2026-05-03 - CourtneyR.dev's 2nd Brain

# St. John's United Church of Christ — Sunday, May 3, 2026 > **Recording**: [YouTube — Sunday May 3, 2026: Paul's Sermon at Athens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8) ## Liturgical Context ### Christian Liturgical Calendar - **Season**: Easter - **Sunday**: Fifth Sunday of Easter - **Liturgical Color**: White (Easter season) - **RCL Year**: A (Matthew focus; began Advent 2025) - **Narrative Lectionary**: Year 4 – John focus - **NL Designation**: NL443 — Paul's Sermon at Athens - **Days from Easter**: 28 days after Resurrection of Our Lord (April 5, 2026) - **Days until Pentecost**: 21 days until Pentecost (May 24, 2026) - **Easter Vigil through Pentecost**: We are in the Great Fifty Days, the Church's longest sustained season of joy ### Jewish Calendar - **Hebrew Date**: 16 Iyar 5786 - **Day of Omer**: Day 31 of the Counting of the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer) - **Recent Observance**: Pesach Sheni (Second Passover, 14 Iyar) — May 1, 2026 - **Upcoming Observance**: Lag BaOmer (33rd day of Omer, 18 Iyar) — May 5, 2026 - **Shabbat**: Saturday, May 2 (Parashat Acharei Mot–Kedoshim or single portion depending on year cycle — verify with Hebcal) - **Note for preaching**: Both the Counting of the Omer and the Easter season trace 50-day arcs anchored in liberation/resurrection moving toward divine self-disclosure (Sinai/Pentecost). The fifty-day shape is shared. ### Ecumenical & Global Observances - **World Press Freedom Day** (UN, May 3) — established 1993; theme each year addresses press freedom and journalist safety - **Eastern Orthodox**: Pascha 2026 falls April 12 (Julian/Revised Julian calendars); Orthodox Easter is one week after Western Easter this year ### Lectionary Readings #### Narrative Lectionary (used at St. John's) - **Primary**: Acts 17:16-31 — Paul's Sermon at the Areopagus - **Accompanying (optional)**: John 1:16-18 #### Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Easter 5 - **Acts**: Acts 7:55-60 (Stoning of Stephen) - **Psalm**: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 - **Epistle**: 1 Peter 2:2-10 - **Gospel**: John 14:1-14 > **Note**: The bulletin pairs **John 14:15-21** (the RCL Year A Easter 6 gospel, used a week early) with the NL Acts 17 reading. Both texts share the theme of recognizing/encountering an unseen God: in John, through the Spirit-Advocate who indwells the disciples; in Acts 17, by naming the "unknown god" of Athenian altars. ### Connection to Today's Message Paul's Areopagus sermon (Acts 17) is one of the most rhetorically sophisticated speeches in the New Testament — Paul quotes pagan poets (Epimenides, Aratus), works from natural theology, and reframes Athenian piety rather than condemning it. Pairing this with John 14:15-21 — where Jesus promises the Spirit who will be "in you" — sets up a meditation on **divine immanence**: a God "not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:27) who is also the indwelling Advocate. For a UCC congregation, this is fertile territory: extravagant welcome, the conviction that no honest human searching is alien to the gospel, and the move from "unknown" toward known relationship. --- ## Order of Worship > _An asterisk (*) indicates "Please stand in body or in spirit."_ _Each subheading links to its YouTube timestamp in the recording._ ### Gathering #### [Gathering Song — _"This is the Day"_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=1842s) > _Music begins ~30:42. Pastor Caroline calls "This is the day. This is the day of the Lord."_ #### [Unison Welcome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=1882s) > No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. #### [Announcements](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=1913s) - **New Members / Inquirers Class** today after worship in Conference Room 111 - **Joanne Shu memorial chips** at coffee hour — Joanne's family donated bags of chips with humorous stickers ("It's not a snack, it's a vegetable") in her memory; chips were her favorite food during intake questions - **Hymn Sing on May 17** — submit up to three favorite hymns from the green _Celebrating Grace_ hymnal or _Hymnal Companion_ via the yellow insert in the offering plate #### [Mission Moment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2041s) — Harold Collier - **Q1 First Fruits** raised over **$6,200** — per Peg Bryner, the most ever raised in a First Fruits campaign - **Q2 First Fruits** beneficiaries: - **Race Against Poverty** (SCAP) — walkers signed up; donations accepted on RAP website - **Maranatha Ministry** — cold weather shelter; their Southgate-area building has flooded repeatedly and they need to move; they need funds - **United Way Stuff the Bus** — school supplies (binders, notebooks, backpacks); boxes will go out before fall - **NETWork Ministries summer snacks** — boxes out front, Diana or Don Hendrickson coordinate delivery - **New Life Through Gardening bulletin board** — share photos of trees, walks, gardens; coming soon: a zucchini-sharing table; some member-written poetry already posted #### [Passing of the Peace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2221s) > _"The peace of Christ be with you"_ **"And also with you"** #### [Chiming of the Trinity & Prelude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2292s) > _Trinitarian invocation at ~40:34: "We worship in the name of God, creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen."_ #### [*Call to Worship](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2441s) _adapted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion_ > Bless the Lord, O people, sing! **Let the sound of praise ring out.** Come and hear what the Lord has done, **the Lord who has made everything!