The 11th Commandment, I was told many years ago (for preachers, mind you), is “Thou shalt not bore.” In other words you need to keep the congregation’s interest as much as possible and not put them to sleep by endlessly trite oratory. The degree to which I have kept that commandment may be debatable. One elder in a congregation I served many years ago, raised his arm high in front of his face, looking obviously at his watch while I was preaching. I paid him no mind. I will admit, however, that I have heard some pretty boring sermons in my time. Sad to say. 

Eutychus – the young man who fell out of the third story window when Paul preached late into the night – may have had another reason for falling asleep. The room was filled with many lamps. These no doubt filled the room with their fumes, and Eutychus must have been more susceptible to these fumes. And he fell asleep and fell to what people thought was his death. Fortunately for him, however, Paul saved the night and, announcing he was not dead. “His life is still in him.” 

A dairy farmer in northern Indiana regularly fell asleep in church when I was serving as a seminary field worker there. The early morning milking chores, combined with the toasty warmth of the church building conspired with the not very spellbinding sermon delivered by the pastor there. He fell asleep every Sunday. I vowed I would keep him awake when I got the chance to preach there. Didn’t succeed. He nodded off even for my spellbinding illustration that Sunday.

The hymn speaks to us about falling asleep – or better – awakening from spiritual slumber, to the awareness of God’s presence, blessings, and commandments.

Wake, awake, for night is flying,”
The watchmen on the heights are crying;
“Awake, Jerusalem, arise!”
Midnight hears the welcome voices
And at the thrilling cry rejoices;
“Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise?
The Bridegroom comes, awake!
Your lamps with gladness take!
Allelujah!
With bridal care
Yourselves prepare
To meet the Bridegroom, who is near.”

Falling asleep in church isn’t the most grave danger. I’ve done it a couple times in years gone by. Nor is falling out the window – embarrassing as that might be. The greatest danger is being asleep to the word of God, trading the truth of God’s word for the comfort of the pillow, and remaining unaware of God’s presence in our lives – in a church service, or during a Tuesday afternoon commute. 

I am not known for my flowery prose. I do like a good turn of phrase on occasion. I am not averse to literary elegance. But I don’t consider that to be the strength of my writing. Nor do I lean on eloquence to carry the weight of any argument I might make. I’m much more concerned about conveying the truth accurately.

I’ve noticed that Luke has much the same approach. He conveys the truth with little literary embellishment. But once in a while a locution creeps in that catches my eye. In this case it’s, “they… were not a little comforted.” This echos several other times in Acts that Luke uses this sort of phrase:

• Acts 12:18 (ESV): “Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.”

• Acts 14:28 (ESV): “And they remained no little time with the disciples.”

• Acts 15:2 (ESV): “And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.”

• Acts 19:23 (ESV): “About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.”

• Acts 27:20 (ESV): “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.”

These expressions in the negative convey an intensity that is not overstated, and leaves us to imagine how good or bad it was. It reveals Luke’s aversion toward exaggeration. He won’t make a big deal where there is none. These are examples of litotes, a rhetorical device where understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to affirm a positive. 

There is no little implication to the truths that Luke reports: about the growth of the kingdom, the challenges the disciples faced, and the patience of Paul and the others to deal with the challenges and conflicts they faced. There is no little need for us to learn from their example and to put no little trust in God and his promises in Jesus Christ. 

I like to kid that I know only 12 people by name. Famous people that is. Like Sean Connery, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Barbra Streisand. When I was put to the test recently by family members, I managed to identify as many as 18 to 20. But you don’t want me on your trivia team if the category is famous persons. I just don’t have those names readily in mind.

But then there are Bible names: Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, Isaiah, Elisha, Elijah, Thomas, Peter, Paul, Gaius and Aristarchus. Wait! Gaius and Aristarchus?!? Really? I really don’t have a grasp of their names even though I do know Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, and Shear–Jashub (the two sons of Isaiah whose names prophesied of coming destruction and redemption). And Eutychus, the man every seminary student learns about in his first preaching class. He fell out of a three-story window in Troas when Paul went long into the night preaching to the church there. 

But what of Gaius and Aristarchus? Luke records that Gaius and Aristarchus accompany Paul as he continues his mission. They are listed in Acts 20:1-6 along with Timothy and others in that journey. He is listed in Romans 16:23 as a gracious host to Paul. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:14 that Gaius was one of the people he baptized. In 3 John 1:1, a man named Gaius is mentioned as a beloved brother in Christ. But the name was apparently common in those days it is not widely believed that these are the same persons.

According to ChatGPT, Aristarchus is portrayed as a steadfast and loyal associate of Paul, playing a significant role in the early Christian movement. His repeated presence alongside Paul in various challenging situations underscores his commitment to the spread of Christianity and his support for Paul’s ministry. He is mentioned here as well as in Acts 20:4; 27:2; Colossians 4:10 (where he is listed as a fellow prisoner with Paul), and Philemon 1:24.

More important than all those accolades, however, are two things about names.

