Acts: Search and Rescue

This past weekend my family enjoyed some time camping on Lake Ontario, not too far away from the air force base in Trenton. More than once we saw huge, military planes flying practice missions overhead. On one occasion there were two very large search and rescue planes flying low in a very obvious grid pattern, practicing a search and rescue mission. They would follow the same pattern, but each time they  would shift slightly to the north and east so that they covered the area completely. Naturally, this made me think of evangelism!

Quite often we will try to cover an area in a similar manner, covering every square inch, trying to find someone who is lost. This approach takes a lot of time, energy and resources, and may or may not produce any results. Now I know that ultimately it is not us that saves a person (or even finds the person!) but that it is by God’s grace and direction, and that got me thinking, what if we were directed by God to our destination in the first place? What if instead of searching over a large area we went directly to where we were needed – following God’s homing beacon as it were?

This Sunday at our weekly gathering we’re going to be looking at Acts 10. This is the story of Peter going to a Roman Centurion’s house after being directed there by God. He obeys the call, goes to the Gentile’s house (a big no-no for a Jew), and shares with the household the good news of Jesus. And when they hear the Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they’re saved! A most effective search and rescue mission! In order to prepare for this Sunday you’ll need to read all of Acts 10. And while you’re at it, read Psalm 146 for good measure!

Pastor Mike