July 21 Worship: "Unexpected Wisdom"

On Sunday, we concluded our summer study on the example of the early Christian church for the church today.  By exploring the first few chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, I encouraged us to imagine the church does two different things: we come together in worship, study, and fellowship and then we go out (individually or in small groups) to serve and teach others, before coming together again.

This week, we considered one of the famous "going out" passages, Philip's interaction with the Ethiopian eunuch, described in Acts 8.  While most of us sympathize with the Ethiopian, who declares that he cannot understand the Bible unless someone explains it to him, I strongly suggested that I believe Christians are supposed to be like Philip -- able to explain the Bible to others with questions about God and the meaning of existence.

After worship on Sunday, it occurred to me that I failed to incorporate the sermon title, "Unexpected Wisdom," into the sermon explicitly.  Still, I hope my meaning for it was clear without my stating it directly.  The unexpected wisdom comes from us, partially because we know more than we think we do, but mostly because sometimes our incomplete answer is the one answer that will make perfect sense to the person asking the question.  As Christians, who have experienced the hand of God in our life, who pray and worship together, and who read the Bible and listen sermons, we have some knowledge, even if we are convinced we don't understand it very well.  Just like parents answering the questions of their children, though, you don't have to be an expert to answer the questions; you just have to be willing to try.  Often, unexpectedly, our answers will not just be good enough -- they'll be just right.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can listen to an audio recording here.