Sermons - Peachtree Baptist Church

For the past several weeks I’ve been reading books by Howard Thurman, to whom I was introduced in seminary. I’m embarrassed to say that in a way, because I feel that I should have been introduced to him much earlier in life. But what I realized then is that there are very few times in my academic life that I was introduced to minority voices within theology. I am slowly trying to correct that, and maybe my sharing with you will help.I recently read “Jesus and the Disinherited” and offered a brief excerpt in the May 29 blog post. Right now I’m reading “The Search for Common Ground.” Thurman wrote it in the aftermath of the assasination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in an attempt to reconcile what he felt was an increasing polarization in American society. Kind of ironic, isn’t it? It feels to me like we are only now living in the most polarizing time since the Civil War. Reading about white militia groups that are stockpiling weapons and planning for a race war makes it feel like we are closer than ever to another one. Along with that, social distancing creates a literal forced separation and this entire virus fallout feels pretty apocalyptic. But the demonstrations we have seen across this country over the past weeks have brought me renewed hope. I see people coming together, maybe not as safely as they should at times, but coming together around ways to find common ground.I read this book and I am stunned by how prophetic it is. It is just more affirmation that God uses the voices of those perceived by humanity as weak to say and do the strongest things. We take comfort that when Christ returns, all the human power and wealth that people have so carefully built up will be transformed into beauty that can be shared equally by all.In the preface, Thurman has an excerpt from a poem that I want to leave with you today. I was unfamiliar with the words and the writer, Olive Schriener, so I looked her up. A complicated figure, she was born in colonized South Africa in 1855, received no formal education but wrote a very successful novel called “The Story of An African Farm'' which was published in 1883. She was a strong advocate for African civil rights and her brother was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony for a brief time. She wrote several other works as well including a book of dreams simply titled “Dreams” in 1890 from which this poem comes. It is from Chapter Five: Three Dreams in a Desert.And I awoke; and all about me was the yellow afternoon light: the sinking sun lit up the fingers of the milk bushes; and my horse stood by me quietly feeding. And I turned on my side, and I watched the ants run by thousands in the red sand. I thought I would go on my way now—the afternoon was cooler. Then a drowsiness crept over me again, and I laid back my head and fell asleep.And I dreamed a dream.I dreamed I saw a land. And on the hills walked brave women and brave men, hand in hand. And they looked into each other’s eyes, and they were not afraid.And I saw the women also hold each other’s hands.And I said to him beside me, “What place is this?”And he said, “This is heaven.”And I said, “Where is it?”And he answered, “On earth.”And I said, “When shall these things be?”And he answered, “IN THE FUTURE.”And I awoke, and all about me was the sunset light; and on the low hills the sun lay, and a delicious coolness had crept over everything; and the ants were going slowly home. And I walked towards my horse, who stood quietly feeding. Then the sun passed down behind the hills; but I knew that the next day he would arise again.

Some personal thoughts today and a challenge as I sit with what I see as a positive shift in our culture over the past few weeks. Welcome all to the post for Wednesday, June 10, 2020, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. As a missionary kid, I feel more at home here at Peachtree Baptist Church than almost any church I’ve been to in the United States. But I am white. And I grew up in Singapore and Malaysia not only with privilege, but as a privileged minority. When my mother strolled me through the wet market in Penang, Malaysia as an infant, people would stop and not only coo over me, but want to touch and rub my blond hair, apparently for good luck. I think since 1973 those kinds of customs have shifted some, but at the time, I stood out for all the right reasons. And yes, I had blond hair until I was about three, when my mom finally decided to give me a haircut. From Malaysia to Singapore was not too different, especially from the outside looking in, but it was in my teen years there that I began to realize that I was not only different but that I was treated differently. But I never really did anything about it. It was just the way things were. My high school friends from Singapore American School would go out on weekends to the hawker centers as young as 14 and order beer without worry. Though 18 is the legal drinking age, whatever the reason, no ID was needed. And let’s talk about the school. While my youth group friends in Singaporean schools struggled mightily with some of the highest standards in the world, I had a pretty easy time in my private school surrounded by not only about 40% other white kids, but majority international kids of diplomats and business people.The only time I ever remember being called out for being white was at an ice cream store, and that was only after returning to Singapore for the summer in between freshmen and sophomore college years. And even then it was probably only because they didn’t think that I knew the slur because they were speaking Hokkien. When ordering, the cashier called to the back saying, among other words I didn’t understand, ‘ang mo,’ which literally translates, ‘red hair.’ Sometimes they tack on ‘kui’ at the end, which means devil. It was a term that was developed during the 17th century by people in Fujian, China when the Dutch East India Company was doing some pretty devilish colonialist things. And it has stuck all these years.It’s something I’m still working out, my white privilege. I know I have it here in the US, and I know I had it growing up in Southeast Asia. What makes it harder for me personally is that I never really recognized it much. I believe I was raised without racial bias, and I was definitely educated about respecting differences. I distinctly remember in 7th grade making a derogatory stereotype about an Indian man who was walking down the sidewalk talking to himself. This was before mobile phones and ear pieces. My father was very quick to give me a lesson about not only stereotyping but the sin of racial stereotyping. It’s a lesson I still carry.There’s a lot more I could say about the complexities of cultural difference in my own experience, but suffice it to say that I am so grateful to be the pastor of this international church. And yet I so often feel completely unworthy of the role. As we work out our time together, I would want everyone to know that I am still learning what it means to be a faithful representative of Jesus. I hope we all are, but I think it’s more important than ever for me and those of us who are white to be constantly aware of our privilege so that we can be more open to God’s leadership. Global Christianity is shifting, and shifting fast, and that’s a good thing. I really hope you’ll read the article I’ve attached today from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell. It is a reminder for me that all churches need to be working harder for racial justice and that we all need to be learning from those that God is now using to reach the world with the love of Jesus, mostly in the global south. It is important to me that we not only look like the world, but that we strive to understand it. As a person of privilege, it is a task I do not take lightly and most of the time, it feels as exciting as it does overwhelming. But I believe we need to be witnesses in our Jerusalem as a global congregation and that in part means a responsibility to live into our context here in Atlanta. We need to better understand the African-American experience, as an example. At the same time, we must look at ourselves and see the trail that leads back so often to colonialism, sometimes even of the missionary variety. We need to remember that starting in the 16th century, four out the six continents in the world were colonized by white people. That means that even as an international congregation, we bear the stain of that trail. We need to acknowledge that much of the Chrisitan witness over the centuries has been harmed and that God is doing new things in other places as Global Christianity shifts away from Europe and North America. As Dr. Zurlo said, “Despite the demographic reality, many White Protestant Evangelical Christians in this country think they’re the center of the story. American history has indeed been written this way up until very recently.” Sometimes I fear that when Christ returns he will tell me, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ In the article, Dr. Zurlo has a list of recommended books for the purposes of better understanding and living into the redemption to which we are called. I am sorting through the books, but I think it would be a good idea to study one of them together. If you have any preferences, let me know and we’ll get started, even if it’s just two or three of us.

Good news! We plan to resume in-person worship on June 28! Welcome all to the Peachtree Baptist Church post for June 9, 2020, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. We are getting the house ready for guests and I hope that includes you, because you are invited. It will certainly feel different than before, but we are making every effort to make sure that you will feel confident about being protected from the spread of COVID-19 while you’re here. Between now and the 28th, we hope to have a virtual service from the sanctuary, but we have a a lot of work to do before going ‘live,’ like getting internet access into the sanctuary and figuring out what kind of equipment we need to buy and setup. But on the 28th, here’s what you can expect:On the 28th, we will gather in the sanctuary for a group adult Bible Study at 10:00 AM while Leslie conducts Godly Play virtually as she has been doing. As schools adjust to in-person and hybrid models, we will adjust as well for in-person children’s classes. At 11:00 AM, we will have a worship service in the sanctuary as well.We know that not everyone will feel comfortable being present in the sanctuary and we also know that not everyone should be here due to increased risk, so we will continue to provide a live virtual option going forward. I imagine that more folks will attend virtually than in-person at first, but I think there is a permanent need for a virtual option even when that attendance flips to being mostly in-person.In terms of physical logistics for those that choose to be present in-person on the 28th, there will be one entrance and exit from the Lavista Rd elevator access. At the portico everyone with have a touchless temperature check then go through a sanitation station and receive a mask if you didn’t bring one from home. Once inside, it will be one person or family at a time in the elevator, or six feet apart in the stairwell. On the second floor, all rooms will be closed off except for the bathrooms and the sanctuary. Unfortunately, there won’t be breakfast, so be sure to eat before you come. Water bottles, however, will be available. There will be ways to clean/wipe down in the bathrooms and everyone will need to follow six-feet separation guidelines. The pews will be marked by worship guides and ready-use communion cups.This is a work in progress! We are all learning to coexist with this new reality. We will need to be patient with ourselves and each other.Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have other concerns or suggestions. There’s no playbook for this but we are striving for best practices. Finally, watch carefully near the end of the week for information about what worship and Bible study will look like for the 14th and 21st. I hope to see you for all of our upcoming services, whether through a screen or in person!

Welcome all to the Peachtree Baptist Church post for Friday, June 5, 2020, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. Yesterday, Shauw Chin and I voted. Unless you used an absentee ballot, today, Friday, is the last day for early voting in person. The final date to vote in the upcoming presidential preference primary, general primary election, nonpartisan general election and special election is in person on June 9. I share all this because I’m still fairly new to Georgia. I have had to a lot of searching online to educate myself about not only how and when to vote but also the ballot itself and the various races. As Baptist people of faith, we are all over the spectrum when it comes to the role of the church, the role of the state, and where they might intersect. Though Baptists have a reputation of believing in freedom from religion and freedom for religion, Ironically, Baptists might be considered to be some of America’s first politicians. Baptist evangelists in Virginia during the late 1700s lobbied this country’s founders to the point of being an influence in the establishment of the First Amendment in 1791. The reason they did this is because of what history had taught them when human power in the form of government and religious power come together as one. And we know it too: Roman Christendom in the 3rd century led to the Holy Roman Empire as one example. Recently, I read a post about how we need to remember the Protest part of the Protestant Reformation. Much of that protest was about corruption of power too. But soon states, like England, married the new movement with the state. When Puritans came from England to America, they were escaping that corruption, but then they also denied others who didn’t think like them, such as Roger Williams, an earlier Baptist who had to escape to Rhode Island to avoid Puritan persecution.So where does that leave us today? As Baptist people of faith, it is our faith that should drive us to the ballot box but it is also our faith that doesn’t seek to impose our faith on others through the ballot box. Our faith informs the way we engage in the realm of living within the confines of human statehood, but it also informs our divine understanding that all people everywhere, regardless of religion or government are images of God. As Baptists, when we see injustice from the state, we vote for those that represent justice. We do this not so that they become Baptists or even Christians, or even come to our particular interpretation of what justice looks like, but so that we are being obedient to living out our understanding that through faith in Christ, God desires goodwill for this entire world. Living as a human waiting for Christ’s return to restore all things, people of faith choose to practice well-being for all people: in politics, in governance, at home, at work, at school and everywhere we have been placed to be a witness to the good news of Jesus. We’re not going to get it right most of the time, but we try to be faithful. So go and make decisions informed by your faith, and vote!

