We live in a world where people consider it a virture to be proactive. It must be a good idea, because so many good people say so. In the kingdom of God the opposite often seems to be the preferable state of affairs.

In Acts 1:4 Jesus said to His eager disciples, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised," meaning the Holy Spirit. I suppose it is proactive to wait, but it doesn't feel like it. In any case they waited. They didn't have a choice. Actually, we don't have a choice either, if we are waiting for God to act. He will choose His time. Fortunately for them, His choice came sooner than later.

In Acts 2:1-4 God acted. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. People from all over the world heard the gospel in their language.

Some people, always willing to think the worse, thought they were drunk. Peter needed to set the record straight, and he did it by using the accusation as the occasion to preach a powerful and fruitful sermon.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The book of Acts includes seven or eight sermons by at least three different people. As I have read those sermons, they seem to minimize something we consider central. Let's use Peter's sermon in Acts 2 to illustrate what I am talking about.

In verse 23 Peter tells his Jewish listeners that Jesus was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

In verse 36 Peter says this. Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. In a sermon which begins in verse 14 and ends in verse 39 these are the only two references to the death of Christ, and neither reference connects the death of Christ with the forgiveness of sins.

Peter mentioned the forgiveness of sins, but he did it in a way that might make you nervous. Verse 38: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. Clearly, forgiveness is associated with faith in Jesus Christ, but Peter made no connection between the death of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins.

There is of course a connection. But Peter didn't make it, and neither did the others in Acts whose sermons are recorded. Why not? Furthermore, if they under-emphasized the death of Christ, what did they emphasize, and why?

Peter's sermon leaves no doubt about the answer. Verse 24 is the theme of Peter's sermon. But God raised him (Jesus) from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. One half of Peter's sermon proclaims the resurrection of Jesus.

Now, we like to point out that Peter did this a few minutes' walk from the very spot where Jesus died and was buried. We like to point out that Peter was saying in effect to people, who didn't believe him, "If what I say is not the truth, why don't you produce His body?" We like to do that, but Peter didn't do that and, apparently, didn't think it.

Instead, Peter saw Jesus' resurrection as a vindication. That's his punchline in verse 36. Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Christ is the English word for Messiah. Peter is saying that the resurrection vindicated Jesus' claim to be Israel's long-anticipate Messiah. But what about the word Lord?

Verse 34-35 begin to make sense of that exalted name. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

"The Lord said to my Lord:
'Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.'"

According to that verse, which is a quotation from Psalm 110, to be Lord is to have the place of triumph over all enemies. If you can defeat death, then you have a leg up on other enemies. There was in that ancient world another majestic figure, who called himself "lord." It was the Caesar whose realm stretched from Scotland to India. To call Jesus Lord meant that Christians would have to refuse to call Caesar "Lord," and thus throw down the gauntlet that brought the fury of the Caesars against the Church.

You can see why in 1 Corinthians 12:3 Paul would say, No one says, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. You can see why in Romans 10:9 Paul would say, If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Jesus is Lord. On the third day God raised him from the dead. Those are the indispensable, unmistakable, non-negotiable marks that will identify the Church to the end of life and to the end of time. Peter, Stephen, and Paul preached the same message.

And that brings us back to the curious feature of the sermons of Acts. If Peter, Stephen, and Paul under-emphasized the death of Christ, what did they emphasize, and why? It is clear from Peter's sermon that he emphasized the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a vindication of Jesus as Messiah and as Lord of all threats to humanity.

Paul, who could be very unsentimental about these things, gives another answer in the great chapter on Jesus' resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15. In verse 32 of that chapter he said, If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." If this life is all there is, then grab for the gusto now; there is no more.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation on which we say, "This life is not all there is." Because of the resurrection the writer of Hebrews could say in Hebrews 9:27, Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

Jesus' death has extraordinary meaning because God raised Jesus to an indestructible life. His death at first looked like nothing more than a cruel and unjust way to die. But when God raised Him from the dead, people took another look at His death and found a new and powerful meaning. Guided by the Jewish Scriptures, the apostles came to view the death of Christ as the permanent and material sign of God's merciful intentions toward humanity.