** Let us sing and pray, as we praise and worship God together! #### [*Hymn #19 — _"I Sing the Mighty Power of God"_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2470s) - **Words**: Isaac Watts, 1715 _(public domain)_ - **Music**: Forest Green — Traditional English melody; arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906 _(public domain)_ - **Meter**: CMD (Common Meter Doubled, 8.6.8.6.D) - **Hymnary.org**: [I Sing the Mighty Power of God](https://hymnary.org/text/i_sing_the_mighty_power_of_god) > **Verse 1** I sing the mighty power of God, that made the mountains rise, That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; The moon shines full at His command, and all the stars obey. > > **Verse 2** I sing the goodness of the Lord, that filled the earth with food; He formed the creatures with His Word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where'er I turn my eye, If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky! > > **Verse 3** There's not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known; And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne; While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care, And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God, art present there. #### [Call to Confession](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2618s) _from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion_ > Siblings in Christ, God not only asks us to repent, but also assures us of forgiveness. Therefore, let us confess our sins to the one who is steadfast love. #### [Prayer of Confession](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2637s) _written by Rev. Mindi, posted on Rev-o-lution_ > Almighty God, you have set before us the path but we have wandered on our own to try to find our way. Sometimes we are like toddlers and we hear Your call and come back. Other times, we are children testing boundaries, ignoring Your call until fear finally makes us look back. And still other times we are full of youthful rebellion, demanding to be cut loose and set free, not knowing how much we still need to seek Your wisdom and guidance. But most of all, too often we think we are adults and have figured it all out and know our own way, only to stumble and stray so far. Remind us, parental God, that we are always Your children, that we are never fully grown up in Your sight, that we always have much to learn. Help us to seek You every day, to acknowledge that we need Your wisdom and guidance, and help us to return to the path and walk with You. In the name of Christ, who is our companion on this journey of faith, we pray. Amen. #### [Kyrie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2731s) _Hymnal Companion C-4_ > Lord, have mercy on us. _(repeat)_ Christ, have mercy on us. _(repeat)_ Lord, have mercy on us. _(repeat)_ #### [Assurance of Grace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2767s) _from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion_ > God forgives, restores, and strengthens us through the risen Christ. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace. #### [*Glory Be to the Father — #704](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2787s) - **Source**: Lesser Doxology (Gloria Patri), ancient Christian text - **Tune commonly paired (Greatorex)**: Henry W. Greatorex, 1851 _(public domain)_ > Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, World without end. Amen. Amen. ### Word #### [Scripture Reading 1 — John 14:15-21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2825s) [Read NRSVue at Bible.com](https://www.bible.com/bible/3523/JHN.14.15-21.NRSVUE) ![[John 14#15]] ![[John 14#16]] ![[John 14#17]] ![[John 14#18]] ![[John 14#19]] ![[John 14#20]] ![[John 14#21]] #### [Scripture Reading 2 — Acts 17:16-31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=2912s) [Read NRSVue at Bible.com](https://www.bible.com/bible/3523/ACT.17.16-31.NRSVUE) ![[Acts 17#16]] ![[Acts 17#17]] ![[Acts 17#18]] ![[Acts 17#19]] ![[Acts 17#20]] ![[Acts 17#21]] ![[Acts 17#22]] ![[Acts 17#23]] ![[Acts 17#24]] ![[Acts 17#25]] ![[Acts 17#26]] ![[Acts 17#27]] ![[Acts 17#28]] ![[Acts 17#29]] ![[Acts 17#30]] ![[Acts 17#31]] #### [Responsive Reading — Psalm 66:8-20 (The Inclusive Bible)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=3102s) [Read NRSVue at Bible.com](https://www.bible.com/bible/3523/PSA.66.8-20.NRSVUE) > Bless YHWH, all you peoples; let the sound of God's praise be heard! **God has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.** For you have tested us, O God — you have refined us as silver is refined. **You put us in prisons and laid burdens on our backs; you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water — and you brought us to a place of abundance and space.** I will come to your house with burnt offerings; I will pay my vows to you, the ones my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. **I will present you burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of burning rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. _Selah._** Come and hear, all who revere God, and I will tell what the Holy One has done for me. **I cried aloud to God, and praise was on my tongue.** If I had nursed evil in my heart, God would not have listened. **But God did listen, and heeded the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer or stopped loving me!** ##### Bible Linker embeds (cross-reference) ![[Psalm 66#8]] ![[Psalm 66#9]] ![[Psalm 66#10]] ![[Psalm 66#11]] ![[Psalm 66#12]] ![[Psalm 66#13]] ![[Psalm 66#14]] ![[Psalm 66#15]] ![[Psalm 66#16]] ![[Psalm 66#17]] ![[Psalm 66#18]] ![[Psalm 66#19]] ![[Psalm 66#20]] #### [Anthem — _"Great is Thy Faithfulness"_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=3236s) - **Original text**: Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923 _(US public domain since Jan 1, 2019)_ - **Original tune**: Faithfulness — William M. Runyan, 1923 - **Arrangement performed**: Gilbert M. Martin _(arrangement under copyright)_ - **Scripture root**: Lamentations 3:22-23 ![[Lamentations 3#22]] ![[Lamentations 3#23]] #### [Children's Message — Roxanne Davenport](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=3397s) > _Children's Corner offered following the Children's Message_ **Theme: Family Resemblance — Made in God's Image, Acting Like God's Family** Roxanne brought a wedding photo and asked the children to identify the other person beside her. The children quickly guessed family members ("sister?" "daughter?" "niece?") — and were right that it was her daughter. Why did they guess family? Because she looks like Roxanne. Same eyes, nose, smile, hair color. Even mannerisms and voice carry over — her son-in-law often says her daughter does something and "that looks just like your mother." She moved from family resemblance to Acts 17: Paul tells the Athenians about a true God, and one of the words he uses for God is **father** (sometimes mother, she noted). Through Jesus Christ, we are part of God's family. We are made in God's image — so what does God look