THE CHURCH AND THE NEED FOR HOLINESS (13 OF 56)
Scripture: Acts 5:17-42
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The Church and the Need for Holiness (13 of 56)
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 5:17-42
Read Acts 5:1-16
When I was a boy there was a pastor in a church in my hometown who was accused of behaving immorally with a woman in the congregation. Word of this had spread among the church members and, on the following Sunday, he stood in the pulpit before a large audience to preach his final sermon on his way out. A friend of mine was sitting in the sanctuary and observed what I am telling you today.
This church is an old church and a stately church and had at the time an elevated, partially enclosed pulpit that the preacher ascended into to preach. Above that pulpit was a huge chandelier that came down to a point in which sat a large light bulb that shone down upon the pulpit. The minister preached his final sermon, neither affirming or denying the allegations, and, when he stopped preaching, the large light bulb hanging above the pulpit detached, fell, and shattered just before the pulpit. A friend of mine was present in this service and witnessed this happened. He shared that it was a very weird and very strange thing that caught everybody's attention.
We should perhaps be careful not to read too much into these things, but we should also be careful not to read too little into them. After all, the Lord God reserves the right to make powerful and chilling points when He needs to. God above sometimes speaks in startling and unexpected ways, especially, it seems, when the holiness of his church is at stake.
God is Jealous for the Holiness of His Church Because He is Himself Holy
God has so spoken before, but in much, much more dramatic fashion. Our text provides us with this incident. The Church is growing. It has passed its first test of persecution and people are coming into fellowship with Christ and His Church in droves. Then we read this:
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and wi ...
Series: The Church in ACTSion
Wyman Richardson
Acts 5:17-42
Read Acts 5:1-16
When I was a boy there was a pastor in a church in my hometown who was accused of behaving immorally with a woman in the congregation. Word of this had spread among the church members and, on the following Sunday, he stood in the pulpit before a large audience to preach his final sermon on his way out. A friend of mine was sitting in the sanctuary and observed what I am telling you today.
This church is an old church and a stately church and had at the time an elevated, partially enclosed pulpit that the preacher ascended into to preach. Above that pulpit was a huge chandelier that came down to a point in which sat a large light bulb that shone down upon the pulpit. The minister preached his final sermon, neither affirming or denying the allegations, and, when he stopped preaching, the large light bulb hanging above the pulpit detached, fell, and shattered just before the pulpit. A friend of mine was present in this service and witnessed this happened. He shared that it was a very weird and very strange thing that caught everybody's attention.
We should perhaps be careful not to read too much into these things, but we should also be careful not to read too little into them. After all, the Lord God reserves the right to make powerful and chilling points when He needs to. God above sometimes speaks in startling and unexpected ways, especially, it seems, when the holiness of his church is at stake.
God is Jealous for the Holiness of His Church Because He is Himself Holy
God has so spoken before, but in much, much more dramatic fashion. Our text provides us with this incident. The Church is growing. It has passed its first test of persecution and people are coming into fellowship with Christ and His Church in droves. Then we read this:
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and wi ...
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