [Speaker 3] Fine. 00:13:31 [Speaker 3] Whatever. 00:13:32 [Speaker 3] You know? 00:13:32 [Speaker 3] Jesus is in control. 00:13:33 [Speaker 3] It it was never this thing. 00:13:35 [Speaker 3] It was never where I sat on the couch, or or the the socks that I wore or, you know, turning the cap inside out. 00:13:43 [Speaker 3] It it it's about Jesus, and I I can trust his purposes and his character when I don't understand what he's doing. 00:13:51 [Speaker 2] And, yeah, he he he promised to Paul he was gonna make it to Rome, and he made it. 00:13:55 [Speaker 2] That's Yeah. 00:13:56 [Speaker 2] The key. 00:13:57 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:13:57 [Speaker 3] Which is which is a again, I was struck by that in the passage again, like, how anticlimactic it is. 00:14:04 [Speaker 3] I mean, it's unbelievably anticlimactic. 00:14:08 [Speaker 3] This is like journeys. 00:14:10 [Speaker 3] I mean, this the whole sea journey, weeks at sea and the shipwreck and storm tossed and tacking throwing tackle overboard and washing up on the beach in Malta and, you know oh, there's the snakes. 00:14:23 [Speaker 3] And we got to Rome. 00:14:24 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:14:25 [Speaker 3] Like, wait. 00:14:26 [Speaker 3] What? 00:14:26 [Speaker 3] Like, it feels like there should be a triumphal procession and, like, a huge celebration, and it's just like, well, no. 00:14:33 [Speaker 3] Jesus said we would, and we did. 00:14:36 [Speaker 3] So yeah. 00:14:38 [Speaker 2] Pastor Jeff, anything else, you kinda mentioned briefly one thing you kinda cut for time. 00:14:43 [Speaker 2] What else? 00:14:44 [Speaker 3] Oh, you know, something struck me, and they're just it wasn't, I think it's fascinating and and it didn't really fit in with, you know, the the the sermon development and and the whole passage. 00:14:57 [Speaker 3] But I I think there's such an echo here of, the voyage of Jonah, like a a compare and contrast. 00:15:07 [Speaker 3] Jonah is reluctantly, angrily going to Nineveh, the the capital of, you know, a powerful hated empire. 00:15:15 [Speaker 3] And yet Paul is willingly going to the capital of, you know, the power powerful, violent, immoral empire. 00:15:24 [Speaker 3] Like, Paul is is the better Jonah in a sense. 00:15:27 [Speaker 3] And, of course, you know, Jesus is the ultimate hero, of course. 00:15:30 [Speaker 3] But, it's kind of interesting. 00:15:32 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:15:33 [Speaker 3] Like, Paul is like, okay. 00:15:35 [Speaker 3] If you wanna take me to Rome to be an ambassador and a witness for you, Lord, send me. 00:15:40 [Speaker 3] I'm ready to go. 00:15:41 [Speaker 3] And Jonah was like, no. 00:15:43 [Speaker 3] Forget that. 00:15:43 [Speaker 3] They're horrible. 00:15:45 [Speaker 3] I I hate them. 00:15:47 [Speaker 3] You know, in in the journey, there there's this huge storm that's caused by God, controlled by God. 00:15:54 [Speaker 3] And, in both cases, the the pagan sailors, are forced to acknowledge the the presence and the power of the God of Israel. 00:16:05 [Speaker 3] In in Jonah's case, actually, they were maybe more quick to acknowledge Yahweh than, the sailors with Paul interestingly. 00:16:16 [Speaker 3] And and, you know, we we talked about this a little bit. 00:16:19 [Speaker 3] You know, in Jonah's case, the sea was violent, and God sends a storm because Jonah is disobeying. 00:16:26 [Speaker 3] Mhmm. 00:16:27 [Speaker 3] And, in in Paul's case, the seas are violent even though Paul is obeying God's call. 00:16:37 [Speaker 3] So there there's an interesting irony there. 00:16:39 [Speaker 3] And and the weather for this last leg of Paul's journey doesn't improve because he suddenly, you know, started obeying and doing things right. 00:16:48 [Speaker 3] It it's it's a lot more complicated and nuanced here. 00:16:52 [Speaker 3] Even though Paul is the better Jonah in that sense, he still had he has even a worse journey than Jonah did. 00:17:01 [Speaker 3] You know, more violent, more destructive, more life threatening. 00:17:05 [Speaker 3] And and God isn't using that storm to get Paul's attention. 00:17:08 [Speaker 3] He's using the storm, I think, to get the pagan sailors attention. 