Once again, I am so thankful to say that PBC is part of a larger body with whom we can cooperate and work for the well-being of all people. And Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has recently published insightful and challenging words that can help us continue that work. So today, June 3, 2020, I hand over the post to them so that those words can be more widely disseminated. Just as Deena’s post yesterday was shared, I hope you’ll share these as well so that we might be better equipped to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.First is a joint statement from CBF and CBF GA in support of hate crime legislation in Georgia (HB 426) that has already been passed by the Georgia House of Representatives but has been stuck in Senate Judiciary Committee since March 8 of 2019. I was pleased to represent PBC as a quoted signatory to this statement.Next is a powerful statement from CBF Executive Coordinator Dr. Paul Baxley. As we hold both violence against our brother-in-Christ George Floyd that took his life and violence against other persons of color in one hand, we hold Pentecost in the other. What are people of faith, indwelt by the very Spirit of God, to do? Paul suggests actions needed by the church, by government and by the CBF. Finally, a very challenging blog post from Rev. Kasey Jones, Associate Coordinator of Strategic Operations & Outreach for CBF. She recounts how the the torture and murder of Emmett Till catalyzed the Civil Rights Movement and connecting both the death of George Floyd and the risk Queen Esther took in confronting power she says, “It is time for the separate system of justice for black and brown men and women to be altered to a fair and just system for All.” It does seem that we are at a new crossroads in God’s movement of redemption. Are we willing to find common ground so that we might have everything in common?

For today’s post, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, Rev. Deena Wingard offers us a challenge both in the form of words and imagery. Deena ministered alongside us last year, leading in worship and providing leadership to our youth among other things. I asked Deena if she would be willing to speak into the current work being done to address racial disparities in this nation, she agreed and I am every grateful. In addition to being dedicated to her family, and working full-time for the Department of Veteran Affairs, Deena is the founder of Your Reasonable Service Ministries and has been published in The Wait of Success, a collection of stories about achieving success.~ LOUD SILENCEI identify as a black woman in America. It is disturbing in and of itself that in 2020 we are still trying to figure out how to achieve civil rights for black Americans. We survived nearly 400 years of slavery in a land we were taken to against our will. We were then supposedly set free by the Emancipation Proclamation signed on January 1, 1863. My ancestors quickly realized, however, that slavery continued in many ways under the guise of a corrupt criminal justice system that unjustly and disproportionately incarcerated black people. Under that same criminal "justice" system, those in power and authority continued to use my ancestors as forced labor. On our backs, much of the country was built and financially sustained. We then endured Jim Crow laws that were present from 1870 to 1965 and lynching that we still hear about today. Despite the gains of the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968, as I type, there are protests, demonstrations and riots in many cities across America purposed to address the murderous killing of my black brothers and sisters. Some may say, "where are the Christians?" Well, keep in mind, many slave owners and leaders in the system of slavery purported to be Christians. That does not mean, however, that white Christians are to do nothing and remain silent. While many have remained silent in the past as black men and women were unjustifiably killed and unfairly treated, time is now up for staying quiet. Your silence loudly speaks volumes as to where your sentiments fall regarding race relations today. In other words, saying nothing is loudly saying something. That something is that you either agree with how black people are being treated in America today or that you are unconcerned. Either way, since the Bible is clear that racism and discrimination are sinful acts, your silence shines a light on your heart. We don't expect you to move mountains, but we do want to hear and see your support. In this fight for justice and fundamental human rights, we need allies. We need brave black and non-black men and women like the abolitionists, the freedom fighters and Atlanta Police Chief, Erika Shields, who are not afraid to take a stand against the plight of black people in America today. I encourage you to say something to show that you are an ally in this battle. We see your stand against injustice, and we see your silence. Your silence speaks loudly. Let your support be louder.

Welcome friends near and far to the Friday, May 29, 2020 podcast from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. For the past month or so I’ve been reading Howard Thurman’s short book titled “Jesus and the Disinherited.” Thurman was a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. Published in 1949, the book grew out of an essay he wrote in 1935, and for me it has been both important history and inspiration even as this nation continues to fight against human unity. I can’t recommend it enough. Using the overarching concepts of Fear, Deception and Hate as weapons used to maintain division, he bookends these with the first chapter, Jesus, and the last chapter, Love.If you were able to read between the lines of yesterday’s post, you’d know that I was responding to the ways we have seen people not treating people the way they would want to be treated these past several weeks, but using fear, deception and hatred as weapons to maintain all kinds of division. In the midst of this kind of rebellion against God, Christians must be willing to speak the gospel of God’s desire for perfect well being through Jesus in the language that will be heard by all people. What we know is true is that the rich speak a different language from the poor, the documented speak a different language from the undocumented, the privileged speak a different language than the underprivileged. It is hard work, but if we submit to the Spirit, we can express a future hope that as Thurman writes, Jesus projected with his very life, where “There would be room for all, and no man would be a threat to his brother.”I offer these two excerpts from the first chapter without further comment.--The basic fact is that Christianity as it was born in the mind of this Jewish teacher and thinker appears as a technique of survival for the oppressed. That it became, through the intervening years, a religion of the powerful and the dominant, used sometimes as an instrument of oppression, must not tempt us into believing that it was thus in the mind and life of Jesus. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Wherever his spirit appears, the oppressed gather fresh courage; for he announced the good news that fear, hypocrisy, and hatred, the three hounds of hell that track the trail of the disinherited, need have no dominion over them.Living in a climate of deep insecurity, Jesus, faced with so narrow a margin of civil guarantees, had to find some other basis upon which to establish a sense of well-being. He knew that the goals of religion as he understood them could never be worked out within the then-established order. Deep from within that order he projected a dream, the logic of which would give to all the needful security. There would be room for all, and no man would be a threat to his brother. “The kingdom of God is within.” “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.” The basic principles of his way of life cut straight through to the despair of his fellows and found it groundless. By inference he says, “You must abandon your fear of each other and fear only God. You must not indulge in any deception and dishonesty, even to save your lives. Your words must be Yea—Nay; anything else is evil. Hatred is destructive to hated and hater alike. Love your enemy, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.”Thurman, Howard. Jesus and the Disinherited. Beacon Press. Howard Thurman in 1963. Photo by Boston University.

Welcome friends to the Thursday, May 28, 2020 post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. On Tuesday, I talked about adaptation and how early Christians had to adapt to living in a world not yet fully redeemed. Today, I want to challenge us as people of faith to remember that it is through the adaptive work of the Spirit that we are being transformed.You have likely heard me say before how much I love this church for its representation of various cultures. It reminds me daily of the multicultural mission of the church. As we come up on Pentecost this Sunday, I’m also reminded of the connection we have with that movement of the Spirit and how important it continues to be for our world today. There’s a reason that the first thing the Spirit did was cause believers in Jesus to speak in a variety of languages. It was a way of honoring the beauty of culture and uniting humanity at the same time. It was a miracle. It doesn’t always help to think in hypotheticals, but it would be a fair question to wonder why God didn’t just use one language that everyone understood. Instead, it was a variety of languages. Though the speaker couldn’t normally speak it, the hearer heard their own language. It was a kind of divine empathy but also a celebration of diversity, equality and equity all being accomplished at the same time.The goal of the gospel is not that we all end up in the same culture but that we are united by Christ. On Sunday we looked at 1 Peter 5 verses 6-10. But in the rest of 1 Peter we read about how early Christians were resisting the dominant culture of the day by representing the way of Jesus. Roman culture did not represent the way of Jesus in how people were treated. Slavery, for example, was not only accepted but was an unquestioned cultural norm. Class structures between rich and poor were enforced. Equality, much less equity, was a ridiculous notion that could even be considered criminal. Lives were less important than the growth of the Roman Empire. It was easy for most people to fall into the trap of thinking that this worldview was not only part of the proper order but the divine order. Much of the advice of Paul and Peter in the early church letters was written to help Christians from being locked up or killed for living out their understanding of the kingdom of God as described at the end of Acts 2.In a tremendously sad and perverted twist, dominant cultures ended up co-opting Christianity and using it to maintain their dominance. Rome weaponized Christianity and for centuries other cultures were colonized under this style of power. In this country, slavery was defended by preachers using the very words of Peter. But that’s what rebellion does. It corrupts and perverts the truth. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people talk about their distrust of “the media” as if it is one singular force, or how often I hear people reject history just because it doesn’t line up with their biases. One of the ways we can combat the rebellion against the truth of the past is by studying it. And again, even in that study, rebellion takes root as distrust is so very rampant.And so what are we to do? We are to put our trust in the Spirit of God. What if the Spirit of God gave you the language of a culture that has been misrepresented by the dominant culture and you were able to speak to them in such a way that they understood the gospel? To hear that they can have the voice of prophecy to speak of God’s justice for the poor? Or what if the Spirit of God gave you the language of the dominant culture so that they could hear the gospel? To hear that by giving up their pride they are being humble before a God who loves and rewards humility?When those believers were filled with the Spirit, it wasn’t an easy thing. It was the beginning of the hardest thing they could ever do - they lost their language so that God could show the world the truth. They had to give up their language to celebrate and begin practicing with their lives a unity that goes beyond language and culture. Before they could do it, they couldn’t have known what it was like to hear the gospel in a language other than their own. We must be open to the Spirit to do things in us that will pull us out of our worldviews so that we can speak the language of Jesus to others. And that can be hard when we look at others and don’t see them as images of God. That can be hard when we are taught to believe that a human culture should be enforced with some kind of order. But I believe that if we submit ourselves to God, the one who practiced healing and restoration, who taught what true reconciliation looks like, who despite humanity’s failures laid down his life for all people, that submission will empower us to love God and love others by his Spirit. We will see others as God sees them. As images of God. Through Jesus, the reality of perfect well-being for all creation is made available. And when we see images in this world that distort that reality, it should not only hurt, it should call us to speak in the language that is needed for the gospel to be heard.As we continue to see human power exercised all over this world, may we speak the language of true power, the power of the Spirit transforming us into true representatives of Jesus.