like? Roxanne pointed at the congregation: "look out there. This is what God looks like." Then the move to ethics: if we look like family, we should _act_ like family. She walked through Matthew 25-style examples with the children (food for the hungry, clothes for those without, comfort for the sad, friendship for the left-out, connecting back to last week's racism story). The closing invitation: bearing the family resemblance means bearing the family expectations. "It's not easy sometimes. Sometimes you don't want to. God understands that. But God hopes you will." **Closing prayer (paraphrase)**: God's high expectations for us are sometimes a burden, but there's also joy in being part of God's family. May we rise to the occasion and make God proud of God's children. > **Homiletical note**: This was structurally a sermon-on-Acts-17, delivered to children. Roxanne carried the day's narrative load — the formal sermonet (because of the Step Show cancellation) was intentionally brief. #### [Step Show Presentation — _cancelled; replaced with Pastor's "sermonet"_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=3904s) > _NETWork Ministries Step Teams were scheduled but unable to attend due to a stomach bug. The original Feb 22 date was snowed out. The replacement was a brief sermonet by Pastor Caroline (see Sermon Notes below)._ #### [UCC Statement of Faith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4235s) _Hymnal Companion C-12_ > We believe in you, O God, eternal Spirit, God of our Savior Jesus Christ and our God. And to your deeds we testify. > > You call the worlds into being, create persons in your own image, and set before each one the ways of life and death. You seek in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin. You judge people and nations by your righteous will declared through prophets and apostles. > > In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Savior, you have come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to yourself. > > You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races. You call us into your church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be your servants in the service of others, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory. > > You promise to all who trust you forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, your presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in your realm which has no end. > > Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto you. Amen. ### Response #### [Sharing of Joys and Concerns](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4370s) See [[#Joys & Concerns from Today's Service]] section below for full names and details. #### [Prayers of the People](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4370s) #### [The Lord's Prayer (debts)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4863s) #### [Invitation to Giving](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4895s) #### [Offertory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4908s) #### [*Offertory Response #706 — _"Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow"_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=5036s) - **Words**: Thomas Ken, 1674 _(public domain)_ - **Tune**: Old 100th — Louis Bourgeois, 1551 _(public domain)_ > Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. #### [*Prayer of Dedication](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=5070s) _adapted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion_ > Loving God, we give you thanks that you have given us the gift of generosity and the desire to keep your commands. Bless these gifts and use them for your purposes. May they reveal your love for us and for the world. In Jesus' name, Amen. ### Sending #### [*Hymn #575 (insert) — _"O for a World"_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=5096s) - **Words**: Miriam Therese Winter, 1987 _(© Medical Mission Sisters — under copyright)_ - **Tune**: Azmon — Carl G. Gläser, 1828; adapt. Lowell Mason, _Modern Psalmody_, 1839 _(tune is public domain)_ - **Meter**: CM (Common Meter, 8.6.8.6) - **Inspiration**: Charles Wesley's phrase "O for a thousand tongues" — Winter wrote this for the 1982 Presbyterian Women's Triennial Conference; later recorded by the Medical Mission Sisters - **Scripture echoes (printed in hymnal)**: Acts 4:32-35; 1 Cor 1:26-31; 1 Pet 3:8-12 - **Hymnary.org**: [O for a World](https://hymnary.org/text/o_for_a_world_where_everyone_respects) - **Copyright note**: Lyrics retained under copyright; not reproduced here per personal preference. The hymnal printed copy is the authoritative source for use in worship. ##### Themes by verse (paraphrased, no lyrics reproduced) 1. A world of mutual respect where love is lived and all is done with justice and praise 2. A world where goods are shared and misery is relieved, where truth is spoken and children spared 3. The "we welcome one world family" verse — egalitarian inclusion 4. The reversal verse — poor are rich, weak are strong, foolish are wise 5. The eschatological verse — preparing for God's reign of peace, where time and tears cease and all but love will cease ##### Scripture echoes referenced in the hymnal ![[Acts 4#32]] ![[Acts 4#33]] ![[Acts 4#34]] ![[Acts 4#35]] ![[1 Corinthians 1#26]] ![[1 Corinthians 1#27]] ![[1 Corinthians 1#28]] ![[1 Corinthians 1#29]] ![[1 Corinthians 1#30]] ![[1 Corinthians 1#31]] ![[1 Peter 3#8]] ![[1 Peter 3#9]] ![[1 Peter 3#10]] ![[1 Peter 3#11]] ![[1 Peter 3#12]] #### [*Commission & Benediction](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=5228s) > Go forth knowing how deeply you are loved. Go forth to share God's message of love and peace. Go forth to love and serve the Lord. > > The Lord send a blessing on all here today. May your love surround us forever, we pray. May your arms enfold us whenever we fall. Enlighten, inspire us, O God, bless us all. #### [Postlude _(seated)_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=5292s) --- ## Sermon Notes > **Important context**: The bulletin scheduled a NETWork Ministries Step Show in place of a sermon. The Step Teams were unable to attend due to a stomach bug (their original Feb 22 visit was snowed out). Pastor Caroline pivoted to what she called a "**very short sermonet**" beginning at [65:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=3904s). The substantive theological work of the morning was distributed