Written on May 3, 2026 for the 5th Sunday of Easter. Message based on Acts 17:1-15.
Message: “Don’t take my word for it…”
“The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:10ff (ESV)*
When I was a young boy taking Confirmation classes at my school, we were taught to search the scriptures by our pastor, Rev. Rodel Eberly. Let me give you the background story… I attended a Lutheran grade school from 1st through 8th grade. The first hour of every day was devoted to religious instruction, much like Sunday school classes, but at a much deeper level. We were taught the Bible stories, required to memorize scripture verses, and also several hymns from “The Lutheran Hymn Book” or as we referred to it “TLH.”
As a young child we were just taught the stories and then tested on our ability to recall what we had been taught. But as we advanced in years, we were taught to be more critical thinkers. It wasn’t enough to just repeat what had been taught to us, but we had to explain or give evidence for how we answered certain questions, that meant that we had to be familiar with the whole Bible, proof text, sources, and cross references.
Our Confirmation classes were held every morning during the first hour of school Monday through Friday. We were taught from and had to memorize most of Luther’s Small Catechism. We also played some fun Bible games, such as Bible baseball, (an invention of our pastor to get us to quickly look up and quote various Bible passages that would answer a specific question that he had raised), and of course, it was a competition that pitted one team against another with turns of being either on the offense or defense, that allowed us to either block or score points in the game. I don’t remember all the rules… I just remember that it was high spirited… and a fun way to get us to know our Bibles.
Another thing that our pastor had us do during those two years was to write our own personal version of “The Explanation of the Small Catechism” found in the back of Luther’s Small Catechism. He was formally a church planter and an evangelist. His idea was for us to be able to answer questions a non-Christian would have regarding the Bible and God’s plan of Salvation. The format was very much the same as that of the Questions and Answers found in the back of the Catechism, but the twist was, that our pastor would ask us to suggest a question as the starting place… such as “Who is God?” and “How do we know for certain that God exists?” And then we would answer the question by referencing scripture verses that supported our answer.
For several weeks we would (as a class) raise questions and find the answers to these questions in the Bible. These were then documented and typed out for print. At the end of the year, the project was completed, and we each received our very own copy of this work. I still have mine in a spiral three-ring binder… somehow it survived our multiple moves… mostly intact.
Our pastor was ahead of his time in many of his approaches. He encouraged home group Bible studies. (While many of his colleagues felt that they were the only ones who were qualified to lead a Bible study because of their seminarian training.) Pastor Eberly’s approach was that God would guide the leaders of Bible studies, if they taught purely from the Word of God and let the Word of God interpret itself.
At one time our little congregation had 10 small groups meeting for weekly Bible studies. I believe that there were at least three or four adult Bible study groups to choose from that met on Sunday mornings during the Sunday School hour. That was many years ago, although the number of study groups has declined, it is still a tradition that has survived over the years in that congregation.
When questions arose, our pastor was there to help us search for answers. Sometimes, it got messy, sometimes he needed to be corrected, and sometimes the Bible study leaders needed to be reined in. Through it all and down through the generations that have come and gone, there is still an active core of people in this congregation who have made Bible study a priority in their lives. They, much like the Bereans, find great satisfaction in searching the scriptures… and their ministry in their community reflects their commitment.
Pastors come and pastors go… but the Word of God remains. God’s Word doesn’t change… it is static! However, God’s Word changes whatever it touches and that is the dynamic part of being connected to the Church… to Jesus Christ… and to other believers in Jesus Christ.
We must be aware that there are those who would like us to believe that God’s Word changes and needs to be updated to fit with our current social practices. They want justification to continue to live in sin without the feeling of condemnation. These people read their own thoughts and desires into the Word of God. They reject what they don’t like, or question the authenticity of the parts that speak out against them and their lifestyle choices. They mis-read or mis-interrupt God’s Word. They ‘cherry-pick’ verses here or there, and take them out of context, to support their actions, and are quick to judge others who don’t agree with them… these people are like the Jews that Paul encountered … “But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.” Acts 17:13 (ESV)*
The Jews were convinced that they were right and Paul was wrong… it didn’t matter to them what the scriptures said… it didn’t matter that Jesus had fulfilled the prophecies concerning the Messiah… they refused to believe, and in the language of today, ‘protested’ the ministry of Paul… stirring up the people against him, to the point that he had to be sent away by his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ for his own safety.
We are living in times much like that of Paul and the early church. False prophets (religious leaders) have taken over many Christian churches. They have closed their minds to the truth of God’s Word. They are proclaiming something other than the Word of God. They deny sin and the forgiveness of sin. They deny Jesus as the Son of God. They preach a different form of ‘love’ and ‘acceptance’ … which is their idea of ‘grace.’ They preach tolerance and inclusion, but NOT confession.
If we let our guard down, we could be taken in by their smooth words and carefully constructed arguments. Our only defense is to be thoroughly grounded in the Word of God… study it… and know what it says (in context)… and apply it.
God’s Word tells us that we
are sinners in need of forgiveness…
and that by faith we have received that forgiveness through the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When we acknowledge our sin…
when we confess our sin… when we recognize that we need Jesus to forgive our
sin… we can also be sure that He has done it… and we can live with confidence
that we are God’s children by adoption through this gift of His Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