Greetings friends far and near and welcome to the Tuesday, May 26, 2020 post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. Today I’m thinking about adaptation. Soon we will have to be thinking about resuming services in our building, and all the changes that will happen in order for us to worship together again. It’s an older meme now but I’ve included the image in today’s blog portion - this idea that pastors had to pivot in an instant from one way they had been taught and expected to preach, teach and lead worship to a totally different model. We joke about it, but the truth of course is that everyone in the world had to adapt in some way or another to the news of this pandemic, whether it was dramatically or not. I have read many articles and you probably have too: about how this pandemic has shifted priorities, about how it has a silver lining that will help us make better choices as a culture going forward, about how we’ll have to adapt to the waves of loss will be with us for a long time, about how this pandemic has exposed our differences so that we might adapt to focusing on the common good. We are living in an extraordinarily complex time. Being ready to adapt is hard enough, but the actual energy involved in the process of adaptation is exhausting. Some of that is because we don’t want to change and resist it, but some of it is just because we are human.On Sunday we looked at 1 Peter 5:6-10. I have gone back to this short passage several times over the past couple of days because it continues to provide me with a lot of encouragement. It is both a challenge and a comfort to think about all that these churches were going through in these beginning years of the Christianity and how they were having to adapt. Jesus had come and everything had changed. How were these new Christians going to reflect God’s ultimate purpose of restoration?One day Jesus will return and we will adapt again, but it will be in an instant. It is something that the early church longed for, prayed for and expected. They believed that the very best thing that could happen was the return of Jesus. Are we as people of faith actively living into longing as well? It’s going to be different for everyone, but for me, I’m trying to be more patient and to practice the fruits of the Spirit, to humble myself and not think that I have answers beyond what Jesus has already given us, to give my anxieties over to God, to be alert, to resist temptation and to stand firm in knowing that God, by faith in Christ, has empowered me by the Spirit to adapt to looking as much like Jesus as I know how, no matter the circumstances. And to constantly be praying: come, Lord Jesus, come.

Greetings church family near and far, welcome to the May 22 2020 post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor.Yesterday, we spent some time thinking through what it really means to suffer. We learned that what many may consider suffering right now is not at all what scripture teaches. Jesus, who suffered for others, calls us to suffer alongside those who are truly suffering due to poverty or violence or even to suffer for the common good so that all may be lifted up. And so we care as much for the health of others as we do for ourselves. It can be trying, but we can find joy in it as well. One of the ways we suffer alongside others is by practicing patience, one of the fruits of the Spirit.This Memorial Day weekend I feel sure that many of us will need to practice a lot of patience. There will be more people on the road, and just generally out and about. If someone isn’t wearing a face covering and they are getting too close to you, practice patience, but also make sure you’ve got your face covering on. If you are stuck inside and still feeling anxious about getting outside among people, practice patience internally. Rely on the Spirit to remind you that Jesus promises peace, not as the world gives so that you can conquer fear (John 14:27). Practice patience with your family as you may be feeling the stress of demands, as you manage a variety of external expectations. Finally, allow yourself to name how hard life is right now. It doesn’t do God any honor by suggesting that everything is fine. Rather, praise God for your life and petition God to continue the hard work of restoration through you by the power of the Spirit. On April 30, when Thomas Ballew, our Music Associate recorded his extemporaneous piece inspired by the themes presented in Acts 1 and 2, he finished and said, “anything else you want me to play?” And so I told him that I’d been thinking about the idea of patience a lot, and he really related to that. So based on the theme of patience, he played. Today we offer it to you as well. You’ll hear joy and lightness, before the frenetic feeling we often have prior to losing our patience, which often leads to feelings of frustration and even anger before releasing it and finally regaining some footing, even as we are changed by the experience. I felt very blessed to be present when he played this and heard sounds coming from that piano that I didn’t know it could make. I hope you find encouragement in it as I did. All the best for your Memorial Day weekend. Look for an email on Sunday morning for the zoom link to join in for our weekly Bible Study and time of worship. Patience, Case Maclaim

Welcome all to the Thursday, May 21, 2020 post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. Maybe you have read recently about people literally getting up in arms about face masks. Some people feel that being required to wear one is a violation of their civil rights. Others feel that those not wearing masks should be criminally liable. It has even erupted into violence. Someone not wearing a mask was attacked by someone else wearing a mask because they felt the unmasked person was too close. In another case, a security guard was killed because he told someone to leave a store because they weren’t wearing a mask. It is mind-boggling to me. How did we get to this point and how are we to respond?What I have noticed in the attitudes of some people is that they believe they are suffering because they feel they are not getting what they feel they deserve. The hard truth for them and for all of us is that only God is deserving. We should not be surprised when life is hard. And we shouldn’t think that we deserve something more than others. In fact, our faith calls us into suffering. Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:1, “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude.” Paul writes in Romans 5:3-5, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”Peter and Paul wrote these words because many Christians were truly suffering, physically suffering, many of them killed, because of their lifestyles. They were disrupting the class structures that had been setup to benefit the rich by caring for the poor. They were disrupting the household structures by living out the equality of God’s love, living into the hope of no Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. They were being persecuted because they were willing to express the love of Jesus and suffer alongside those that Jesus loves.We as people of faith should know how to love other people with the love of Jesus, right? Even when we are young we are taught the values of sharing, of putting the needs of others in the same place as our own needs. We are taught stories like the Good Samaritan and we are taught about how Jesus suffered and died so that we could know what true love and sacrifice looks like. We are taught about the fruits of the Spirit, that God seeks to develop love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control within us by faith. We are taught that loving God means loving others because God loved us first. We are taught that Jesus is coming to restore and renew all things and so how we treat others, ourselves and the earth should be a reflection of the love Jesus has for all creation.And that is the attitude we use to reveal our faith so that others know we are Christians. We don’t seek our personal freedom or our economic benefit at the expense of other people; we wear masks and PPE with joy even if it feels like a kind of suffering because we care deeply about God’s love being expressed to others by our love for others. We stand up for those that unjustly suffer violence because Jesus unjustly suffered violence.There is true suffering going on. And we should be in lament. Today I read an article about when it will actually be possible to mourn the deaths of the over 90,000 people that have already died. And we must mourn that loss if we claim faith because death is not what God designed for creation. Perhaps one of the most important ways we can suffer alongside those who are truly suffering during this time is to practice patience. We live in hope of a future and we patiently wait for it. It’s not easy, but can wait with joy in our hearts because we have been given the Spirit of God. Maybe hearing these words from 1 Peter 4:12-13 can aid us today: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” The CDC also has a detailed FAQ about face coverings

Hello all and welcome to the May 20 2020 post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps pastor and today we continue our look at the ascension of Jesus and what it continues to mean for us today, especially as we are unable to meet in our sanctuary.Yesterday I was listening to All Things Considered on the way home, as I usually do, and though my commute is very short now, I heard an interesting but slightly disturbing story about churches and church life now that most churches haven’t been able to hold services for almost 10 weeks now. Read or listen for yourself, but the story ends with this interpretation: “support, solace, a spiritual bond - the things that matter in the worship experience but, for some people, the things they now see their church was not providing.” What struck me was that the church was being described as a place designed for people to receive something. As if they are the audience and are there to be entertained or inspired or in some other way get something they otherwise could not get if they weren’t physically present in that space, with that kind of choir, or that kind of architecture, or that kind of preaching.It was a good reminder to me that when I am in the pews of a church, or on my couch at home, if I am in worship, regardless of the kind of building I am in, God is the audience of my worship. I am the worshiper. I am submitting to God my praise, my thanks and my love. I am not worshiping to receive something I have not already received, because God has already given me everything. We are not able to be in our church building, but it doesn’t mean we can’t live out our faith. It would be as though the disciples saw Jesus ascend into heaven and said, “Well, I guess that’s it then. It was a good ride, but now that he’s gone, I guess I’m realizing that I wasn’t actually being provided the support, solace, or spiritual bond that I had when I was able to worship him in person.”What is that the disciples do? Let’s look at the last verses of Luke 24 again: “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”How do the disciples respond to his ascension? They worship him first. And they were constantly in prayer. They put their focus on Jesus, regardless, and Jesus gave them the connection they needed to maintain the support, solace and spiritual bond they already had to continue the work of worship - they were given the Spirit of God. For a deep dive into those relationships, head to the several days worth of study on Acts 2 and the early church that I began on April 15. The early church modeled in the present the future that Jesus promised. They preached the gospel with their voices but also their lifestyle, sharing what they had in common with each other but their greatest priority was worship.The work of Jesus, to model perfect well-being for all creation, is no longer limited by his physical presence. And we don’t need that kind of presence to continue that work. Neither do we need to be physically present with each other or physically present in a building to praise him for his work. God can, does and will do the work of Jesus in us by the power of the Spirit wherever we are when we focus on worshipping Him as King. I’m not saying it isn’t hard. But we shouldn’t associate being in a building with having faith, regardless of the activity. True worship is remembering that Jesus is the full measure of God and that all people everywhere can have full access to perfect well-being by faith in him. There are no barriers to that kind of hope, nothing can break the bond. I miss seeing all you, a lot, but I can still be confident that God can be represented in me by my worship.When the disciples witnessed Jesus going away from them, they didn’t assume they were being abandoned. When we can’t access a church building because of the threat of sickness, we shouldn’t assume we are no longer being provided something that we couldn't otherwise receive. We can do great things through Christ by the gift of His Spirit no matter what obstacles come our way because we have hope. God, as the audience of our worship, empowers us to do the work of Jesus by the power of His Spirit even if there were no church buildings on this entire planet. In fact, there are places in this world where worshippers of Jesus can only meet in homes. I feel confident that they are finding support, solace, and a spiritual bond despite their adversity. They worship a God who gave them life through Jesus and through the power of the Spirit, they are working for a future life where only worship will remain. The Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks. Hicks painted about 60 versions on this theme.