across **three** preaching moments: > > 1. **Roxanne Davenport's children's message** — "family resemblance" / made in God's image (the day's primary narrative carrier) > 2. **Pastor Caroline's NETWork preface** — relational ecclesiology, embodied ministry, partnership accounting > 3. **Pastor Caroline's Acts 17 sermonet** — God's closeness, plus a liberationist economic re-reading of why Paul's preaching gets him in trouble ### Introduction Pastor Caroline opened with a transparent acknowledgment of the pivot: "Obviously, I am not the step teams from network ministries." She honored what was lost (the youthful exuberance, the creative talents, the embodied proclamation) before moving to what was at hand. This itself functioned as an introduction to the day's central theme — God's nearness and presence in the people we cannot see today, and in those we can. ### Main Points #### Point 1: Relational Ministry — NETWork as Embodied Partnership Before the sermonet proper, Caroline laid out the church's actual partnership with NETWork Ministries — not as filler, but as substantive ministry exposition: - Budgeted benevolences - VBS offering - Monthly meal preparation by adult church school classes (recent example: homemade pizza on Italian bread loaves with sauce, toppings, cheese — "incredibly easy to make and really very delicious") - Summer snacks collection - Invitation to St. John's camp — extending "time at our treasure in the woods to our neighbors" - Plug for NETWork's annual step show on **Saturday, May 16** This served as both genuine ministry-accounting and as a stand-in for the experience the congregation didn't get today. #### Point 2: God's Closeness — Acts 17:28 as the Refrain The sermonet's central theological move: God is near, never far away, always longing to connect with us. The phrase from Acts 17:28 was lifted up twice as the anchor: > _"In God we live and move and have our being."_ Caroline named the threefold relational location of finding God: **with nature, with our neighbors, with God** (the three-in-one). The summary imperative: "We don't have to look far to find God. Look around. Look inside." #### Point 3: The Liberationist Reframe — What Actually Got Paul in Trouble This was the homiletically interesting move and worth flagging. Caroline named that what makes Paul's Areopagus sermon "controversial in the subsequent verses" is **not** the theology and **not** the offer of God in Jesus Christ. It is the **economic disruption**: > _"Paul is offering them the idea of God as known in Jesus Christ, but [also] he's disrupting the local economy."_ She paralleled this directly to Acts 16 (Paul and Silas thrown in jail in Philippi — last week's text), naming the same pattern: the persecution was not about the proclamation but about disrupting "a person's way to make money." If you no longer need idols, the idol-makers are out of work. The summary line: > _"Money will motivate their attack on him. Not the core of his message, but human greed."_ This is an exegetically responsible move. Acts 19 (Demetrius and the silversmiths of Ephesus) makes the pattern explicit; Caroline located it earlier in Acts 16 / Acts 17 where the connection is implicit. ### Illustrations / Stories - **The NETWork backstory itself** functioned as illustration — embodied ministry frame - **Acts 16 cross-reference** — Paul and Silas in jail in Philippi as economic-disruption parallel - **Roxanne's wedding photo / family resemblance** (in children's message) — primary narrative carrier - The personal vulnerability of "I was really looking forward to it" and "a stomach bug got in the way" served as honest pastoral self-disclosure rather than rhetorical illustration ### Scripture Connections - **Acts 17:16-31** — primary text; vv. 27-28 highlighted ("not far from each one of us"; "in him we live and move and have our being") - **Acts 16:16-34** — last week's NL text; persecution-pattern parallel - **John 14:15-21** — read but not directly preached on; the Spirit-Advocate's indwelling presence ("I will not leave you orphaned") implicitly resonates with God's nearness theme - **Genesis 1** (implicit) — image-of-God theology underlying both children's message and sermonet ### Key Quotes > _"We don't have to look far to find God. Look around. Look inside."_ > _"Money will motivate their attack on him. Not the core of his message, but human greed."_ > _"Jesus came to break our chains. Jesus came to remind us what and who matters and to put things into proper perspective and proper place. Jesus came to set things right."_ > _"May we listen for how God is still speaking and answer God's call."_ _(UCC tagline)_ ### Personal Reflections #### What spoke to me The economic re-reading of Acts 17 is exactly the kind of move that distinguishes a UCC progressive reading from a NAR-style "spiritual warfare" reading of the same text. In the NAR frame, opposition to gospel preaching is _cosmically_ significant — territorial spirits, principalities, demonic obstruction. In Caroline's frame, opposition is _materially_ significant — somebody's livelihood is threatened. The NAR reading mystifies; the liberationist reading demystifies. Both can claim Acts as warrant; only one accounts for what the text actually narrates. #### Questions raised - Caroline named _human greed_ as what motivates the attack on Paul. Could the move be pushed further — to _systemic_ greed, the structural economic interests that organize ancient cities (Athens' tourism economy around its temples; Ephesus' silversmith guild)? That extension would shift the analysis from individual moral category to economic-system critique. - The children's message and the sermonet both leaned heavily on "family" / "father" language for God. Roxanne explicitly broadened it ("sometimes our mother"). What does it look like to keep diversifying that language across the year? - The Acts 16 / Acts 17 economic pattern is consistent with Acts 19 (Demetrius). Worth a mini-Bible-study on "wherever Paul preaches, somebody's market gets disrupted." #### Challenges / Convictions - The NAR-deconstruction relevance: the same Acts 17 text gets weaponized in NAR circles to ground "evangelism strategy" / "engaging culture" rhetoric that often masks soft cultural Christendom. Caroline's reading inoculates against that drift by foregrounding economics rather than evangelistic technique. - Personal application: notice when