1. There is no other name given among men by which we must be saved, than Jesus Christ, son of Mary, Son of God.
2. It is a great blessing to have our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and to know that because God has put his name on us in baptism, we have promises of that to which we must cling in faith.

The small elementary school cafeteria was packed with 125 students. They were talking and eating their lunch – just as you might expect elementary aged children to do. Mr. Teitz would walk in and begin speaking in justs above a whisper. The students would immediately quiet down. Mr. Teitz was an amazingly effective principal at Trinity Lutheran School in Cheyenne, Wyoming. His quiet and calm voice combined with a clear expectation of respect were a powerful combination.

I’m thinking the town clerk must have been such a man. For two hours the people in Ephesus had shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Again and again their voices wafted out over the amphitheater. Luke tells us that (as is almost always true of a mob) some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. But they were together and rowdy. 

But then comes the unnamed city clerk. I think of clerks as bureaucrats. Paper pushers. Staplers and stampers. With more power than they should have, but only by means of fines and permit-withholdings. But this guy has a different kind of power. He is able to quiet the crowd and appeal to their reason. And with little more than a calm caution he is able to quell the disturbance. Calm prevails. The people disperse. They recognized that to continue would get them in hot water.

Compare this to the crowd that shouted “Crucify! Crucify!” That mob did not have the benefit of a calming voice, or an appeal to reason. There was so much hatred for Jesus, and so much power aligned against him, there would be no dispersion.

When the city clerk quieted the crowd it ultimately aided the mission of God. Paul was not caught up in the mob. He would make his way to Jerusalem, and on to Rome eventually. But when the crowd was not silenced, and the people continued to shout, “Crucify,” it also aided the mission of God! Jesus’ crucifixion was part and parcel of God’s plan for our salvation. This is akin to Luther’s thought, The devil is always God’s devil. God limits the power and reach of Satan. So, we could say, the mob is always God’s mob. Sometimes they will be quieted, sometimes not.

This is not to say we should not care about mob rule or desire law and order. But is to say that come storm or stress, mob or chaos, we can trust in God’s unfailing love, his providential care, and his eternal purpose in Jesus Christ.

Lord, give us the faith to remember this and the courage to play our part in your plans and purposes. Amen.

The Russian General walks past all the aids and clerks on the way to his opulent office. He is served a cup of Russian Chai, as he goes through his meal. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he says in his thick Russian accent. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” And then he opens the letter from his son-in-law. Ramius has written to tell him he is defecting with the newest Soviet submarine. He drops his cup of tea. Phones start ringing. He springs into action, sending the Russian fleet after this renegade traitor.

You may recognize this as a scene from the movie, Hunt for Red Oktober. There are times to make a fuss. Times to stir the pot. Times to make much ado, and that was one of those times in the movie.

Alexander and the silver smiths in Ephesus knew they had to do something. Their livelihood was being threatened. Paul’s message had really messed things up for them – or at least it threatened to do so. They recognized the threat that the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection was.

The mob in Thessalonica had previously recognized this. They had accused Paul and his companions of turning the world upside down (cf. Acts 17).

Sadly today the message of Jesus is regarded as quaint if not completely irrelevant. The world wants nothing to do with Jesus, and seems to have succeeded in setting Jesus aside. The only thing that gets people up in arms today is Israel’s war on Hamas. Campus buildings have been occupied in support of Hamas. There are in many places much ado about something.

But just because people are making noise about any and everything, doesn’t mean they have a just cause or a leg to stand on. Just as in the case of Alexander and his mob, zeal does not validate the cause.

The message of Jesus is one of peace. Although people will get up in arms against Jesus’ followers, we do not represent him well by mob action, boisterous demonstrations, or chaotic comotion. Our best witness is the powerful soft whisper of grace, mercy, truth and love. Shown in Christ. Empowered by the Spirit. Honoring the Father.

Our digital key actually opened the door to our abandoned initial room, even after we had switched rooms. We had changed rooms because of a broken window shade in the first one. Then, once we got that straightened out, our physical key cards didn’t work for our new room. Minor nuisance. And thankfully we didn’t intrude on someone’s privacy in the wrong room.

The host of a podcast I listen to, The Daily Tech News Show, will talk about sending people good thoughts when they have experienced trouble or trauma. He once said, “Send them good thoughts.” Seems clear to me that he would never resort to prayer. But it’s curious that he would even suggest that good thoughts might do some good for someone in need.

In the book, Why Pray, the author Dr. John DeVries, opens with a conversation he had with a church member. “Why pray?” the man asked. “If God knows what we need even before we pray, and he is sovereign over all things. Why do we need to pray? What good does it do?” Another way of asking this is, “Does prayer actually work?”

Demetrius makes the point about Artemis: she is worshiped all over Asia. He worries, also, that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence. 

Before we’re too quick to make light of his worries, let’s be careful to remember how the apostles ran away from Jesus when he was being crucified. It looked like all was lost. They were huddled in fear on the night of the resurrection, even though they had been told that Jesus had risen from the dead. We all have our fears that our God won’t come through for us – one way or another.