Sunday, May 24 is Ascension Sunday, the one day each year we set aside to specifically remember Jesus’ return to heaven. On May 31, we will observe Pentecost, when the church remembers and celebrates God’s gift of the Spirit following Christ’s ascension. I think the ascension of Jesus is an often overlooked event that deserves a little extra attention.Welcome to the May 19, 2020 post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. What I find especially meaningful in thinking about the ascension of Jesus is the level of love he has for us. He promised the Spirit would ‘take it from here’ and he loved us and trusted that we would reach back and accept the call He places on us to move His story of redemption forward. As we continue to move through this difficult season I'm reminded of the gift Jesus gives us to freely accept his mission of restoration. Jesus rose above the Earth even though the Earth was and is still broken. He trusted us enough to know we would do great things in His Name by the power of the Spirit in us. And so we ascend as well, to a place where our love for others remains despite the brokenness we find ourselves in. Some put the economy first; some put themselves first. Jesus calls us above it to put God and others first; in heave, also upon the Earth. Jesus calls us to ascend above it as he did on the cross, putting the lives of others before his own, and revealing in His resurrection a future where all people for all the time can have access to a heavenly life.So let’s start with the word ascension. What does it mean and how is it used? The English word comes from Latin, and the usage it Latin is as a verb: to go up, climb up, rise, mount, the action of moving upward. She ascended the mountain, or the throne. Jesus ascended into heaven, an act of glorification that he had spoken to his disciples about earlier in his ministry. But only the gospel of Luke provides the story of the event itself, in Luke 24. Here’s the description from those few verses at the end of Luke:Luke 24:50-53When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.In the Greek, the language of the New Testament, taken up into heaven is one word, and it has the idea of being taken, carried or lifted in it. Luke also uses this word in Luke 9:51 which reads, ‘As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.’ This was the turning point in Jesus’ ministry and I think it’s interesting that Luke focuses on the ascension as the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry rather than the cross and resurrection, which is the case in the other gospels. I think this is due in part to the way Luke wants to portray the role of the early church in following in Jesus’ footsteps. And following Jesus means not only our relationship with God and one another now, but also our relationships when Jesus returns.The connection between the Spirit being given and the ascension of Jesus has a parallel in the Old Testament as well. When Elijah ascended in 2 Kings 2 Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit and that Spirit was acknowledged by the other prophets. But it was only Elisha receiving this gift. The gospels also connect Jesus and John the Baptist and their prophetic rolls to Elijah and Elisha. The difference in Luke and Acts is the fleshed-out idea of the Spirit made available to all people precisely because Jesus died, was resurrected, ascended, remains at the right hand of God, gave His Spirit and will one day return. Christ's work of restoration exampled in his resurrection continues from Heaven through us in the power of the Spirit by faith in Jesus. It’s a kind of tether or constant outpouring. Jesus was fully human but also fully God. In is heavenly throne now He and God and the Spirit, One but the distinct, provide us with the ability to continue Jesus's work of restoration until it is completed on his return. The Ascension, James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum.

Yesterday’s post was pretty heavy. These are heavy times. But we can be assured of the hope we have in Christ Jesus; Jesus is in us by faith in him. And into that belief, we are guided by the Spirit, because we are not capable in our broken humanity without the divine to help us defend against evil and to advocate on our behalf to continue moving God’s universal plan of redemption forward.Welcome all to the Thursday, May 14, 2020 daily post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. Today I want to provide some ways for you to practice your relationship with the Spirit of God in you. First, if you are unsure of your faith, God is reaching out to you even now, seeking to use you to make a difference in this world. When you surrender to knowing God by faith in Jesus, the Spirit will begin a new work in you. And if you are a person of faith, you know, as I know each and every day, that I am not doing what I could be doing because of my weakness and rebellion, but I am confident that I am being transformed even as this whole world groans for redemption. And so today I offer to you some very practical ways to practice that work of advocacy for the fruits of the Spirit.I’ll start with information, then inspiration for practicing the work.It is a little risky to suggest places to go online because it may seem as though I am fully endorsing views, but that to me is simply another symptom of the evil one, the prosecutor at work, trying to divide us into walled islands in a pretentious act of disrupting God’s plans of redemption. I would encourage you not to be baited. Being human means remembering that we get it wrong most of the time, but keeping in step with the Spirit means looking for places that represent the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.A few days ago I mentioned an article from Christianity Today about defending against conspiracy theories. In the article, Ed Stetzer suggests that Christians are especially susceptible to conspiracies and need to be very careful. And just Monday, the leadership at BioLogos put out a similar article, providing ways for Christians to respond to attempts at division with well-being.I have heard from colleagues that they have found it hard to discern good information from bad regarding this pandemic. For me personally, Johns Hopkins continues to effectively collate and distribute data and research, I have personally found their Covid site very helpful in feeling confident about information related to the pandemicDuring this time I continue to be inspired by my alma mater, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Their president Dr. Scott Sunquist recently wrote a powerful piece about putting our understandings of God’s justice into practice. He uses the recent murder case of Ahmaud Arbery as an example for taking action.Finally, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship should be a bookmark on your browser, and a follow on your Facebook and Twitter feed. They are working hard to help churches figure out unified ways to begin co-existing with this virus. One very helpful blog post posted just yesterday was reporting the surprise that more people are attending online services weekly compared to before the virus.Of course there are other organizations that are working hard to represent the advocacy they experience by the indwelling of the Spirit in them. I look forward to how we as a church and the body of Christ may become more active in recognizing our steps with the Spirit as we seek to serve our resurrected Lord.

Yesterday we talked about the ask sandwich. In between the bread of belief in Jesus and the bread of truth in the Spirit, we have the ability to ask for God’s work to be done in us and it will be done. Sounds easy right? Also, now I’m hungry and want a sandwich!Welcome to the daily post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. We have been feasting at the table of the Last Supper for the past several days as Jesus gives his final speech to his disciples in the book of John, focusing on John 14. Today we look at the way Jesus describes the Spirit in the chapter. In verses 16 and 17, he says this: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever - the spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” And in verses 25 and 26 he says, “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”It has been a pretty long era as we wait for Jesus to return, but right now, we continue to live in an age of grace, an age of the Spirit. When we talk about asking Jesus to do things in his name, we most often ask for all the wrong things because we keep rebelling against Christ’s law of love. Often it’s because we lack imagination and belief doesn’t take hold in our hearts. But when we believe, Jesus promises the Spirit is there at our side seeking to be our advocate, like a lawyer who is only truthful, and a defender who is always on our side. The Spirit prods us, guides us, comforts us, keeps us accountable, keeps us from giving up, keeps us from losing our imagination, keeps us in such a way that God continues to make a temple out of us. And if there is a defender, then there is also a prosecutor, which is a term the Hebrew Bible often uses to describe the Evil One. The one who tries to convince that we can’t possibly be made to represent God’s plans for this world and can’t possibly do the kinds of works Jesus did; the one who tries to convince us that we are just flesh and bone, that the kinds of works that will outlast all others are rooted in idolatry, hatred, jealousy, selfish ambition, rage and tribalism. But as Paul said in Galatians 5, those who live like that will not inherit the kingdom of God. The Spirit Jesus spoke about it is here on this earth and in our hearts by faith in him. The Spirit helps us distinguish truth from untruth, even as we get it wrong so very often. And we get it wrong because we substitute human law for Christ’s law, human kingdoms for the kingdom of God. We get it wrong because we are faithful to our culture and history and human family instead of being faithful to the gospel and to becoming the family of God, to being transformed into a temple of God. We think having peace is the outcome of our pursuit for comfort when comfort is in fact our idol. We think patience is simply not acting out on the rage in us. We think that goodness is doing what’s best for our personal worldview rather than the common good. There are so many ways the prosecutor baits us and trolls us. But the Spirit is there to defend against evil and to be our advocate. Doing the works of Jesus is just not possible without the help of the Spirit. When we believe in Jesus, we put our lives in God’s hands, and we are set free to ask for God’s will to be done because the Spirit advocates on our behalf. But it’s hard work. We are weak. But the Spirit is strong.In thinking back to Galatians and all the ways we get it wrong, the apostle Paul also provides ways to get it right. And during this pandemic, these things need to be defended on a different level. A very personal level. As domestic violence is on the rise, as conspiracy theories abound, as racism is fueled, as people lose their healthcare, their jobs, and even their lives, we need an advocate. We need a defender. We need to know not only what to ask, but what to do. And so hear these words from Galatians 5:22-25 as we close today:But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (NIV) Pathway of Peace by Mary Martin via instagram

Over the next few days, we’ll be continuing our study of John chapter 14. Today we are looking closely at verses 14-17. You’re welcome to start with me here but I would encourage you to check the May 6-8 posts on the sermons page of our website as well as yesterday’s post for the first portion of John 14.Thanks for participating in our daily posts from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. Before we dive back into John 14, I hope that you all are staying healthy, both physically, emotionally and spiritually. My hope is that these posts can help a little in all those areas and can be a place of oasis, but also a place that can challenge you to act upon your faith. Scripture can indeed both be comfort and prod, and there are many things we all could be doing that better represent Jesus during this time.One of the ways we can understand that challenge is to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In this long speech at the Last Supper, with the disciples listening to Jesus and trying to understand his sometimes enigmatic way of speaking, Jesus introduces the idea of the Spirit. The concept of God’s Spirit certainly wasn’t new to the disciples, but Jesus describes the Spirit in two distinct ways: as an advocate and as truth. These two descriptions are important because of what Jesus had just said prior in verse 14: “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Unfortunately, many Chrisitians down through the centuries have taken verse 14 and plucked it out of the Bible without the verses that come before and especially without the verses that come after. Without an understanding of a relationship with God by faith in Christ and without an understanding of the Spirit, we are not asking in Christ’s name but in our own. In other words, we are not representing Jesus when we ask, we are just representing ourselves.Jesus says ‘ask anything and I’ll do it,’ but prior to the ask in the previous verses, belief comes first - that Jesus perfectly represents God. And not only that, but the things his disciples would ask would be things Jesus himself had done and would do. Then in verse 15 Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commands.” So if the meat is ‘ask anything,’ it is sandwiched by belief and obedience.When we ask something of Jesus, the framework for the asking is a submissive relationship with Jesus. Jesus is King. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the way, truth and life, and we are not. But when we submit to the law of Christ, and put our faith in him, Jesus will do anything we ask in his name, because only his name exists within us. We belong to Jesus and Jesus has taken residence in us by faith. Our identity begins to be transformed into looking like Jesus.So what are the commands of Jesus? We look to scriptures. We read the story of the gospel, the good news of a King who died for us and was resurrected so that we can have life beyond life and who ascended to God but asked God to give us another advocate, like Jesus, to help us to stay true to his commands here on earth until he comes again. And why do we keep the commands of Jesus? Because we love him, we accept him, we entrust ourselves fully to him. When we have those things even a little bit figured out, we start to know what it means to ask anything of him in his name. But there’s one more key to making any of it possible, and that’s the Spirit. Tomorrow we’ll look more closely at the way Jesus describes the Spirit and how important the role of the Spirit is in knowing Jesus and representing God’s work in the world. I hope you’ll join us. https://stushieart.com/

Today we are revisiting the virtual concert from April 4 presented by Lamar Savage, our organist and Thomas Ballew as well as the piece inspired by Acts 1-2 from Thomas presented last Saturday. Program for the virtual concert:"Be Still and Know" "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" "How Good It Is to Thank the Lord" "Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated" "I Received the Living God" "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" "In Remembrance" "Praise to the Almighty" "O Lamb of God" "O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" "The Palms" "Just As I Am" Unity // DisruptionPeachtree Baptist Church joyfully presents Thomas Ballew extemporaneously interpreting Acts 1-2 on our grand piano, recorded live on April 30, 2020. You can listen to it here on our YouTube page.

