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“Top Ten” — Reasons Hotels Provide Such Poor Lighting in Their Rooms
No matter the quality of the hotel, one thing you can count on is poor lighting in your room for the night. I guess hotels figure that everybody must stagger back to their rooms in some type of drunken stupor where any type of normal lighting would be too stark and abrasive. It is annoying enough that you have to spend time figuring out where all the switches are and what they control. But after you successfully hit the “On” switch you would like to be rewarded with some form of appropriate lighting.
So I offer my Top Ten Reasons Hotels Provide Such Poor Lighting:
10) They are trying to save money on their utility bill [Maybe that really is the only reason]
9) They did not realize that there were any Americans left who could still read
8) Their interior color scheme looks better muted
7) They don’t want you to see the stains on the carpet or linens [OK, that was gross]
6) They want to challenge guests with using their creativity to rearrange the furniture and lamps to come up with a reading position that works
5) They don’t want you to be able to read the fine print detailing all of the extra charges and taxes on your bill
4) Prevents glare on the TV which they figure you will have on all evening
3) If you are only in the room to sleep, what’s the difference?
2) Hotel rooms are notorious for a lot of shady activities [Let's not go there]
1) They thought the acronym byob meant “bring your own bulb” [Which, by the way, I have heard that many people do!]
“God Has Never Made a Mistake” — Ray Lewis
It mystifies me how people around the country view Ray Lewis as some type of thug or evil person. I understand his serious incident with the law way back at the start of his career when he made the mistake of covering up for a friend who had stabbed someone to death rather than coming clean to the authorities immediately. But he was not the perpetrator of that attack. He was definitely hanging with the wrong crowd. All he has done in his 16 seasons with the Ravens has been to exemplify leadership and praiseworthy character. His sound bytes might not always have a logical flow, but they exude passion and emotion and inspiration and a positive spirit.
You learn a lot about a person in times of adversity. Just look at how he responded to the Ravens heartwrenching departure from the playoffs in the last seconds against the Patriots. For all of his competitiveness and hard play between the lines (you never see Ray involved in any chippy or dirty cheap shotting tactics), when the final whistle blows he is the first one to accept the outcome and move on with a positive outlook on life. He appreciates the privilege of playing in the NFL but keeps things in perspective — recognizing that it is only a game. In the locker room afterwards he emphasized that “God has never made a mistake.” The team achieved their intended destiny in that sense. No one person or one play was at fault. Every one should hold their head high and remember that they gave 100% towards the team goal. There is no sulking with Ray and no excuses. There is only the joy of living life from the perspective that God is ultimately in control. How is that a “thug mentality”?
Look at how he is respected by his peers. Probably no leader of his stature in the NFL spends more time trying to nurture and encourage other players who are not on his team. He is truly a unique leader and it is time the media focuses on that profile so that people outside of Ravens nation understand the overall contributions Ray makes to the spirit of competition.
Super Bowl Shot Slips Out of Ravens Grasp — 23-20
This loss against the Patriots is too painful for much comment. [However, I need to moderate the strident initial tone here as I edit this after a day's cooling off period!] As always the play calling was too conservative and Cam did not let Joe Flacco compete until it was too late. Instead of starting the game strong, we called running plays on first down on the initial three drives. But to Cam’s credit, he did finally get Flacco out of the pocket with some rollouts that were effective. He also took some shots downfield that were wide open. The defense kept us in the game, but we did not have time to recover from last second miscues. That is what happens when your tendency is to allow for so little margin of error.
In keeping with my penchant for alliterative outlines, I will sum up the game in this agonizing three point picture portrait:
I. OOPS — Evans has the winning TD stripped from his hands in the end zone. But I was glad to see him get a chance to shine in this game after his one-handed grab against the Texans. He has been dying for a chance to contribute to this season and has had such a frustrating time of it with his injuries. I agreed with the decision to target him in the end zone and you have to give Joe all the credit in the world for bringing the team back to what should have been a win. But as Ray Lewis points out with such a mature perspective — it is either God’s time for you or it is not. Evans stood in front of the reporters in the locker room afterwards and took the heat for what was a lucky swipe by the rookie db.
Eutychus — A Divine Object Lesson Regarding Resurrection
You all remember the classic children’s nursery rhyme:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
In our story from Acts this morning we have a divine object lesson to reinforce the power of the resurrection message which the Apostle Paul was proclaiming. We find the story of Eutychus who falls to his death and is brought back to life in miraculous fashion. What all the king’s horses and all the king’s men are unable to do, God easily accomplishes through His servant Paul. The story reminds us of the incident of Christ raising up Lazarus – providing the setting for those famous words of comfort and assurance:
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and
everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
We find the Apostle revisiting churches in various cities on what amounts to a farewell tour before he ends up at Jerusalem and ultimately at Rome. His goal is to encourage and strengthen the saints and reinforce the message of new life in Jesus Christ. He wants the disciples to remain strong in the faith and continue to advance the kingdom of God. He wants to warn them about temptations and difficulties that could throw them off track. He wants to reinforce his personal love and commitment to them in the fellowship of the gospel. He has a lot to say to the saints gathered together in this upper room in the city of Troas.