the rhetoric of "spiritual battle" in any system I observe is doing the work of obscuring an economic interest. (This applies as much to Mannatech / Trim Healthy Mama / Dave Ramsey as to NAR proper.) #### Liturgical Context Reflections - Easter 5 in the Great Fifty Days is a season for theological imagination about _where_ God is found. The sermonet's "look around, look inside" lands well in this seasonal frame. - The pairing of John 14:15-21 (Advocate "in you") with Acts 17 ("in him we live and move") created a chiastic immanence theme: God in us / us in God. - The Counting of the Omer parallel (Day 31 today) sits underneath the Easter season's 50-day arc; both move from a liberation event toward divine self-disclosure. Caroline didn't name this, but it's a productive cross-tradition note. ### Applications #### This week I will - Re-read Acts 16, 17, and 19 in sequence to map the economic-disruption pattern across Acts - Add an "economic interest" axis to the discernment checklist when analyzing high-control religious systems - Listen for occasions when "spiritual battle" rhetoric in a system I'm observing is functioning as cover for an economic interest #### People to pray for See [[#Joys & Concerns from Today's Service]] below. #### Follow-up study - Acts 19 — Demetrius and the silversmiths of Ephesus (the explicit parallel Caroline gestured at without naming) - The economic dimension of Pliny the Younger's _Letter 10.96_ (the "meat market" detail of Christian impact on the temple economy) - N.T. Wright's reading of Acts 17 in _Paul and the Faithfulness of God_ - Justo González, _Acts: The Gospel of the Spirit_ (Latin American liberationist commentary on Acts) - Willie James Jennings, _Acts_ (Belief commentary) — for the theological-political reading ### Connections - **Lectionary arc**: NL441 (Paul's Conversion, Apr 19) → NL442 (Paul and Silas, Apr 26) → **NL443 (Paul at Athens, today)** → NL444 (Partnership in the Gospel, May 10) → NL445 (Christ Hymn, May 17). The economic-disruption pattern Caroline noted ties NL442 directly to NL443. - **Children's message theology**: image-of-God theology paired with Acts 17:28-29 ("we are God's offspring") was a structurally complete sermon for any age — the formal sermonet built on what Roxanne already preached. - **Step Show parallel**: an embodied proclamation tradition in Black Christian and HBCU contexts; the loss of this presentation today is real, and the date to attend (May 16) deserves the calendar slot. - **NAR contrast**: the liberationist economic reading of Acts 17 stands in direct contrast to the NAR's "Seven Mountains" / Areopagus rhetoric that recasts Paul as a culture-conquest strategist. Worth an essay-length treatment. --- ## Sermon Analysis (13-Category Rubric) > _Score: 48 / 65 — strong on hermeneutical and engagement axes, compressed on storytelling and references due to the unplanned sermonet format. The score should be read with the asterisk that this was not the day's planned proclamation; the children's message carried significant homiletical load._ ### 1. Sermon Summary — **Score: 4 / 5** - **Central message**: God is close (not far) — "in God we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28); the controversy in Acts 17 is economic, not theological; Jesus came to set things right - **Liturgical/thematic focus**: Strong integration — Acts 17 immanence + John 14 Spirit-indwelling + Easter 5 seasonal motif of where-God-is-found - **Score rationale**: Coherent message, strong scripture-text alignment; loses one point only for compression ### 2. Preaching Style — **Score: 4 / 5** - **Primary style**: Topical (theme: God's closeness) with **Prophetic** accent (economic critique) and **Narrative** opening (NETWork backstory) - **Blend appropriateness**: Well-suited to a sermonet form; the topical anchor allowed multiple angles in compressed time - **Score rationale**: Style identifiable and effective for the format ### 3. Storytelling and Illustration — **Score: 3 / 5** - The NETWork ministry-accounting itself functioned as illustration - Acts 16 cross-reference functioned as scriptural illustration - The children's message (Roxanne) carried the day's storytelling load - **Score rationale**: Adequate but limited by sermonet format; would have been higher in a full-length sermon ### 4. Intonation and Delivery — **Score: 4 / 5** - Pastoral, warm, transparent about the unplanned pivot - Honest vulnerability ("I was really looking forward to it" / "a stomach bug got in the way") modeled mature pastoral self-disclosure - Vocal pacing appropriate for compressed format - **Score rationale**: Effective and inclusive ### 5. Content Structure — **Score: 4 / 5** - Clear arc: pivot acknowledgment → NETWork partnership context → sermonet introduction → key theme (God's closeness) → economic reframing → Christological invitation → UCC sign-off - Smooth transitions between segments - **Score rationale**: Strong structure for an unplanned short form ### 6. Engagement and Application — **Score: 4 / 5** - Direct invitations: - Attend the NETWork Step Show May 16 - "Look around. Look inside" for God - Put Jesus at the center of our lives - "Live with changed hearts and minds and actions" - Inclusive welcome at start ("no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey") - Connected to actual congregational practices (meals, summer snacks, camp) - **Score rationale**: Strong, inclusive, actionable ### 7. Scripture Handling — **Score: 4 / 5** - Acts 17:16-31 (preached; v. 28 anchored) - John 14:15-21 (read; thematically resonant) - Acts 16 (intertextual move — strong) - Implicit Acts 19 / Demetrius pattern (gestured at without naming) - Subtle exegetical attention to the geographic/economic context of Athens - **Score rationale**: Responsible, theme-driven with text-grounded warrants; loses a point for not engaging the Epicurean/Stoic philosophical context Acts 17:18 explicitly names ### 8. Logical Reasoning — **Score: 4 / 5** - **Strong analogical reasoning**: Acts 16 ↔ Acts 17 as economic-disruption pattern - **Reframe argument**: theology-as-cover-for-economics — sophisticated and exegetically warranted - **No fallacies detected** - **Score rationale**: Consistent reasoning; no logical flaws; loses a point only because the implicit reasoning could have been made more explicit ### 9. References — **Score: 2 / 5** - No theologians or biblical scholars cited by name - No