00:17:15 [Speaker 3] And Paul is along for the ride in a sense and willing to bear the cost, willing to suffer along with these pagan sailors for the sake of them having an opportunity to recognize the power of the one true God. 00:17:34 [Speaker 3] So Paul's smooth sailing doesn't come about because, you know, he finally got right and acknowledged God's control, like Jonah did. 00:17:43 [Speaker 3] So, yeah, we talked a little bit about, how we have to sort of be careful in sorting through how we judge and assess what's going on. 00:17:53 [Speaker 3] Like, well, things are going bad, so maybe I'm in trouble and God's upset with me. 00:17:57 [Speaker 3] Well, maybe, but, you know, not in Paul's case. 00:18:02 [Speaker 3] He he had a horrible journey while he was completely obeying God. 00:18:06 [Speaker 3] He ended up in prison unjustly for a couple of years for doing nothing but following God's direction. 00:18:13 [Speaker 3] So it's yeah I mean it also raises that that contrast raises those questions for us for thinking through how do we judge what God is doing? 00:18:24 [Speaker 3] Because it's not always by external circumstances. 00:18:27 [Speaker 3] It's it's not always by whether things are going smoothly or well or whether there's difficult. 00:18:34 [Speaker 3] So, yeah, I just I'd that came to me and and came up in some commentaries. 00:18:38 [Speaker 3] I I love that sort of compare and contrast, between Jonah's journey and Paul's journey, and some similarities, but some some clear differences too. 00:18:48 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:18:50 [Speaker 2] It is interesting. 00:18:51 [Speaker 2] And, yeah, certainly, same with the superstition. 00:18:55 [Speaker 2] I mean, kinda continuing along those lines. 00:18:57 [Speaker 2] You know, if you think about Job or Joseph or, Moses, I mean, there's just so many, and, of course, Jesus being, you know, prime example that, you know, just because you're doing the right thing does not mean that things are gonna go well or smoothly for you. 00:19:12 [Speaker 2] And so to not confuse, you know, your righteous actions with, a a mistake on god's part. 00:19:24 [Speaker 3] That that doesn't Oh, yeah. 00:19:27 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:19:27 [Speaker 3] Well, I I thought I could trust you if I'm serving you, lord. 00:19:30 [Speaker 3] And Right. 00:19:31 [Speaker 3] And this happens. 00:19:32 [Speaker 3] And, Yeah. 00:19:34 [Speaker 3] That's very tempting too. 00:19:36 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:19:36 [Speaker 3] That's it puts that's almost like going back to the superstition part itself. 00:19:40 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:19:41 [Speaker 3] It's like we have this belief that if I if I put in the right inputs, I'll get the right outputs. 00:19:48 [Speaker 3] And there's not even a quick and easy answer that says no. 00:19:53 [Speaker 3] That's not the way it works because there's a lot in the Bible, like the all the wisdom literature that gives us advice and direction and observations about life generally goes better if you try and do things God's way. 00:20:04 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:20:05 [Speaker 3] Like, he created this world and he's structured it a certain way, and yet the world doesn't work the way it's supposed to. 00:20:12 [Speaker 3] And sometimes the wicked prosper and sometimes the righteous suffer. 00:20:15 [Speaker 3] And, that's that's why it's wisdom literature because it's encouraging us to reflect and to seek wisdom for understanding all these things, because there's no easy one to one correspondence, like we would like to have. 00:20:30 [Speaker 2] It would be nice, but that's Yeah. 00:20:33 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:20:33 [Speaker 2] Well, there were two questions that got sent in. 00:20:36 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:20:37 [Speaker 2] We can always love that. 00:20:39 [Speaker 2] So let's keep this going. 00:20:40 [Speaker 2] Yes. 00:20:41 [Speaker 2] One question was disconnected to just thinking through the hospitality, shown by the the believers there on that island. 00:20:52 [Speaker 2] This person just kind of pointed out that, you know, if this, you know, group of believers was hosting everybody, I mean, this is close to 300 people. 00:21:01 [Speaker 2] Right. 00:21:01 [Speaker 2] Right. 00:21:01 [Speaker 2] You know, with some who obviously, Paul, not a dangerous criminal, but there probably were people that that were 00:21:08 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:21:09 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:21:09 [Speaker 2] And sick. 00:21:10 [Speaker 2] So what's what do you think about that idea? 00:21:15 [Speaker 2] And and perhaps, again, maybe things that you read or or thought about, or, what kind of encouragement or or things would you be thinking about when it comes to, you know, what kind of example that might be to us, either individually or perhaps corporately? 