When Jesus says, “I am the Way,” he implies the opposite - we are not. Humans are not the way to God’s future. Our way is completely broken. We are not the truth, we lie constantly and we are always trying to take advantage or have advantage. We are not the life, we die. But by faith in Christ, God decides to work in us despite our humanity. Isn’t that an amazing thing? How often do we become frustrated and give up on other people? Sometimes we even give up on ourselves. But God has chosen to not only continue reaching towards us, God became one of us to show the way that we might join God in the work of redemption and restoration.Welcome to the May 8, 2020 post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. We’ve been looking at John 14:1-14. Yesterday we talked about Jesus preparing places, you might want to check out that post before entering this room. He ended by saying, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” And Thomas, the one we appreciate for trusting but wanting a lot of verification, says, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” And to that Jesus responds with what is arguably some of the most famous words but also what some of the most weaponized words in the Bible.John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” There are two main ways these words have been mistreated, misused and abused and they both have to do with exclusion. People have used them as a way of saying that eternity is an exclusive club limited to those people that have come to their side of understanding - that if you believe in our way of understanding God, then you’re in. But if you don’t, you’re out. It has been used to exclude rather than include. On the other side, it has been used by some to say that Jesus is creating exclusions to God by limiting their access; that there are many ways to God.What maybe both groups forget is the exclusive nature of the Temple, about which Jesus is speaking and has been speaking. When he was talking about his Father’s house, the many room and preparing a place, he was talking about the temple. It helps to remember that only the high priest, and then only once a year, could enter the place where Jews believed God’s presence existed on earth.So rather than some kind of exclusive message that is based on a negative, we should read these words in their positive: Jesus answered: I am the way and the truth and the life: Everyone comes to the Father through me, not just the high priest, not just the Jew, but also the Greek, also the Gentile, also you and also me. Everyone has access to God through Jesus because he is God on earth and because he has ascended and left his Spirit to indwell within us so that we also become representatives of the way. And God does this despite our humanity. He is the way, and we are not. We can’t fit God into our boxes of understanding, regardless of what religion we claim. God won’t fit into our boxes, but Jesus will come and fill us so that we can fit into God’s cosmic plan of redemption. It is a movement of inclusion, not exclusion; a faith that breaks down barriers instead of boxing people in. It is a way of truth that leads to life beyond life, not just life beyond death. It was hard for those disciples to grasp. And they still didn’t really understand where Jesus was going. Because after Thomas asked his question about knowing the way, Philip follows up by saying, “Lord, show us the father and that will be enough for us.” Let’s meet together on Sunday in our zoom worship to see how Jesus responds. And come back tomorrow to hear again the beautiful music that Lamar Savage, our Organist and Thomas Ballew, our Music Associate have made during this time of distancing. See you Sunday! One of the details of The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel is that God is the one desperately reaching and Adam’s arm just happens to be lazily up.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”I don’t know about you, but my heart is troubled. I’m angry about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, I’m sad about the continued rise of deaths due to this virus. I feel weak against the corruption of those in power as they force their agendas on the rest of us. I am increasingly frustrated at the way Christians seem to join the side of the strong instead of the weak, choosing self care over the care of others. I am stressed about a future I cannot predict, unsure of just about all the decisions anyone makes, much less mine. But I believe in God, and I believe in Jesus, and I believe that in him he has prepared and is preparing a place for all of us. I believe he has come back in Spirit so that we can be with him by faith. I believe he is the way, but I still need to take steps forward.Welcome all to the Thursday, May 7, 2020 daily post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. We are taking steps toward Pentecost and looking at how the gospel of John treats the idea of Jesus ascending to heaven but leaving behind his Spirit, an advocate to help followers of Jesus stay true to his way. Today’s passage, John 14:1-4, is often used at funerals to describe not a divine idea but a very human notion; that there are mansions in heaven waiting for us when we die and that Jesus is preparing rooms for our individual comfort in the afterlife. This idea became especially pervasive in Europe following the Reformation and especially during what has been called the Age of Enlightenment beginning in the 17th century. But the Bible has instead always expressed a cosmic redemption - that is, that God’s plans are not just for you and for me as individuals but for the entire universe. And those plans are fulfilled in Jesus.So here in this passage, it really helps to reframe it outside of our own biases and our current reality and look at the historical setting. It also helps to remember that it can’t mean to us now what it never meant to them then. In this case, what the disciples would have thought about when Jesus said these words was not a heavenly bed and breakfast, but the temple in Jerusalem. The temple for Jews was the place they believed that earth and heaven met. In the holy of holies was the very presence of God. Jesus says he is going to prepare rooms, but is not going to be limited by one room. As he goes on to say in verse 11, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” Jesus is the very presence of God on earth, and now, he is going to prepare the universe for his presence by ascending and gifting his followers with his Spirit. The Spirit is the presence of God on earth for us now and the indwelling of his presence through the Spirit comes by faith, as we saw in our in-depth look at Acts 2. It also helps to read passages like these with the Lord’s Prayer always rolling around in your mind: “Let your kingdom come, as in heaven, also on the earth.” What was difficult for these disciples to understand is often still difficult for us as well. Jesus is going to make room for everyone and the entire universe in this one tiny room in the temple? How can that be? Through his work on the cross, his resurrection, his ascension and his gift of the Spirit, so that by faith in him, we become the temple, we become the room, to in turn, make room for all others to come in. By faith and the indwelling of the Spirit, we are the presence of God, we represent Jesus, his love, his sacrifice, his servanthood, his justice, his ethic. We put others first, we cry out against anything that doesn’t match the multi-cultural mission of the gospel; we elevate the poor, not the rich; we fail, all the time, but we get up and we keep trying to follow the way of Jesus, because we believe in him.I think this passage is actually a great one to use at funerals, not so that we can think that an individual is in an eternal mansion in the clouds, but instead to bring comfort to those of us that are still here, waiting, as the living and the dead wait, for Jesus to complete the redemption of the world on his return. Because sometimes we feel beat up and tired and we are not sure, as Thomas says next, of the way forward. We need the assurance that by faith in Christ, there is a way to find a future, there is hope not only for you and me, but for the entire universe.As we continue the journey, we do so together. My place is your place. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you tomorrow. Last Supper by Ilya Repin, 1903.

Greetings and welcome to the May 6, 2020 edition of the daily post from Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor and I’m thankful for all the listeners, near and far who have received encouragement from these posts. I would love to know what has been especially meaningful for you, reach out by commenting on this site or replying to emails or on Facebook.Last week and the week before we took a deep dive into Acts chapter 2, a historical record of when the Spirit came with Power on the followers of Jesus and the church as we know it was born. As we continue to move towards the church’s remembrance of Pentecost on May 31, we will be looking at the themes of the Spirit and Power in our Sunday morning zoom Bible Study sessions from Luke and Acts. In our time of worship for the rest of May we will be using John’s gospel, a more theological record, to see what it has to say about the Spirit as well.We’ll begin with John chapter 14 for the two weeks, which is near the beginning of a long speech Jesus gives at the Last Supper, which we remember each week during worship. No other gospel provides this much detail of the words of Jesus during this time he had with his disciples, but that is a good place to start in thinking about the speech itself. It was a very intimate speech, with love as its overarching theme, given to a small group of disciples with whom Jesus had become very very close. So in chapter 13 we have Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, a physical act that showed how much Jesus loved them and wanted them to understand true love and servanthood. He then predicts his betrayal and Judas leaves, but the disciples don’t really understand what was really going on. Jesus then begins talking about his glorification which includes the idea of his ascension.Much of the rest of the speech, which ends in prayer, is a reinforcement of Jesus’ identity as God’s promised hope for the world. In Chapter 14 he promises both his future presence that is right around the corner as well as a long term future hope of his presence. Leading up to this coming Sunday we’ll be looking at verses 1-14, but today I just want to read the passage. John 14:1-14 read from the New International Version:Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”This is the Word of the Lord, thanks be to God! Ain Vares, Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life, www.ainvaresart.com.

Peachtree Baptist Church joyfully presents Thomas Ballew extemporaneously interpreting Acts 1-2 on our grand piano, recorded live on April 30, 2020.

Welcome to the PBC daily post for Friday, May 1, 2020. Today I to want simply mention three things:As we continue traveling through the storm of this pandemic, we rely on good information and good resources, and both those are to find right now. Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has set up a dedicated page. It’s a great source of inspiration and helps especially as we are unable to be together in our building, so please check it out. We also have several congregants who work at the Centers for Disease Control and they have been great resources as well, especially the page about preventing yourself and others from getting sick, from how the disease spreads to how maintaining social distancing is still the best way to prevent transmission.Secondly, If you’ve checked in on the last couple of days to our daily posts you have heard about the end of the second chapter of Acts, where Luke shows us how the first organized group of Jesus followers lived. Last week we looked at Peter’s sermon that came after Pentecost when the Spirit of God descended on the people and began the multicultural mission of God to spread the news about Jesus throughout the world. An easy way of catching up is to just take a few minutes to read Acts 2. For previous discussions, check out the sermons page of the website. Finally, I think a great culmination of this in depth study is what we’ll be releasing tomorrow here on this page. Last night, Thomas Ballew, our music associate, recorded a work of extemporaneous jazz in our sanctuary as the sun was setting through our stained glass windows. A little over 17 minutes, this beautiful piece of art explores the themes presented in Acts 1 and 2. I was very moved by it, and I’m very excited to share it with you. Maybe this is what Pentecost sounded like!Thanks for listening, be sure to check in tomorrow, and I hope to see you Sunday for our zoom worship.—Paul Come back tomorrow to listen!