marginalized voices explicitly named - The implicit hermeneutic is liberationist but no source attribution - **Score rationale**: Weakest dimension — partly explained by sermonet brevity; in a full-length sermon, naming Justo González, Willie James Jennings, Obery Hendricks, or similar voices would lift this significantly ### 10. Quotes and Illustrative Stories — **Score: 3 / 5** - Acts 17:28 used as central refrain, repeated - "Jesus came to break our chains" — brief Christological summary - UCC closing: "May we listen for how God is still speaking and answer God's call" - No literary, theological, or extra-biblical quotes - **Score rationale**: Some effective biblical quotation; minimal external sourcing ### 11. Calls to Action — **Score: 4 / 5** - Multi-modal calls: relational (attend Step Show, support NETWork), contemplative ("look around, look inside"), ethical ("changed hearts and minds and actions"), liturgical ("listen for how God is still speaking") - Clear and inclusive - **Score rationale**: Strong; multi-modal; loses a point only for not connecting the economic critique to a contemporary ethical call (e.g., "where might you be tempted to defend a system because your livelihood depends on it?") ### 12. Style Effectiveness Analysis — **Score: 4 / 5** - For a sermonet (~5 min), the topical-with-prophetic-accent style was well-chosen - **Hypothetical alternatives**: - **Fully expository**: would unpack Areopagus rhetoric — the Epicurean and Stoic positions, the poets quoted (Aratus's _Phaenomena_, Epimenides), the structure of Greco-Roman public speech - **Fully prophetic**: would extend the economic critique to contemporary idol-economies (consumer capitalism, attention economy, prosperity religion) - **Inductive-contemplative**: would dwell in the question "where do we find God?" without answering quickly - **Narrative-first-person**: would inhabit Paul standing on Mars Hill, looking around at the altars - **Learning styles served**: Auditory (verbal arc); Interpersonal (NETWork community frame); Intrapersonal ("look inside") - **Score rationale**: Well-chosen for the constraints ### 13. Hermeneutical Awareness — **Score: 4 / 5** > _Custom 13th category fitting Courtney's hermeneutical genealogy framework. Tracks: did the preacher avoid common Acts 17 pitfalls and engage with appropriate epistemic humility?_ **Pitfalls successfully avoided**: - ✅ **Triumphalist supersessionism** — Caroline did not read Athenians as benighted pagans needing replacement; she preserved their honest searching - ✅ **Apologetics-trap collapse** — she did not turn natural theology into evidentialist proof of God's existence - ✅ **Domesticated mystery** — she preserved God's "unknown" character while affirming God's nearness; apophatic restraint maintained - ✅ **Liberationist reframe done well** — the economic reading of persecution is exegetically responsible and structurally consistent across Acts **Pitfalls partially or fully engaged**: - ⚠️ **Acts 17:32 mockery** — the mixed reception (some mocked, some delayed, some believed) was not engaged; the text resists a tidy victory narrative - ⚠️ **Philosophical context** — the Epicurean/Stoic philosophical positions Paul actually engages were not named (this would invite hearers into the _substantive_ dialogue Paul was conducting) - ⚠️ **Panentheism / divine immanence** as a UCC-aligned theological frame — gestured at via "in God we live and move" but not named as a theological tradition **Score rationale**: Strong hermeneutical awareness for a sermonet; the unaddressed pitfalls are reasonable casualties of compression rather than blind spots ### Scoring Summary |#|Category|Score| |---|---|--:| |1|Sermon Summary|4 / 5| |2|Preaching Style|4 / 5| |3|Storytelling and Illustration|3 / 5| |4|Intonation and Delivery|4 / 5| |5|Content Structure|4 / 5| |6|Engagement and Application|4 / 5| |7|Scripture Handling|4 / 5| |8|Logical Reasoning|4 / 5| |9|References|2 / 5| |10|Quotes and Illustrative Stories|3 / 5| |11|Calls to Action|4 / 5| |12|Style Effectiveness|4 / 5| |13|Hermeneutical Awareness|4 / 5| ||**Total**|**48 / 65**| > _Asterisk: this was a sermonet substituted at the last minute for a Step Show presentation. Read against the full-sermon rubric, it scores in the high-3s / low-4s on most dimensions, which is impressive for an unplanned compressed format. The strongest dimensions (hermeneutical awareness, scripture handling, logical reasoning, content structure, engagement) are exactly what you'd hope for from a pastor with limited prep time who knows her congregation and her texts._ ### Side-by-Side Comparison: Sermonet vs. Full Exegetical Sermon |Aspect|This Sermonet|Hypothetical Full Exegetical Version| |---|---|---| |**Primary Style**|Topical with prophetic accent|Expository walking verse-by-verse through Acts 17:16-31| |**Stories**|NETWork ministry backstory; Acts 16 parallel|Detailed reconstruction of Athens' civic religion; Paul's biographical context; the Areopagus as institution| |**Scripture Depth**|Acts 17:28 anchor; Acts 16 cross-reference; implicit Acts 19|Verse-by-verse exegesis; original Greek (γένος / _genos_ — "offspring"); the Aratus and Epimenides quotations identified; Acts 17:32 mockery engaged; the parallel to Romans 1:18-25| |**References**|None named|Justo González (_Acts: The Gospel of the Spirit_); Willie James Jennings (_Acts_, Belief commentary); N.T. Wright on Areopagus rhetoric; Obery Hendricks on biblical economic critique| |**Application**|Look around, look inside; put Jesus at center|Where do contemporary "altars to unknown gods" stand in our culture? Where does our own economic interest organize our theological commitments? What does it look like to translate the gospel into a culture without erasing it or capitulating to it?