00:21:34 [Speaker 3] That's that's a really good question. 00:21:38 [Speaker 3] So one thing, like the, yeah, the believers who, invited us to stay with them for seven days, you know, when when they get to Italy. 00:21:48 [Speaker 3] That that was one example. 00:21:50 [Speaker 3] So The Us there might not necessarily it probably doesn't mean all 276 people. 00:21:59 [Speaker 3] You know, there there were sailors. 00:22:01 [Speaker 3] There were merchants. 00:22:04 [Speaker 3] There there were certainly soldiers and and some other prisoners on board. 00:22:07 [Speaker 3] So it it has to at least include Luke and Paul and at least some soldiers to guard Paul. 00:22:14 [Speaker 3] And maybe it did include, you know, some other prisoners that were on their way to being, you know, marched up to Rome. 00:22:20 [Speaker 3] So, I I think there yeah. 00:22:23 [Speaker 3] There's an interesting I think there's maybe an interesting balancing or contrast there between, what maybe we just call sanctified common sense, as well as, yeah, kind of a radical generosity. 00:22:43 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:22:43 [Speaker 3] It's good to remind ourselves that, you know, what we're talking about is a group of people who are essentially under police escort. 00:22:51 [Speaker 3] So it's not like they just went out and invited violent criminals off the street to come live in their home for a week. 00:22:57 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:22:57 [Speaker 3] Like, that would probably just be foolishness, which, again, going back to wisdom literature, I mean, the Bible encourages us to be wise. 00:23:05 [Speaker 3] And yet following Jesus doesn't always look like, you know, it makes sense according to, you know, what our what our common sense might tell us. 00:23:14 [Speaker 3] So, yeah, there may very well have been dangerous criminals here. 00:23:17 [Speaker 3] There were also Roman soldiers who were there guarding them too. 00:23:22 [Speaker 3] So I I don't know if that helps answer the question some. 00:23:28 [Speaker 3] I I think, you know, as we think about what does it mean for us to practice hospitality in our context, man, man, that takes a lot. 00:23:35 [Speaker 3] That that could be an interesting whole, you know, Sunday morning grow class discussion on its own because the context is so different. 00:23:44 [Speaker 3] The the expectations around what hospitality looks like are very different. 00:23:50 [Speaker 3] I think it's worth us really trying to think through what does it mean to practice hospitality in in our culture. 00:23:58 [Speaker 3] I think for us maybe some of the more immediate challenges in our context are I mean in my lifetime and your lifetime Dan, we've certainly seen a shift from, I heard a comedian say a little while ago like, man, when we were kids, the the doorbell rang and, like, everyone rushed to, like, go answer the door. 00:24:19 [Speaker 3] Well, I wanna answer the door. 00:24:20 [Speaker 3] I wanna answer the phone. 00:24:21 [Speaker 3] And now it's like we get angry if someone calls us or or rings the doorbell Because we have our homes have become the center of, like, all of our entertainment, our comfort, we can now have access to everything that it seems like we would need to to make life comfortable and to have social interaction so that, like, someone coming by to visit actually can annoy us. 00:24:47 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:24:47 [Speaker 2] Like Our home is our castle. 00:24:49 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:24:50 [Speaker 3] Our our castle, our comfy space, our private zone. 00:24:53 [Speaker 3] And, we probably have to work more intentionally to make sure that we are literally opening up our homes even just to our Christian brothers and sisters, much less even our neighbors. 00:25:08 [Speaker 3] We we have to fight against our own kind of cultural, I don't know, inertia or, you know, withdrawing into our own little private worlds. 00:25:17 [Speaker 3] And and we need space for ourselves. 00:25:19 [Speaker 3] There's nothing wrong with having comfortable homes and, you know, nice things and, Internet or whatever. 00:25:26 [Speaker 3] I I think it's good for us to ask, like, you know, the the stuff that I'm already doing anyway, are there ways that I could just not take on something more necessarily, but I could think intentionally about how I could invite my neighbors into that. 00:25:42 [Speaker 3] Like, I'm gonna have dinner anyway. 