Paul’s argument about Artemis is clear in the contrast with the true and living God. He had gotten his point across: gods made with hands are not gods. Isaiah spoke of how a man cuts down a tree and takes…

…part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” ¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

Such silliness has no place in the lives of those who believe in Jesus. We don’t just have good thoughts in behalf of our neighbor. We pray for him. We don’t merely recite prayers without believing that God hears and answers our prayers, we pray with hope and confidence of his good will and power to act. We don’t worry that if our church building goes away – sad as that may be – that God will no longer be honored.

Faith working in love, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and anchored in God’s word and promise is a beautiful and magnificent thing. Jesus has done the work that needs to have been done. He is truly great and worthy of our worship.

The new pastor, anxious to make an impact in his new church, preached a fiery sermon on the evils and dangers of gossip. As people left, they reminded him that many of the members of the congregation were politicians. They should not be angered. The next week he preached on the dangers of smoking, only to be reminded that there were many tobacco farmers in the church. The third week, he preached against drinking, and was told that the president of the congregation was the foreman at the local whiskey distillery. The fourth week he preached on the evils of offshore oil drilling. No one objected. It was no matter that impacted their wallets.

Martin Luther is credited to having said that there are three conversions. He is quoted as saying, “People go through three conversions: The conversion of their head, their heart, and their pocketbook. Unfortunately, not all at the same time.” He says that we need to have our purses or pocketbooks baptized. This conversion had decidedly not been the case with Demetrius and the silversmiths of Ephesus. He is no-bones-about-it concerned that the message of Jesus would undercut his profits. It didn’t make any difference that these prophets fed on the false notions of idol worship. All that these artisans did was make money in exchange for overpriced pieces of silver. 

An otherwise very friendly and gracious gentleman became quite offended that I would talk about money. He even advised me to quit speaking of it. Another member told me that his parents said, “He ain’t gettin’ my money.” As though any preaching about giving or our use of money was somehow lining my own pocket.

Very early in my ministry I had to go to the elders and ask for a raise. I showed them my budget and he was truly shocked. “We’ll do something about this,” he said. I was making less than a first year public school teacher at the time. When another member of that church heard of my concerns, he said, “Don’t they take a vow of poverty?” Well, I didn’t become a pastor in order to get rich, but I didn’t take a vow of poverty. And the degree of financial blessings we have received has allowed us to be generous over the years. We have learned the secret of the economy of God. “Seek first his kingdom,” Jesus says, “and all these things [the wherewithal to live and thrive] will be added to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

Several years ago I learned that the shock jock radio personality Howard Stern was thinking of running for president. He decided to give up that quest when he learned that he would have to provide a financial disclosure. The guy who revealed the most salacious and sensational things that a man can reveal considered revealing his financial doings to be too revealing! That was meddlin’.

A question a friend likes to ask, “How’s God been messing with you lately?” So, is he meddlin’? With you?

Immer Fort! A good friend and colleague often quoted his grandfather, who used that as a battle cry of sorts to keep moving forward. More accurately it’s Immer vorwärts, but the meaning was clear to him. Always forward! Keep moving. Don’t let up. Don’t stop serving, preaching, loving, inspiring! My friend, Mark, took that to heart. You can learn more about him and his ministry, “Always Forward Ministries” here.

He and his grandpa must have learned it from Paul. That was Paul’s M.O. And he shows it here. After the challenges and victories in Ephesus and Corinth, Paul sets out for Jerusalem. After that, he says, he will go to Rome. But given all that, he still has work to do along the way. He will pass through Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Rome. Grass won’t grow under Paul’s feet.

But notice the important caveat: He resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem and on to Rome. Once before Paul and his missionary entourage had been prevented from going into southern Asia, and had heeded the Macedonian Call. The man in Paul’s vision said, “Come on over here and help us.” So Paul went to Macedonia, to Philippi. There the church’s formal mission first landed on European soil. Lydia was baptized, and she welcomed them into her home. Philippi became a vital support for Paul’s missionary efforts. His letter to the Philippians is, in part, a thank you letter for their support.

That’s a good combination: Always forward in the Spirit. There are times when God’s Holy Spirit takes us along paths we had never seen coming. There are times when we propose but God disposes in a different direction. We make our plans. But if we wish to be faithful we will say, as James warns us if it is God’s will we will go to this or that place…” (cf. James 4:13-15).

Sometimes it’s a still small voice that tells us, “Don’t go there.” Sometimes it’s our conscience that compels us to do the right thing. Maybe it’s the advice of wise and faithful friends that gives you direction. It might be that God leads you to a Bible passage that speaks clearly to the path you’re considering.

Whatever the case, as James warns, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17). We do well when we seek God’s guidance in our plans and proposals. By listening to Jesus’ words and renewing our minds (cf. Romans 12), we will know God’s will. And in the Spirit we must go there.