His resurrection constitutes the foundation on which our whole faith rests. That's the dominant reason why it dominates the preaching of the apostles in the book of Acts. I think it should dominate our preaching and our witness to Christ. Let me show you.

A Pastoral Center of Gravity
What human act is necessary for salvation? Hear again the words of the Apostle Paul from Romans 10:9-10. If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Doesn't our presentation of the Gospel often bring with the effort to convince people that they are sinners and that they need a savior? That is of course true. But is that where the presentation of Christianity should begin? Is that where Jesus began? A thoughtful reading of the Gospels suggests that it is not. And if the evidence of Acts carries the weight I think it does, then the apostles did not begin there either.

I propse to you that the presentation of Christianity to the non-Christian world should begin with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let us say to people, "Do you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead? If you do, then will you confess publicly that Jesus is Lord? If so, then conditions are present in your heart that will save you on Judgment Day, when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ" (Romans 2:16).

There will be plenty of time later on to explain the deeper meaning of Christ's death and the truth about human sin and a great deal more. When a person believes that God raised Jesus from the dead and that Jesus is Lord, that person is much more receptive to other Christian truth. The book of Acts teaches us to put first things first in evangelism, and the resurrection of Jesus is first.

The Power of the Resurrection at Street Level
The resurrection of Jesus is also first in the experience of the Christian community. First of all, it creates that community. Look at verse 41. Those who accepted his (Peter's) message (that God raised Jesus from death to life) were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. But that wasn't all. Look at what those 3,000 people did somehow with each other.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone, as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Luke has simply told us what happened; he tells us nothing about how they achieved all this. Somebody had a plan. How do you provide apostolic teaching for three thousand people? What mechanism did they have in place so as to sell possessions and good and give the proceeds to those who needed help? How much breaking of bread in homes was spontaneous, and how much was organized? Luke doesn't say. He shows us the birth of a subculture within Judaism. What does this have to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Luke doesn't say, but Paul does.

In Ephesians 1:18-20 he wrote, I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead.

The power that raised Jesus from death to indestructible life is at work for us who believe. What we read about in verses 42-47 is the release of resurrection power among those who confess publicly that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God has raised Him from the dead. God releases that same power today. Let me focus on one expression of that power among us.

A Second Pastoral Center of Gravity
If you were at Tim Love's funeral in August, you need to know that there are more people in BVBC than were present in the congregation that day by several hundred people. That presents two particular challenges for the leadership of our church. First, how do we give pastoral care to that many people? Second, how do we make a large church feel small?

The board talked a lot about the first question, and the answer was small groups. When a person prays and shares scripture and life experiencees with 7-10 people over a period of time, the other people are going to be very interested if that person goes through a major life event. They are more likely to stay in touch, pray, and meet some of the immediate needs of the person and the person's family.

Much pastoral care, as I practice it, is just being there when people need me, being a good listener, and praying with people. Some times I am able to say something that will help them. The pastors of this church will always try to do these things, but there are many important moments in a person's life that need pastoral attention, and we know nothing about them. Even for some pretty major events people in the congregation may say, "I can't go to him; he's got too many other people to take care of."

A small group will catch a lot of those important moments in your life. Acts 2:45 says those first Christians gave to anyone as he had need. You don't have to go to seminary to pray for and listen to people you care about. And I'll tell you a secret about this and any other large church. If you have half a dozen people here, who share life with you as I have described, this will be the friendliest church you've ever been a part of. It will feel small, even if it is large.

There are many expressions of God's power among us. I rejoice in them all: Christian education, missions, public worship, and on and on. I have focused on small groups, because the board of deacons of our congregation, guided, I believe, by the Holy Spirit, has declared its collective resolution about small groups. Let me read to you some of the language they used. You will sense the desire of their heart and mine too.

"The Board of Deacons believes that Small Groups should be a core ministry strategy at BVBC, and should be a pervasive activity for our congregation. The Board has asked the Staff (Ministry Leaders) to develop a plan to pursue a goal of having a high level of the congregation participating in Small Groups."

The board's and the staff's intent is to propse this pervasive activity to the congregation, not to impose it on the congregation. For example, when you leave the sanctuary, you can get more information about small groups in all three vestibules. I would encourage you to join a small group this fall. I have done that, and I find it indispensable to my spiritual well-being.