00:25:45 [Speaker 3] I'm gonna cook out anyway. 00:25:47 [Speaker 3] I'm gonna watch the game anyway. 00:25:50 [Speaker 3] So it it doesn't happen as naturally, but we could say, like, well, why not invite the neighbors? 00:25:57 [Speaker 3] Why not let my home be the one that, you know, at least every so often, I'm hosting the get together for the game? 00:26:04 [Speaker 3] Or, you know, I I like reading books, and maybe there are women in my neighborhood who like reading books. 00:26:10 [Speaker 3] Books. 00:26:10 [Speaker 3] So I could ask a few of my neighbors. 00:26:13 [Speaker 3] Hey. 00:26:13 [Speaker 3] You wanna get together, like, maybe just once a month and find a good book to read together, and let's talk about it as a way of just, you know, building community and deepening friendships and connections. 00:26:25 [Speaker 3] So, yeah, it's, in in that day and age, I I think again, thinking about the the cultural differences, there there weren't there were no hotels. 00:26:36 [Speaker 3] There there were no, you know, like, taverns and places like the the the three tavern city. 00:26:41 [Speaker 3] Again, great. 00:26:42 [Speaker 3] What a great name. 00:26:44 [Speaker 3] I mean, taverns had a pretty bad reputation. 00:26:46 [Speaker 3] Person there were no hotels, and taverns were could be, like, pretty shady and dangerous. 00:26:51 [Speaker 3] And so hospitality in that culture was really just, like, people are gonna be in actual danger if I don't open up my home. 00:27:00 [Speaker 3] Like, you you don't just roll into town and find a hotel. 00:27:04 [Speaker 3] Like, the good thinking back, you know, like, we have examples of that in scripture. 00:27:10 [Speaker 3] Like, going back to, like, Lot in Genesis, and these strangers are gonna sleep in the city square. 00:27:16 [Speaker 3] And he's, like, horrified. 00:27:17 [Speaker 3] Like, are you crazy? 00:27:18 [Speaker 3] Like, that's super dangerous, so you guys need to come stay with me. 00:27:23 [Speaker 3] So, again, that's not our world, but that's probably why we see those examples of hospitality that that really stand out to us. 00:27:31 [Speaker 3] And I think for us, it's good to think about, okay, where the where the needs, where the breakdowns in community and, social, you know, a thick social network in our culture that as Christians, we can step into and model welcome and openness and generosity. 00:27:53 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:27:54 [Speaker 2] I I, you know, thinking about, you know, prisoners like you, they didn't provide food for him either. 00:28:00 [Speaker 2] You know? 00:28:00 [Speaker 2] And so, you know, so just yeah. 00:28:02 [Speaker 2] It's just it's a totally different culture or context. 00:28:04 [Speaker 3] That's that's a great point. 00:28:05 [Speaker 2] I would love to be the Roman soldier that was in charge of, watching out for Paul, though. 00:28:09 [Speaker 2] That, you know, that I think that was a pretty good gig too. 00:28:12 [Speaker 2] Whoever got that shift was was doing pretty good for himself. 00:28:15 [Speaker 3] And and don't you think that was, like, a huge witness of the gospel. 00:28:19 [Speaker 3] Right? 00:28:19 [Speaker 3] Like Absolutely. 00:28:20 [Speaker 3] This guy's a prisoner, but he's, like, he's, like, good, and he's kind, and he's trustworthy, and he cares for people that he doesn't even know. 00:28:28 [Speaker 3] And, like, they're used to dealing with probably hardened criminals. 00:28:32 [Speaker 3] And yeah. 00:28:34 [Speaker 3] And this and this follower of this Jesus guy is, like, a genuinely good person. 00:28:41 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:28:41 [Speaker 3] That I that I don't have any worries around. 00:28:43 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:28:45 [Speaker 2] Well, second question, connected to this, just thinking through, that entire stop, You know, it would seem like everybody, was kinda going off of Paul's agenda in some ways. 00:29:00 [Speaker 2] And and, you know, but he's not the captain of the ship. 00:29:03 [Speaker 2] But, actually, he is the one who predicted the storm, predicted that everyone would survive. 00:29:08 [Speaker 2] Reminded, you know, the the, you know, Roman soldier in charge, hey. 00:29:13 [Speaker 2] Don't let those sailors get off and cut those cut the lines on that lifeboat, you know, protected from a poisonous snake. 