categories Archives - LiftUpYourHearts

Leveling on the Plain

I can’t quite escape the irony of ascending this pulpit, when we’ve just heard about Jesus coming down from the mountain to teach. Luke’s version of the beatitudes parallel Matthew’s account of the sermon on the mount, but here his teaching is delivered on a plain. On the level ground, where you might say that the mountain and … Read the rest

Between Them and Us

Acts 15:7-21

“God made no distinction between them and us.” From our present standpoint it takes some effort to hear how very radical was Peter’s statement at what’s come to be known as the First Council of Jerusalem. But for Luke, who is also the author of Acts, this is the pivot point on which the story of Spirit-inspired expansion … Read the rest