We've recently gotten hooked up with a home group from our church, and so we've been meandering our way through the book of Acts on Sunday nights. As the series comes to a close, we've arrived in the latter third of the book, and, well, I've been exposed. As in, I like to think that I'm a bit of an Acts scholar since in IV through the years we've spent so much time teaching and training out of Acts. Problem is, I've realized that what I really mean is that I'm good through about Acts 15. After the council, I'm really Acts illiterate. So it's been terrific to keep going with this study.
The other night Amy and I came across a little gem of a passage in Acts 20:7-12. And, as a sometimes preacher, all I can say is that it's good to know I'm not alone in having people fall asleep during my talk. Plus, at least I've never killed someone! The text is here. Here a couple of things I love about it.
1. Paul INTENDS to speak until midnight. For some of us, going long just happens. For Paul, it's purposeful. He's leaving in the morning, and there are some things he needs the people to hear...and that's just how it's gonna be.
2. Evidently, Paul's a bit boring. I love it how Luke writes it: "as Paul talked on and on." Reminds me of the teacher from Charlie Brown's class.
3. The only thing that stops the boredom is a resurrection. How bizarre is this! Dude falls 3 stories onto his dome, dies and then Paul gets to perform a miracle. Not only does Paul not get prosecuted, he comes home the hero! Brilliant!
4. Unfazed, Paul just keeps talking. Like the energizer bunny, he keeps going until dawn! I'm wondering if perhaps this happens often for Paul. Maybe he's used to people dying during his sermons?
3 comments:
You forgot to mention in the previous post that one of the things that gets you up in the morning is blogging, or maybe that happens after the run, 5:49am Good Lord (channel old woman's voice...mercy) Why doesn't this kind of thing happen at a large group.
Good ol' Eutychus. Rob Knight himself gets the credit for imprinting that name in my memory (as though the story itself wouldn't remain there). I remember him saying it's pronounced: "You'd a-cussed" as in "You'd a-cussed, too if you fell from a third-story window!"
Good observations. If you ever expound on chapter 20, I'd like the tape of your sermon, please.
I could have fallen out of the second story of the Business Building during some of those 7:30AM structural analysis lectures...G Money.
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