00:29:22 [Speaker 2] You know, it was healed 00:29:23 [Speaker 3] by 00:29:23 [Speaker 2] Julius' father and so many other people in Malta. 00:29:26 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:29:28 [Speaker 2] Is there anything in in you know, as your preparations for this connected to just how the dynamics have changed in this, and that all these, you know, close to 300 people have seems like stopped so that Paul can hang out with them. 00:29:44 [Speaker 2] I guess you kinda talked about, well, maybe not everybody was there, and so it may have been everybody was stopped, and so he would just have an opportunity. 00:29:52 [Speaker 2] But, any commentators or any any thoughts about that as you're preparing? 00:29:57 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:29:57 [Speaker 3] I I yeah. 00:29:58 [Speaker 3] That's an interesting one. 00:29:59 [Speaker 3] I mean, that in itself is an interesting observation and not one that I had really come across or or hadn't read a lot about. 00:30:05 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:30:06 [Speaker 3] You wonder, how much of that is maybe reflection of their just growing awareness that, whatever plans we kind of had, it seems like whatever the gods or this god of Paul is doing, like, he seems to be pretty central here. 00:30:23 [Speaker 3] And, yeah, maybe there's even though it's not a major theme or even explicit here, maybe, like, a kind of a deference or a respect, an admiration, a trust towards Paul. 00:30:38 [Speaker 3] I mean, even the comment about, again, if we think about it, you know, they they get to kinda near modern day Naples, and were invited to stay with the brothers for seven days. 00:30:50 [Speaker 3] Like, how did that even come about that the the Julius the centurion and the other soldiers were just okay with hanging out in Naples for seven days with with or near Paul and his friends. 00:31:03 [Speaker 3] So, yeah, God is is doing something there that, again, maybe even going back to the echo of the Jonah story. 00:31:11 [Speaker 3] Like, none of the guys on the boat that Jonah got on thought he was the central character of, you know, this adventure that they were going on. 00:31:19 [Speaker 3] They thought they were just sailing the ship to Tarshish. 00:31:22 [Speaker 3] And all of a sudden, it turns out the guy asleep down in the hold is the most important guy on the boat. 00:31:29 [Speaker 3] And all of a sudden, he becomes the center of attention. 00:31:31 [Speaker 3] Like, what do we do now? 00:31:33 [Speaker 3] So, you know, we don't we don't see that explicitly in this story, but you almost kinda get the sense that maybe there's something like that going on here, that they've realized maybe on reflection. 00:31:47 [Speaker 3] Paul's been right all along. 00:31:49 [Speaker 3] We should have listened to him sooner. 00:31:51 [Speaker 3] And then there's three months that they're sort of stuck on Malta waiting for the winter to pass, and certainly the stories of, you know, miraculous healings will have gotten around. 00:32:01 [Speaker 3] And Paul's still under the command and and, you know, supervision of this Roman guard at some level. 00:32:08 [Speaker 3] So, they're seeing all this. 00:32:10 [Speaker 3] They're hearing all this. 00:32:11 [Speaker 3] I wonder if, yeah, how much is, like, Paul almost kind of implicitly appointed the head of the expedition at this point? 00:32:22 [Speaker 3] Like, Julius has the sword in the command, but they're almost kinda being led by Paul in a sense maybe. 00:32:30 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:32:30 [Speaker 3] That's interesting. 00:32:31 [Speaker 3] You you wonder if there's maybe a little implicit theme there of, God working out his purposes and us being able to have confidence in that without even seeking to be in charge or, you know, grab control, but that maybe the testimony of our lives, what God is doing through us is is speaking to people around us in a way that, you know, may maybe, you know, the maybe we've had stories of like that with people at work, you know, coming up to us and seeking our advice, seeking our input. 00:33:07 [Speaker 3] What do you think about this? 00:33:08 [Speaker 3] Because there's I I remember, before I went to seminary, the last job I had, the the place I worked at, I had a coworker come up to me one time and say and this was not a a great work environment at all. 00:33:21 [Speaker 3] And she said, like, Jeff, how does this it it seems like this place doesn't get to you. 00:33:25 [Speaker 3] How do you how do you manage to, like, not be angry and anxious all the time in this, like, you know, kinda messed up work environment? 