We’re recently started a new series called “reset”. In the first week, we talked about how Jesus makes it possible to reset all of life, giving us a fresh start in life that impacts every key area. We’re going to look at many of these in depth, and this week we see how Jesus resets our use of time.
There was a time in my life when I prided myself on never needing a day planner. I remembered everything I signed up for, and never double booked. That was high school. Ever since, I’ve found my time needed to be managed.
Through university, I started to rely on a day planner, an old fashioned spiral bound book. I got progressively busier, but could still say yes to pretty much anything I wanted. I would stay up all night getting things done if I needed to. I was young.
By the time I started working, I had to start making choices. I can only be in one meeting, one event, or one place at a time. When I first pastored a church, I was still working as a paramedic on the side, until I finally realized I simply didn’t have the time to do both things well. And still today, I find myself constantly choosing between demands on my time. It’s only escalated since having children.
I can go on. You probably can, too. Bottom line, unless we’re still kids, time is all about choices. It’s a limited resource – we can’t create it, we can only choose how to use it.
The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. ~C.S. Lewis
But what if you could reset your clock?
That used to be easy – whenever I’ve started a new job, I feel like it’s a chance to structure my time differently, within the constraints of set tasks, family and personal responsibilities.
But even then, it’s never clear what’s best. Read one thing that says “say yes to every invitation, you never know who you’ll meet” but then I’ll read something else that says I should learn to say “no” to more invitations to protect my sanity and family. Which is it?
With an extra hour, I don’t know whether I should work more, play with my kids, read the Bible, exercise, fix things around the house, or what. Someone will advocate that each one is most important. Time marches on.
Closely connected with goals, last week’s topic.
Question: What would you do with an extra hour in the day? Why? What would be your goal?
Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course. Register for you and a friend today and come Wednesday night!
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Shortly after the church saw the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the massive expansion of their numbers by 3000 people, and established some early practices, we find today’s story.
In today’s story, Peter had just healed a man who wouldn’t walk since birth. The crowds saw this, were amazed, and suddenly wanted to hear from him. This was his opportunity to preach to thousands. What would he say?
While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. (Acts 3:11-15 ESV)
Peter basically retells the story of Jesus’ death. But in this case, he is uncomfortably direct, at least by today’s standards. He speaks directly to his fellow Jews, in particular those in Jerusalem, and makes sure they don’t miss the significance of what happened, and their implication in it.
He says those listening to him were responsible for four terrible things about Jesus:
1) You handed him over.
High priests handed him over to Roman authorities.
2) You disowned him before Pilate even though he would have let him go.
They said Caesar is Lord instead about Jesus is Lord.
3) You traded him for a murderer
There was a tradition to release one criminal at Passover. They asked Pilate to release Barabbas, not Jesus.
4) You killed the author of life.
The crowds yelled, “Crucify him!”
The author of life is an important title. The Greek word (archegos) we translate as author here could also be translated as pioneer. That’s why we called this series Pioneer Story, because it’s the story of the first Christians, who were like pioneers, but it is even more so the story of Jesus, the true pioneer of the Christian faith, working through those other early pioneers.
What was the bottom line of Peter’s message? You did this. He wants his audience (then and now, them and us) to feel guilt.
Question: Why would Peter make them feel so terrible? Where is he going with this?