| --- ## Joys & Concerns from Today's Service > _Personal prayer reference; names captured from the sharing portion of worship. For private use only — do not redistribute._ ### [Pete and Lisa Marings' friend Tracy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4401s) - Diagnosed with **ulcerative colitis** - In a good deal of pain - Prayer: quick and uneventful recovery ### [John and Nina](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4448s) _(update from Dale)_ - John has moved from rehab to the **health center** this week - Nina expected to be moved within the next week - They are expected to have rooms across from each other, in (per the family's understanding) the **Bomb House** at the nursing center - Family thanks for cards, visitation, phone calls — much appreciated ### [Sarah](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4530s) _(prayer request from Connie)_ - Navigating much - Prayer: that Sarah will feel the love and support of God and the community ### [Jim](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4550s) _(speaking himself)_ - Recently hospitalized (3–4 days) - Was getting his haircut, sitting on a barstool, then collapsed — "next moment I'm laying on the floor wondering what happened" - Diagnosed: heart beating very fast caused him to pass out - Pacemaker keeps his pulse at a certain rate but doesn't address this - Cause unknown — "I didn't stick my finger in the light socket" - Thanks for cards, support, and well wishes ### [Henry Hopper and Allison](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4636s) _(via Jim)_ - **Henry**: going through "really, really tough times" - **Allison**: caregiver, also going through tough times - Prayer: for both Henry and Allison; for caregivers in general ### [Betty's granddaughter Vera](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4655s) _(joy)_ - Vera is visiting her grandmother Betty for the **first time on her own** - Vera's family home is in **Queens, New York**; Vera now studies at **Brown University** - Betty is "beaming" - Welcome to St. John's, Vera ### [Allen's coworker Brad Schaefer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4700s) - **Successful brain surgery** Thursday at **Hershey Medical Center** - Continued prayer: for full recovery of his speech ### [Tom — joy of thanks for camp cleanup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GF4Sne8HR8&t=4736s) - Boy Scout troop and leaders - Members of the congregation - Helped with cleanup at St. John's Camp **yesterday** to prepare for summer activities - "They did a beautiful job" --- ## Worship Leadership |Role|Person| |---|---| |Pastor|Rev. Caroline E. Saxton| |Organist|Barbara Motichka| |Choir Director|Gary Crum| |Deacon in Charge|Peg Bryner| |Lector|Connie Kaiser| |Children's Corner|Chani Wolfe| |Children's Message|Roxanne Davenport| |Mission Moment|Harold Collier| |Media Coordinators|Calvin Frantz and Neath Ham| |Bulletin Cover Artist|Edd Scheer| ### Pastoral Staff & Leadership - **Pastor**: The Rev. Caroline E. Saxton — [email protected] — (641) 260-1868 (cell) - **Office Administrator**: Tonya Schwartz — [email protected] — (717) 263-8593 (office) - **Music Director**: Gary Crum - **Organist**: Barbara Motichka - **Director of Children & Youth**: Roxanne Davenport - **Pastor Emeritus**: The Rev. Stephen W. Hoffman --- ## Special Recognitions ### Birthdays This Week - **05/05** — Margaretta "Louise" Kennedy - **05/05** — Sabrina Sollenberger - **05/06** — Trinity Burns - **05/07** — Keiran Dereef - **05/07** — Pamela Reichelderfer - **05/09** — Doreen Horn ### Flowers at the Foot of the Cross > Given in loving remembrance of Sue Zimmerman Powell's family — parents Merrill and Louise with sisters Joan and Becky — by Lee Powell. ### Joanne Shu Memorial — Coffee Hour Chips > Joanne Shu's family donated bags of chips with humorous stickers for coffee hour today. Per Pastor Caroline: chips were always Joanne's answer when intake at the hospital asked for her favorite foods. A way to remember her with joy. --- ## Vision & Mission ### St. John's Vision > We are called to love, to learn, to worship and to witness in Christ as a congregation that welcomes everyone, and seeks service that will advance God's realm on earth. ### St. John's Mission > To grow in love of God and neighbor. ### Worship Resources Cited in Bulletin - _Feasting on the Word Worship Companion_ - Prayer of Confession written by Rev. Mindi and posted on her [Rev-o-lution blog](https://revolutionrev.wordpress.com/) - _The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation_ (Priests for Equality) --- ## This Week at St. John's ### Today, Sunday, May 3 - **New Members / Inquirers Class** — after worship — Conference Room 111 — Pastor Caroline (snack provided) - **Mercersburg Association Spring Meeting** — 3:00–5:00 pm — Grace UCC, Greencastle - **Bible Study on the Letter of James, Chapter 2** — 8:00 pm — Zoom (link in Friday e-blast) ### Monday, May 4 - 1:30 pm — Monday Afternoon Book Study — Conference Room 111 — _Introduction_ to Adam Hamilton's _The Walk: Five Essential Practices of the Christian Life_ - 7:00 pm — Boy Scouts — Fellowship Hall ### Tuesday, May 5 - 5:30 pm — Yoga — Room 202 - 6:00 pm — Ladies' Bible Study — Zoom - 6:30 pm — Cub Scouts — Fellowship Hall _(then break into smaller groups)_ ### Thursday, May 7 - 7:00 am — Men's Breakfast — Texas Lunch - 6:00 pm — Dance Class — Fellowship Hall - 6:00 pm — Bell Choir Practice — Bell Room 117 - 6:15 pm — Girl Scouts — Room 116 - 7:15 pm — Choir Rehearsal — Choir Room 103 ### Friday, May 8 - 6:30 pm — Mother's Day Dance — Fellowship Hall ### Saturday, May 16 - **NETWork Ministries Annual Step Show** — Pastor Caroline encouraged attendance after the cancelled in-worship presentation; details on NETWork's website ### Sunday, May 10 - 8:45 am — Sunday Morning Caffeine Church School Class — Parlor Room 104 - 8:45 am — Godly Play Class — Room 119 - 8:45 am — SPARK! Elementary Church School Class — Room 115 - 8:45 am — Teen Discussion Class — Room 206 - 8:45 am — Wired Word Church School Class — Room 116 - 8:45 am — Upper Room Church School Class — Conference Room 111 - 10:00 am — Sunday Worship — Sanctuary - 8:00 pm — Bible Study on the Letter of James, Chapter 3 — Zoom (link in Friday e-blast) --- ## Announcements & Ongoing Activities ### Hymn Sing — Sunday, May 17 - Special hymn-sing service featuring favorite sacred songs - Submit up to 3 favorite hymns (title and number) from the green _Celebrating Grace_ hymnal or _Hymnal Companion_ - Place form in offering plate by **May 3 or May 10** - Two verses sung of as many submitted hymns as possible - Day-of suggestions also welcome - Questions: contact Pastor Caroline ### Combined Church School Class — Sunday, May 17 - "What is Pentecost" led by Pastor Caroline - 8:45 am, Fellowship Hall, with continental breakfast ### Pentecost Picnic — Sunday, May 24 - After worship - Menu: hot dogs, chips, drinks, dessert - Outdoors, weather permitting ### Sunday Night Bible Study — Letter of James - 8:00 pm Sundays via **Zoom** - **Zoom