Yesterday, we launched into the end of Acts 2, perhaps the most challenging part of the chapter because it shows us not only what the people accepted to be true, but how that truth was lived out within the newly formed community. Welcome to the daily post for Thursday, April 30, 2020, my name is Paul Capps, pastor of Peachtree Baptist Church.Last Thursday, I asked you all if you would share some of your struggles as well as strategies you’ve used to help you get through this difficult time. No one was willing to ‘go public’ but I know through phone calls mostly that many of you are indeed dealing with a number of hardships, from the seeming impossibility in applying for unemployment to deaths in the family due to Covid-19. I would simply remind each of you reading or listening that though it feels like we are on our own desert islands, we need to reach out to and be reached by our friends and our fellow members of the body of Christ. If you need a phone number or address of someone in the church or if you need to pray or talk to someone, call or text me at 843.271.3024, email me, paul@pbcatl.org, set up a zoom with me, facetime me, find me on Messenger, but reach. Remember that we are to be like little Christ’s and through Jesus, God is always reaching to forge and grow loving relationships.It’s clear from scriptures that the early followers of Jesus, though there were already thousands of them just after that one day, felt the great need to be together. Luke tells us that they devoted themselves to fellowship. God was doing miracles through them. At the core of their community, they shared their possessions, even sacrificing their own comfort for others in the community. They had daily worship together. They had daily meals together. And God added to their number daily.Right now we cannot physically practice this kind of communal living. And It wasn’t long before the early church stopped as well. It wasn’t long before rebellion against its ideal crept in and it was corrupted. But the ideal remains. Craig Keener describes it as “modeling the ideal, proleptically eschatological lifestyle of the kingdom,” which is a big worded way of saying that the earliest Christians were living like God intends for us all to live when Jesus returns. And that kind of lifestyle is part of the purpose of Pentecost - it is one of the ways that multicultural mission is meant to be lived out. He says, that this ideal church “affirms that the new life of the Spirit experienced as a norm by the earliest Jesus movement epitomizes God’s plan.”Right now, as economies cannot save us and boundaries and politics only seek to get in the way of God’s plan, we are brought to our knees by a microscopic force that reminds us of the kind of life to which we are truly called. To prayer, to looking for signs of God’s activity in the world, to eating meals with loved ones, and to sharing our possessions with the community. In whatever way that challenges you today, act on it by the faith you possess. Maybe it means reaching out for help. Maybe it means helping in whatever you know how to. Breathe deep the Spirit and breathe out the work of the Spirit in you to perfume and season your home and this world with God’s love until Jesus comes again.

While so many of us have been sheltering in place over the past several weeks it has revealed some of the dark sides of our broken humanity. There are so many stories of lost patience, increased levels of severe anxiety, higher rates of all kinds of abuse: verbal, domestic, sexual; it would seem that while we are designed by God to be together, we rebel in ways we don’t even understand when we are forced into close quarters. We have notions about freedom that are different from God’s definition of freedom in Christ. We like to go, we don’t like to stay.Here at the end of Acts 2, scripture provides us the model for the Christian community. Some scholars have suggested that it is a model based on a false sense of reality that Jesus would come again in those followers' lifetimes and therefore no longer applies to us in the same way. I would suggest that those first organized groups of Jesus followers were getting their cues from the Spirit and were doing their best to be obedient. It shows us a model of unity within disruption. Something we are all familiar with right now. And I think there is a lot we could learn from them. Unity within disruption has a ring to it, stay with me to the end to hear about a special way we can think through those themes.Welcome all to another ‘pandemic post’ for April 29, 202 here at Peachtree Baptist Church, my name is Paul Capps, pastor. We have been looking at Peter’s speech over the past several days and now we are at the end of chapter, where the people are responding to the message they have accepted - that Jesus is both Lord and Messiah, Master and Provider, Shepherd and Redeemer, Servant and Savior. Jesus was, is and just as he will be for these early followers, he will be our future as we anticipate with our lives the redemption of this world. When the people accepted Peter’s message, they asked “What shall we do?” Peter told them to repent and be baptized, but in verse 40 it says, he also “warned them with many other words and pleaded with them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Save yourselves. If it’s Jesus who saves, how can we save ourselves from anything? What does Peter mean here? This is one of those situations where it really helps to study the words in their original context, and here, the word used for ‘save’ is better translated as ‘turn away from’ or ‘escape from.’ Even the New American Standard Version is better than most here when it says, ‘Be saved from.’ And the word corruption is a kind of twisting, like a straight path that has been manipulated into knots. Peter says many words as Luke tells us, but ends with this idea of moving away, turning away from the crooked path that humanity has developed and towards the salvation available for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, as we see from the Joel reference Peter used early in his speech.So with all that in mind, it makes perfect sense what comes next. Because orthodoxy, that is, a corrected understanding, must also be paired with orthopraxy, that is, the practice, or living out of that understanding. Verses 42-47 show us what living into the idea of saving themselves from a corrupt generation looks like. They people accepted the message, they asked what they should do, they said the words and then Peter told them to live into the words. And so they escaped into the church. They developed a way of living that was a turning away from the path that had been developed by a rebellious humanity. And so I’ll close today with just a reading of these verses from the New International Version and we’ll pick up with more in the coming days, but as you listen think about your situation at home. Are you practicing your salvation with your life?Acts 2:42-47They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.As we continue to learn how to coexist with this virus, we are continually reminded of the disruption it brings our lives. But we are also reminded here in Acts that we are called to live in such a way that we are unified by our love for God and for one another. And so with that in mind I want to tell you about a special treat. PBC will be releasing an EP from Thomas Ballew. As many of you know, Thomas has an extraordinary gift of extemporaneous jazz. He composed the intro and outro of these podcasts, plays each Sunday for us even on our zoom calls, has had a concert with our organist Lamar Savage and also provided a community concert last year. On Saturday, May 2, PBC will post a recording to this website of Thomas playing impromptu pieces based on the theme of unity within disruption. Look for a link on Saturday, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Over the past 44 days, we have not been able to meet together in our building, but it has been my hope that we have maintained not only personal connections through these posts but that our faith has also been strengthened. Welcome today to the post for Tuesday, April 28, my name is Paul Capps, pastor of Peachtree Baptist Church. Yesterday I had a zoom call with over 20 other pastors facilitated by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia and there was general consensus that we as church leaders should be careful and conservative when it comes to opening the doors of our buildings for worship, discipleship and fellowship. Those with plans in place are hoping to begin that process no earlier than May 31, which also happens to be Pentecost. I think it makes a lot of sense to be together on this, and so I am going to follow suit. There are so many considerations, like toilet use, use of hymnals and worship guides, food and drink, Communion, whether to require masks, whether to provide gloves, and so much more. Personally, I don’t think anyone should be here for worship if all of us can’t be here, and so we will wait until that time. I would rather see all of your smiles on zoom than masks in pews. Right now, this is what coexisting with the virus looks like; we will make adjustments as time progresses.So with all that, I also want to share with you an article I read yesterday from my alma mater, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. As our church is a representative of global Christianity, it was one of the best things I’ve read about this global pandemic thus far.I hope it was as helpful to you as it was to me. As we have been taking a deep look at the initial thrust of the multi-cultural mission that God launched through Jesus and his promise of the Spirit in Acts 2, we need to once again hear that we are called into the world to respond to God’s love for it. I am grateful to be a small part of that movement here at PBC.—Paul From the Center for Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary,

Yesterday I invited you all to share your struggles and strategies as we move through the storm of this pandemic together. If you haven’t responded yet, remember that what you are experiencing could really help someone else and secondly, if you haven’t heard or read the post from yesterday, head over to the April 23 post titled Naming our Feelings and Sharing our Struggles. Comment on that post or this one, email contact@pbcatl.org or text me at 843.271.3024.Today I will introduce the passage that will be our focus during worship on Sunday, Acts 2:36-41. As a recap, Peter had just given a speech to a large crowd of people that had heard Peter and the followers of Jesus begin speaking in different languages as the Spirit had enabled them. This event is simply called Pentecost in the Christian church but Pentecost was the Greek name for the Jewish festival of Shavuot, and so there were many pilgrims in Jerusalem from all around who spoke a variety of languages. God was beginning the multi-cultural mission of revealing the future through these Jesus followers by pouring out the Spirit into them, enabling them to represent Jesus and his message of unity first to these Jewish pilgrims.Peter explained that God was fulfilling prophecy through them, giving them the power of the Spirit to preach this good news about the purposes and plans of God through Jesus. He also said that even though these Jewish kindred had seen God at work through Jesus, they killed him, but God raised him from death because death had no hold on him. He talked about how even King David had spoken of Jesus, that a savior would come who would reveal God’s plans through his resurrection, as Jesus had done. And this Jesus, who is now at the right hand of God, had provided his promised Spirit as an advocate to continue God’s revelation.He ends the speech by saying, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”So today I just want to read the verses and ask a few questions as you ponder the words. You’ll hear the verses again on Sunday in our zoom worship that will begin at 11:00 AM along with some interpretation. From the NIRV translation:36 “So be sure of this, all you people of Israel. You nailed Jesus to the cross. But God has made him both Lord and Messiah.”37 When the people heard this, it had a deep effect on them. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “What should we do?”38 Peter replied, “All of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then your sins will be forgiven. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children. It is also for all who are far away. It is for all whom the Lord our God will choose.”40 Peter said many other things to warn them. He begged them, “Save yourselves from these evil people.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized. About 3,000 people joined the believers that day.Some questions to consider until we meet again on Sunday. Has anyone ever told you to turn toward God and be changed? Has anyone ever said that you need to repent of your sins and be forgiven? What does repentance look like to you? What does forgiveness look like to you? Why did these people, who were really quite harshly criticized by Peter suddenly cut to the heart? Has anyone ever said things to you that made a lifelong impact? The people were receptive to Peter’s words that day. But why? And what would it take for us to be receptive to the message?