Quieting the Opposition to Christianity — Acts 19:21-41
What must it be like to be in the midst of a riot?? Especially when the frenzy of the crowd is directed against you? Paul’s traveling companions in Ephesus found themselves in just such a predicament. We will look at how they got there and how God in His Providence extricated them from that mad mob. The closest we come is watching on TV some political demonstration in another country where the crowd is burning the American flag and cursing our country – not a place where we would want to be.
We have talked many times about how conflict will inevitably arise wherever the gospel is faithfully preached. The point of today’s narrative from the city of Ephesus seems to be that
OPPOSITION TO CHRISTIANITY STRUGGLES TO FIND ANY LEGITIMATE AVENUE OF ATTACK
There should really be no legitimate legal recourse against the gospel message since we are not advocating the advance of the kingdom of heaven by the overthrow of existing political regimes. We are counting on God to change the hearts of individuals and for social reform to then occur as people walk in the light and renounce their former sinful practices.
Jesus Christ — The Same Yesterday and Today and Forever — Heb. 13:8
Instability in the world is all around us. As we enter a new year, we face uncertainty about the ramifications of the change in leadership in North Korea – a regime that is developing nuclear weapon capability. We face uncertainty about what our country’s leadership will look like after the next presidential elections. We face uncertainty about the world’s economic crisis. We face uncertainty about how to pay for rising costs in healthcare and energy.
Our New Year’s message for today brings us a word of confidence and assurance. It is taken from one of the shortest verses in Scripture: Hebrews 13:8 — “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Theologians title this topic: the Immutability of God – because they like to use long, complicated sounding terminology. You know what a mutation is = some type of change. When it comes to the character of God, we have the assurance that God never mutates, He never changes.
Wayne Grudem: God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises . . .
Since God is perfect in His wisdom, His love, His mercy – you can never add anything to God and you can never take anything away from the person of God. He continues to be who He is from all eternity.
The Power of the Word of God and the Works of God — Acts 19:8-20
We have been singing the Christmas carols and it sounds like the arrival of the infant is so sweet and tender and gentle. The angels are proclaiming “Peace on earth and good will to men;” yet God is born into a world where the forces of evil battle desperately against the kingdom of God.
God has placed each of us in our own sphere of darkness in order to bring the light of the gospel to those around us. For the Apostle Paul, that sphere of darkness we will study today is the city of Ephesus – a city dominated by satanic and demonic activity; A city known for the temple of Artemis and for all of its magical and occult practices; A city where God is going to demonstrate that the power of His Word and of His Works can be victorious in radically changing lives and rescuing people from the bondage of their life of futility.
Dispensational Progression from John’s Baptism to Christian Baptism — Acts 19:1-7
There are numerous baptisms mentioned in God’s progressive revelation. Ceremonial purifications were common practice in Judaism. These early forms of baptism could involve priests or other believers or even clothing and various utensils (Lev. 8:6; Exod. 19:10-14)
Mark 7:3, 4
“For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.”
Heb. 9:9-10 speaking of the limitations of the OT priestly system in contrast to the New Covenant:
“Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.”
These actions only touched the outer man while Christ came to bring reformation from within under the dispensation of the New Covenant
But the most important types of baptism are discussed in our text this morning and there is much controversy surrounding how this historical narrative should have application to believers today. It should be clear that there is some type of progression in view from
- first, the baptism of John the Baptist which is described as a baptism of repentance, of preparation for faith in Jesus Christ to
- second, what I will call Christian baptism. This is described as believer baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus and bears some association with the reception of the Holy Spirit.
The Ideal Preacher — Acts 18:24-28
In the last 5 verses of Acts 18, we get introduced to a very special preacher. We see the beginning of the ministry of Apollos in Ephesus. His activities are sandwiched between Paul’s two visits to this important city – a short stay and then a more extended stay which we will study later in Acts 19.
Apollos is noteworthy for a couple of reasons:
- He bridges the transition from those who were just familiar with the ministry of John the Baptist (more of an OT saint) to those who are fully indoctrinated in the gospel message of Christianity and what it means to be a disciple of Christ; we always have to keep in mind the transitional nature of the events in Acts
- He also demonstrates for us many of the characteristics of an ideal preacher; in fact he becomes so popular that when we study the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians we are dismayed to see that some immature believers had directed their loyalties to his personality and ministry rather than fully appreciating the balanced ministry of the body of Christ; they had to be reminded to focus on
Cycle of Aggressive Ministry — Acts 18:7-23
I am convinced that one of the primary purposes of the Book of Acts is to motivate us to aggressive ministry as we witness time and again God’s faithfulness throughout the inevitable cycle of crisis and deliverance. Paul keeps entering into new situations, but the outcome is very similar. If we are willing to walk by faith and be pioneers in ministry, we too can experience the same privilege of seeing God’s faithfulness to bring ministry fruit and deliverance from persecution. But if we are willing to sit on the sidelines and leave the evangelism and edification to others, we will have a very lethargic Christian life.