Meeting ID**: 836 0593 5961 - **Passcode**: 277938 - Hyperlink in weekly e-blast - May 3: Chapter 2 - May 10: Chapter 3 > **Personal note** — this aligns with the [[James 1]] Bible study already in your Obsidian vault. Phase 4 Coda + Phase 3.5 audits for [[James 2]], [[James 3]], [[James 4]], [[James 5]] in progress in Claude Code. ### Bible and a Beer — Monday, May 18 - 6:30 pm at Trojan Diner - Third Monday of the month - "An opportunity to talk about our faith in public" ### Monday Afternoon Book Study — Adam Hamilton, _The Walk_ - _The Walk: Five Essential Practices of the Christian Life_ by Adam Hamilton (2019) - Begins May 4, 1:30 pm, Conference Room 111 - Reading the Introduction for the first session - [Search Kindle on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Walk+Adam+Hamilton+Kindle&i=digital-text) - [Search Paperback on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Walk+Adam+Hamilton+Five+Essential+Practices) ### Race Against Poverty — 16th Annual - First weekend in June - St. John's is a sponsor - Contact Church Office for sponsor codes ### Keystone Conference Annual Meeting — June 5–7, 2026 - Held at Millersville University - Theme: **"Joy at the Table Together!"** - Two lay delegates needed — contact Pastor Caroline ### Camp Cooks Needed — June 22–26 - Sign-up sheet at welcome center counter, front lobby - Volunteers help under direction of camp cook Kirk Johnson - Supports St. John's Camp ### Join Us for Life Talk - Sunday mornings, parlor, after services - Open conversation for adults — venting, shared concerns, off-the-record talk - "Everyone is welcome" ### Summer Quarter First Fruits (Q2) - May, June, July - Beneficiaries: - **Race Against Poverty (RAP)** — SCAP food assistance - **Maranatha Ministry** — cold weather shelter (currently relocating from flood-prone Southgate area) - **United Way Stuff the Bus** — back-to-school supplies - Q1 raised over $6,200 — most ever per Peg Bryner ### Upper Room Devotionals — May/June - Available at Welcome Center - $1 small print / $2 large print donation suggested - Mailed copies available — contact church office ### NETWork Ministries Summer Snacks - Two boxes out front - List on the boxes - Contact Diana or Don Hendrickson for delivery ### New Life Through Gardening — Bulletin Board - Share photos of favorite trees, walks, or gardens - Add your name; post on the bulletin board out front - Member-written poetry already posted - Coming soon: zucchini-sharing table ### Blueberry Bliss Tea — Recap (with thanks) - Held recently — large team thanked: set-up team, prep, kitchen, waiters, dishwashers, clean-up, tablecloth washing - Special thanks to Tonya for ticket sales and table chart - **Save the date**: St. John's Pumpkin Patch Tea — **October 3, 2026** - — Sue, Connie S. & Renee --- ## Hermeneutical Notes (personal reflection) > _A space to track interpretive choices, lectionary framing, and any moments where the preacher's hermeneutical genealogy shows. Also for noting any "lateral transfer" risks if Acts 17 is read in a way that imports certainty-based epistemology back into a progressive frame._ ### Acts 17 — preaching pitfalls watchlist 1. **Triumphalist supersessionism** — reading Paul as _replacing_ Athenian wisdom rather than re-narrating it → ✅ **Avoided** by Caroline. She honored the Athenians' "extremely religious" character without dismissal. 2. **Anachronistic apologetics** — collapsing first-century natural theology into modern evidentialist apologetics (a NAR / classical apologetics move) → ✅ **Avoided**. No "evidence demands a verdict" framing. 3. **Erasure of resistance** — Acts 17:32 records mockery; not all responses are conversion. The text itself resists triumphalism. → ⚠️ **Not engaged**. The mockery / mixed reception was not preached. Available for future treatment. 4. **Domesticating "the unknown"** — turning apophatic restraint into another form of certainty → ✅ **Avoided**. "Look around, look inside" preserved invitation rather than enforcing answer. ### What this passage did _well_ in Caroline's UCC framing - Modeled cultural translation without erasure - Named divine immanence ("in God we live and move and have our being") — compatible with panentheism, even if not labeled - Refused both syncretism and condemnation; chose re-narration - **Added the liberationist economic move** — material analysis of why proclamation is opposed (greed, not theology) ### Lateral-transfer risk audit Could a NAR-formed listener walk into this sermon and re-import old habits? The risk surfaces are: - **"God is everywhere" → "spiritual atmosphere" mysticism**: a NAR listener could re-cast "in God we live and move" as the territorial/atmospheric talk that grounds prophetic warfare. Caroline's economic anchor _prevents_ this drift; the material/economic re-reading is the inoculation. - **"Listen for how God is still speaking" → personal prophecy**: the UCC slogan can be read NAR-style as "God speaks to me directly with binding new revelation." Caroline's framing kept it ecclesial-discernment-shaped, not individual-prophetic. - **Image-of-God / family resemblance → "we are co-creators" Word of Faith echo**: Roxanne's children's message landed firmly on _ethical_ family resemblance, not ontological identification. No drift here. **Verdict**: The sermonet provides multiple structural inoculations against NAR-style re-importation. The economic reading especially is one a NAR system cannot accommodate without ceasing to be NAR. --- ## Cross-references in vault - [[Bible Studies/Acts 17]] _(if exists; else create)_ - [[Bible Studies/Acts 16]] — last week's NL text; economic-disruption pattern - [[Bible Studies/Acts 19]] — Demetrius and the silversmiths; the explicit parallel - [[Bible Studies/James 2]] — tonight's Sunday evening study (8:00 pm Zoom) - [[Sermon Notes/2026-04-26]] — last Sunday: NL442 Paul and Silas (Acts 16:16-34) - [[Sermon Notes/2026-04-19]] — NL441 Paul's Conversion (Acts 9:1-19a) - [[Sermon Notes/2026-05-10]] — next Sunday: NL444 Partnership in the Gospel (Phil 1:1-18a) - [[Sermon Notes/2026-05-17]] — Hymn Sing + NL445 The Christ Hymn (Phil 2:1-13) - [[Sermon Notes/2026-05-24]] — Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21; Phil 4:4-7) + Pentecost Picnic - [[Research/NAR – Areopagus and Seven Mountains comparative]] _(if exists; useful contrast)_ - [[Research/Liberationist economic readings of Acts]] _(potential future essay)_