Today I will take a break from looking at Acts 2, because instead of hearing from me, I’d like to hear from you all, and I’d like you all to share your wisdom with each other. Either comment on this post or on Facebook, by email to contact@pbcatl.org or by text to me at 843.271.3024.Recently an article was passed around that I thought was very helpful that was titled “17 Totally Normal Things to Feel Right Now According to Therapists.” One of the main things it talked about was that just naming the feelings we’ve been having is helpful. I for one, have never felt anxiety before, but was in a grocery about 10 days ago and felt a tightening in my chest. I realized that it was a physical response to feelings of anxiety. I went home and talked about it with Shauw Chin, but I realize that for many, they don’t have a physical presence to talk to. And virtual representations in the form of zoom, facetime, and others just isn’t the same.We are social beings and we were created by God for others. And we are in the fifth week of not being able to see each in real life and hug each and shake each other’s hands, really talk to each other and really be together. It is not what God designed for us. You may have seen the posts on social media about being in the same storm but not the same boat. That’s true, we all have our own realities. But as people of faith, we believe that Jesus is in our boat. He’s in my boat and he’s in your boat. In that sense, we are all in this storm together, and we all share in faith together.So whatever way you are struggling, be sure to name it. And if you’d like, name it to your church so that we can nod our heads and say, “yep, I’m dealing with that too - your prayer is my prayer too.”And beyond naming our struggles, which I believe helps a lot, I’d like to hear about other strategies that have helped you get through these weeks. If you are living alone and tend to be outgoing, what has helped you from feeling lonely? If you are in a house full of people and need alone time, what has kept you from feeling resentful? If you’re going a little stir crazy with kids, what has worked to keep you from actions you would regret? If you have never before felt anxious but have had those feelings of late, what has helped ease that anxiety? If you’re out of work because of this crisis, what has helped you not only survive but thrive? If you are an ‘essential worker’ how have you avoided feelings of anxiety in being around people all the time? If you are eldery and have been sheltering in place and have not left or have barely left your home, what has helped you from feelings of isolation? If you’re actually doing ok and feel a little bad about your relative comfort, how have you dealt with those feelings? If you’re grieving the loss of someone, maybe even someone who died of COVID-19, what has helped you process and mourn? What other feelings have you had and what strategies have you used to help? Maybe what you share will help others dealing with the feelings, but struggling with the strategies.What has helped me is maintaining a routine as best as I can. I try to get up at the same time each morning and go to bed no later or earlier than before. I also try to keep my exercise routine and at least take long walks in the evenings. I also realize that for me, I need to laugh sometimes not to cry. And so I seek out positive humor where I can and have appreciated a lot of the funny things my friends have posted to Facebook - I’ve been doing a little of that myself. These daily posts have also helped me I’m sure a lot more than they’ve helped you. It has kept me intentionally thinking and praying for you each by name. And I hope you’ll reach back if you need to talk. I also hope you’ll comment, call, text or email words that could help our faith family during this time.—Paul Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Golden Rule, 1961. Oil on canvas, 44 1/2” x 39 1/2”. Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, April 1, 1961.

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’ 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” (NIV)In this section of the speech, Acts, 2:29-36, we’ll work backwards, because it is in these verses that we have the center of Peter’s argument. As a reminder, the ideas we have of church and of the structures of Christianity all stem from an understanding of Acts 1 and 2. Jesus had spent time with the disciples after his resurrection, had given them instructions about how to keep his mission moving of showing all people the true nature of God and God’s purposes for this world, and then before he ascended to the right hand of God, which is where we believe he is now, he promised a Spirit, an advocate to help in that mission in his physical absence.Over the last several days we have been looking at the initial results of that promise, which happened at Pentecost, a festival that filled Jerusalem with pilgrims. The Spirit entered the 120 followers of Jesus and all those pilgrims heard their own languages being spoken. The work that Jesus wanted to happen began through the power of God through those people. We believe that work continues through us by faith in Jesus until he returns as he left in the way the messengers told the disciples he would.So in verse 36 Peter says “let all Israel be assured.” We can remember that he was speaking first to his own kindred, and we can also remember that the gospel commission from Jesus was to start in Jerusalem and expand out. But it doesn’t mean that Peter’s message is exclusively for Jews. Rather, it is an inclusive message for all the world that begins in Jerusalem. “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” Both Master and Savior, Commander and Servant, the one we worship because he is the one who redeems. Prior to this Peter refers again to David because it is important to connect Jesus with David. The gospels of Matthew and Luke both provide a genealogy that connects Jesus not only with the line of David, but even further back. By the way, I think it’s a remarkable thing to think about that this speech was given before any of the gospels had been written. This speech was just 50 days after Passover, during the time when Jesus was crucified.Verses 31-34 are the central verses of Peter’s speech and internally frame everything else. What the people had witnessed in these followers speaking their languages had been prophesied by both Joel and David and though this man prophesied was killed, he was also resurrected, he also ascended, he also is now at the right hand of God in heaven and he also left God’s Spirit to continue the work he began on this earth. This Jesus is Lord God and savior of the world.For the next post we’ll look at how the people responded to Peter along with his reply. The one connection I’d like to make to what we’re dealing with during this time is to remember the very first thing God did through the people by the Spirit. Through the Spirit, the people spoke in different languages so that others could understand the good news about Jesus. Right now understanding is difficult to come by, and information is hard to navigate. Some Christians are being fooled by bad information and some Christians are even fooling others with bad information. As we take on information, look first to how the Spirit develops the heart of Christ in the provider. Is it to promote unity and break down cultural barriers? Or is it self-serving and promoting cultural division? If you are person of faith, take a lesson from those 120 followers of Jesus who though unsure of the future, allowed themselves to be channels of God’s purposes of restoration. Fra Angelico, St. Peter Preaching in the Presence of St. Mark, c. 1433.

As a reminder we are continuing to look at the book of Acts, specifically the speech Peter gives in chapter two. Jesus had ascended to heaven but had promised the Spirit would help with the multicultural mission of spreading the good news about God's plans for the world to all people. During the Festival of Pentecost, the Spirit enters the 120 or so followers of Jesus gathered together and they begin speaking in all the languages represented by the thousands of pilgrims who were coming into Jerusalem for the Festival. This got a lot of attention and so Peter, along with the eleven other disciples stands up to explain everything.Last week we talked about how Peter referred to the Hebrew prophet Joel, suggesting that the prophecy had come true. He then goes on to tell the people about Jesus. He says that God had done miracles, signs and wonders among them through Jesus and that even though they knew Jesus was from God, they killed him. And in Acts 2:24 Peter says, “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Peter then refers to Psalm 16 which is attributed to King Davd. Like with his reference to Joel, Peter uses Hebrew prophecy to point to Jesus. In fact, Peter starts his quotation of the Psalm by saying, “David said about him,” suggesting that David himself knew, as Joel knew, that a messiah would come that could not only withstand the corruption of death but experience renewal beyond death. As one commenter puts it, “Jesus’ resurrection without corruption fulfills the psalm’s highest aspiration.”Tomorrow we’ll look at the next section of the speech, verses 29-36, but I thought we could end today with Psalm 16 in its entirety. In the Psalm, David suggests that by being faithful to God alone and recognizing that God is only good, death is overcome with life. Peter says that David is speaking about Jesus. By faith in Jesus, and by the indwelling of the Spirit, we too can sing this song. It is a song that represents the good news of Jesus.Psalm 16 from the New International Version:A miktam of David.1 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.5 LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. A Blue Ridge sunset

After the Spirit descended on those 120 or so followers of Jesus, they couldn’t hide in an upper room anymore. Everyone noticed because of the power that had come on them to speak in languages Jewish pilgrims from all over the Meditteranean were able to understand. Some of those observers were truly amazed, but others mocked them and suggested they were drunk. This is the impetus for Peter to stand up along with the other eleven disciples and give a speech.Before we get into the first section, there are some things to know about it. It is very well structured with a clear beginning, emphasis in the middle and end that re-emphasizes the beginning. Here’s the first part, Acts 2:14-21 read from the New International Version:“Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:Acts 2:17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”Since Peter was speaking to his fellow Jews, it makes perfect sense to use a prophet from the Hebrew Bible first. This gives some grounding and credibility to his argument. He also uses Joel to add credibility to the event itself that had just occurred. It was a fulfillment of Joel, who was writing about a plague of locusts that had befallen Israel and about the future mercies of God, revealed in a kind of judgement. And so Peter is connecting the dots between Joel’s prophetic words about God’s future movement with the event that had just occurred.I can’t help but think about this pandemic when I think about why Joel wrote what he did. He was dealing with a crisis that affected everyone and everything. His reality had been completely disrupted. Some of you may have seen the news about the massive swarm of locusts that recently devastated parts of East Africa and the Middle East last month about this time. And this in the middle of a pandemic. I can’t imagine the feelings of those poor rural farmers as they see their crops destroyed by locusts and a looming virus forcing a change in behaviors all at the same time. Here is more information about the locust swarm. It seems kind of absurd and even patronizing to preach some kind of future hope in the midst of this present reality. But I think that is the main takeaway for us today.Peter referencing this passage in Joel should light a fire under those of us who know that we are called by Christ and empowered by the Spirit to promote well-being for all creation. If we have the hope of Christ, how are we sharing it not just in word but also in deed? What can you do in your everyday social distancing present existence to care about Kenyan farmers whose sorghum crops have been destroyed? Maybe at the very least it’s a shift in thinking. To recognize that there still incredibly high multi-cultural barriers that humans have put up against hope and that we as Christians need to accept the call of power in the Spirit to break down those barriers. Maybe it’s at the very least recognizing that those afflicted in Yemen should have the same access to resources as we do. Or maybe it’s, at the very least, recognizing that there really is racial disparity in healthcare access in this country, and that the church should be about the business of breaking down that cultural barrier.Sometimes we need to be convinced of the things we already say we believe. But belief isn’t stagnant - it gives space to the Spirit, which calls us by Christ into action. “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” But we each have to respond to that pouring.Tomorrow during Sunday worship we will look at the next part of Peter’s speech. He has provided a footing for God’s movement, now he points God’s movement to Jesus, the center of his argument, the one who brings the end to light through his resurrection and hope to life through the gift of the Spirit. A Kenyan farmer in March 2020