00:33:34 [Speaker 3] And and it was like an opportunity to talk about the the faith that I had and the hope that I had in the father, but it was like the this person could see there's something going on in this person's life that that makes me want to listen to them and makes me want to hear more about how are how is that happening in your life? 00:33:55 [Speaker 3] How are you able to, like, have this kind of peace and this kind of, you know how does it seem like, you know, whether things are going well or not that, you have some kind of a hope or a confidence. 00:34:09 [Speaker 3] And so maybe you've had examples like that or you like, we've heard heard stories like that from other people where, I I think maybe as much as anything, that's kinda what's going on. 00:34:21 [Speaker 3] It's it's not like they vote Paul the leader of the expedition, but I I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, Julius the centurion is probably even asking Paul what he thinks about their agenda and how long yeah. 00:34:36 [Speaker 3] We can stay here. 00:34:37 [Speaker 3] Sure. 00:34:38 [Speaker 3] You know, your friends are hosting us, and they're they're being really nice. 00:34:42 [Speaker 3] Sure. 00:34:42 [Speaker 3] Let's let's hang out here. 00:34:44 [Speaker 3] If you if your friends are okay with that, Paul, we'll take advantage of the hospitality. 00:34:48 [Speaker 3] And 00:34:51 [Speaker 2] Yeah. 00:34:51 [Speaker 2] He he's the MVP. 00:34:52 [Speaker 2] He's the most valuable passenger. 00:34:53 [Speaker 2] So let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's 00:34:56 [Speaker 3] let's do 00:34:57 [Speaker 2] what he wants to do. 00:34:58 [Speaker 2] Nice. 00:34:59 [Speaker 2] Well, Jeff, we have, two two more weeks. 00:35:02 [Speaker 2] Can you give us kind of a just a brief, look ahead, here as we're we're getting so close to finishing the aftermath here? 00:35:11 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:35:11 [Speaker 3] So this, this Sunday, we're gonna be looking at, what Paul actually does when he gets to Rome. 00:35:20 [Speaker 3] And it it it may may or may not be surprising in some ways because it's, honestly a little typical of Paul, but it's Paul's opportunity again to look for his fellow Jews and try and talk to them about Jesus the Messiah and talk about the kingdom. 00:35:38 [Speaker 3] And we'll look at how Paul structures that and even some, maybe what seemed like, minor things going on here that actually I think are pretty significant that speak to us in, what it means for us in in how we talk about Jesus and engage with people. 00:35:56 [Speaker 3] And then the the last sort of wrap up is the is gonna be the last couple of verses of chapter 28, which in some ways I think will will be sort of a look backwards and a look forwards. 00:36:09 [Speaker 3] Like, we we've come to the end of this journey. 00:36:12 [Speaker 3] Luke ends the book in kind of a really interesting unexpected way, and I think there's a reason for that. 00:36:18 [Speaker 3] And and we'll talk about that and what that means for us and our part in the story. 00:36:24 [Speaker 2] Looking forward to it. 00:36:25 [Speaker 2] Very much looking forward to it. 00:36:26 [Speaker 3] Yeah. 00:36:27 [Speaker 3] Alright. 00:36:27 [Speaker 2] Well, thank you, pastor Jeff, for all your time here. 00:36:30 [Speaker 2] We'll just send a message to everyone, listening that we will be, recording cut for time next week, but it will be coming a few days late. 00:36:40 [Speaker 2] So if you've set your clocks for Wednesday, just realize, you know, just, it it will be there. 00:36:47 [Speaker 2] Just a few people on vacation, things like that. 00:36:49 [Speaker 2] So we'll just take a little bit more time to, to get on there, but it will be there. 00:36:53 [Speaker 2] So, thanks so much for listening. 00:36:55 [Speaker 2] Until next time, we'll see you next week, Pastor Jeff. 00:36:58 [Speaker 3] Thanks, Dan. 00:37:01 [Speaker 1] Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Cut for Time. 00:37:04 [Speaker 1] If you wish to submit questions to our pastors following Sunday's sermon, you can email them to podcast@faithchurchindy.com. 00:37:13 [Speaker 1] Or text them in to our Faith Church texting number, and we'll do our best to cover them in next week's episode. 00:37:21 [Speaker 1] If this conversation blessed you in any way, we encourage you to share it with others. 00:37:25 [Speaker 1] We'll be back again next week.