In Acts 2 we have the story of a promise kept. The Spirit, the advocate that Jesus spoke about enters the 120 or so people that had been followers of Jesus, both women and men. And the Spirit miraculously takes the first step in the multicultural mission Jesus gave them by breaking down a significant cultural barrier: language. It was perfect timing as thousands of pilgrims had flooded Jerusalem for Shavuot, one of the three annual festivals that required pilgrimage to the temple. Jews were living all over the Mediterranean and spoke all kind of regional dialects. And there were many more languages than there are now.The Spirit of God descended on the group and gave them the ability to speak in other languages. Hearing the sound of it, a crowd began to gather and they each heard their language being spoken. 120 people just started speaking in languages they couldn’t just a few minutes before and the people around them noticed. They said, “Aren’t all these people from Galillee? How are we hearing them in our native language?” Even though all the people there were Jews, they had different languages, regional dialects, different types of clothing – small but significant cultural distinctions that made for a really strange experience. Some were amazed by it, but others thought they were drunk. And so Peter, who seems clearly prepared for this because of the incredibly robust rhetorical structure of his speech, creates an audience. He is ready to tell his story. Are we ready to tell ours?We’ll pick up tomorrow with the first section of Peter’s speech, which is a reference to Joel, the Old Testament prophet, but what are your thoughts for today? This story reminds me of how small and fragile that initial group of Jesus followers really was. And it makes me think about our small group as well. We at PBC are a small, fragile ecosystem, but we also represent that first group in a way - we are multicultural and we represent that purpose of Jesus, to include all people. And the promise of Jesus for them is the same as it for us. They believed it. And power came upon them and barriers began to be broken down. Do we still believe in the multi-cultural mission of Jesus? Do we still believe in the power of the Spirit to do miraculous acts through us that bring people together? Are we looking up at the skies with worry? Or are we on the move by the power of the Spirit, adapting to the barriers we now face with this virus, confident in the promise of Christ’s call? I think if we’re being honest, we are striving to be faithful, but we are struggling with it. I can’t imagine what those early followers, just 120 huddled together at great risk of persecution by the same forces that killed Jesus; I can’t imagine their stress. But they held on to each other and they were as faithful as they knew how to be. And that faith was rewarded with the power to speak the very words of God. I pray for that kind of togetherness even now for Peachtree Baptist Church, and the church universal. Let’s name our stress, and then let’s be as faithful as we know how to one another and to God, confident in the power of the Spirit indwelt within us to be witnesses to the well-being God promises in Christ Jesus.—Paul Pentecost, Jesus Mafa

A couple of years ago I read a commentary on the book of Acts by Craig Keener, and it was incredibly helpful in understanding the culture in which the early church existed. It made the multi-cultural missional command that Jesus gave in Acts 1:8 even more of a challenge. Today we live in a global world where practically everything is connected. With the privilege of technology we can conduct all kinds of business even during a pandemic while we can’t be physically connected. We still deal with nationalism and religious nationalism, and we also deal with significant economic disparities, but not like it was in the first century. Crossing cultures then was a kind of betrayal of one’s roots even if one had the resources to do it; romantic love didn’t exist in the form we have now so choosing a spouse was extremely rare and available only to the wealthiest; being ‘born’ into a religion was the norm for both Jews and Romans alike, and class distinctions were enforced, such as being born into slavery or into the priesthood. Some of those standards even had the law behind them. If someone broke a cultural standard, it could be considered a criminal offense and governments could impose punishments.In the book of Acts, which tells the story of the early church, the main mission was to break down cultural barriers that hindered the message of Jesus. And the message of Jesus was and continues to be that all people can be a part of God’s work in the world, work that is essentially represented by loving others as we might love ourselves. This great command of Jesus was a massive challenge and as I mentioned yesterday, we still get it wrong most of the time. We put ourselves ahead of others by making our standards the standards by which others should be judged. Jesus had been judged even to death but that didn’t stop him from breaking that barrier down too, revealing God’s plans of restoration through his resurrected body. And one day, we believe Jesus will return to judge both the living and the dead.Jesus was with the disciples for 40 days following his resurrection, and as he mostly did before his death and resurrection, he spoke about the kingdom of God. He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit and when the disciples asked him if he is going to restore the kingdom of Israel at that moment, he responded with a similar statement as he did in Luke 24, that the disciples were to be given power to proclaim Jesus’ incarnational message of redemption throughout the world, starting in Jerusalem. When Jesus ascends two men dressed in white say to the disciples in Acts 1:11: “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” With that assurance, the disciples, along with about 120 other followers stayed together. They prayed constantly and they also selected a new apostle to replace Judas.Think about that group of 120 followers then and the millions now. Think about the complete lack of any buildings dedicated to the worship of God through Christ then and the millions all over the world today. I don’t want to overplay the idea that things will never be the same after this pandemic. We could say that about every day that passes. I also don’t want to pretend that this is some kind of great opportunity for the church. Millions are suffering and I think sitting in that lament is totally legitimate. But I also believe in the risen Christ. And I believe in the same power that was present at Pentecost. I believe in the promise that was given to those disciples that Jesus will return, and so I rely not on my own strength to face the challenges ahead, but I rely on the power of the Spirit in me. That’s the promise I hold on to, and so I step into it as best as I know how.Tomorrow we’ll take a brief look at Pentecost before diving into Peter’s speech. The Spirit had moved and Peter had some explaining to do. —Paul

Acts 2, for me, has become one of the most important chapters in all the Bible. Faith is an ever-evolving thing: growing, shifting, adapting. And part of that adaptation has been a clearer view of resurrection and the role of the Spirit. Growing up Southern Baptist, most sermons and Bible studies pointed to salvation and the cross. Little attention was given to the role of the Spirit and resurrection was taken for granted. But faith in Christ is not just a salvation check box or a ‘get into heaven free’ card. Faith in Christ means that I am being saved; that my will, my desires are being slowly subsumed by God’s will for this world. That work in us is done by the Spirit, certainly not by us. And God’s will for this world, which is to restore and renew it to a state of perfect well-being, like it was in the very beginning, begins to be reflected through us by that faith. On Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus – Easter. We do that every Sunday when we worship as a body of faith, whether it’s in a building or from our homes. The resurrection of Jesus shows us what our future will be like by faith in Jesus. A future world restored back to full life, just like Jesus was restored. When we gather, we seek to catch a glimpse of that future.The lectionary passage for the next two weeks is from Acts 2, focusing on the sermon of Peter following the miracle at Pentecost. And I think it’s as good a place to go as any right now while we are adapting our faith traditions during this pandemic. Luke, who wrote both the gospel of Luke as well as the book of Acts, was concerned about history but also about what it meant for the church to represent the work of Jesus in the world, that work of salvation. In some very real ways, we are still living in that book, as the church, struggling with life on earth while at the same time seeking to be faithful to Jesus. And we read about the failures of the early church too in Acts, just as we know of churches now who get it wrong all the time. Sometimes it feels like we all get it wrong all the time, but we are works in progress by faith in Christ. Creation, rebellion, Jesus, Spirit, (Jesus). The last one is in parentheses because it hasn’t happened yet. By faith in Jesus, we believe it will; we believe Jesus will return and restore God’s creation to an original state of perfect well-being. Peter’s sermon in Acts was one that launched people with faith in Jesus into action towards that future hope. We call that movement the church. Let’s look in and see what God can do through us over the next several days, starting with some questions:What are we as the body of Christ doing to represent God’s purposes of redemption, restoration and renewal even while the earth seems to treat us like antigens? What are we doing right now to represent a future that we believe will be a state of perfect well-being for all creation even while we are having to keep our distance from others because of disease? What does it mean to be focused on a future hope so that we can better act on our present when we feel so displaced by this virus? I believe that even while we feel stuck at home, we, as the church, are called to be on the move. When Jesus ascended, about 120 people were not sure what to do next. But God had plans and reached them by the Spirit Jesus had promised. That Spirit continues to reach us and continues to call us to act. — Paul

Today we hear from Rev. Leslie Brogdon, our Minister to Families as she shares about serving others You can share with us by commenting or emailing contact@pbcatl.org. And If this podcast has been an encouragement to you I hope you’ll share it. Thanks for listening, we'll see you tomorrow. The Triumph of St Catherine of Siena

At the Last Supper in John’s account, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. What did this look like? Why did he do it? And how does it impact us now? Probably a fairly accurate representation of the setting at the Last Supper.

As we enter Holy Week, an invitation to find stillness. Harli Marten photography

Welcome to worship!This morning Shauw Chin led a live Bible Study via Zoom. Here is the link to watch it (skip to 06:37 for the beginning) and some prayer requests to share from the study:Diane’s sister, Elaine, who is the guardian to their father, experiencing a lot of stress with the process especially during this timeKaren in North Africa is under strict quarantine measures - this has limited the church’s ministry to refugees and migrants who are even more vulnerable. Pray for the members of her church and the people they are ministering toFor workers on the front lines of this pandemicFor expectant mothers who are anxious about being in hospitals during this timeThat a vaccine will be developed and made available soon. For all of us to be less selfish in our activities by putting the needs of others before our own

Featuring Lamar Savage on organ and Thomas Ballew on piano. Program for today’s concert:"Be Still and Know" "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" "How Good It Is to Thank the Lord" "Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated" "I Received the Living God" "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" "In Remembrance" "Praise to the Almighty" "O Lamb of God" "O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" "The Palms" "Just As I Am" We hope you enjoyed the concert. Let us know in the comment section!TOMORROW: Participate in a LIVE Bible Study tomorrow morning, Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 10:00 AM with facilitator Shauw Chin Capps. Look for the link in tomorrow morning’s email. If you aren’t already getting daily emails about our posts, subscribe at the bottom of this page.Palm Sunday’s worship service podcast will post at 11:00 AM on this page!

The people shouting Hosanna on the road to Jerusalem should have managed their expectations about Jesus. They wanted him to save them, but it was according to their will and not God’s. Today’s Transcript

Jesus enters Jerusalem and the people have expectations. We do too. Are we ahead of Jesus trying to get him to follow us, or are we willing to be led to the cross? James Tissot, The Procession in the Streets of Jerusalem, Brooklyn Museum

Mostly housekeeping today, with links from the podcast: We are not gathering for Palm SundayGiving optionsMatthew 21:1-11

Let’s gather together for worship!

Today another great list of resources this time from our wider Baptist faith family at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and an opportunity for a time of meditation.

A reflection from our Minister to Families, Leslie Brogdon as well as some additional resources:Here are some activities for you and your children from Illustrated Ministry as we continue our Lenten journey. And Jesus Wept, sculpture, Oklahoma City

Jesus suffered alongside Mary and Martha, but he didn’t leave them there. James Tissot. The Resurrection of Lazarus, Brooklyn Museum.

God did not cause this disease, but God wants to reveal restoration through it. In our weakness, in our dryness, God breathes hope.

Ezekiel was being given a vision of AGENCY. By faith we can also be witnesses and agents of God’s work of restoration, even while social distancing! One bone in front of the other…

This week we are looking at the theme of RESTORATION in Ezekiel 27 and John 11. Join in for a daily five minute or less time of worship and discipleship.

Gather around, listen, pray and sing along. You might prepare by getting some juice and bread before you start :)

This is the day that the Lord has made - rejoice and be glad in it!