God Shows No Favoritism

In one paragraph

The pastor preached through Acts 10:1-47, the account of the Roman centurion Cornelius and the apostle Peter. The chapter marks a turning point in the spread of the gospel, as God moves both men toward each other across a deep cultural divide. The service also included the baptism of three members of one family, and a fourth spontaneous baptism at the close of the message. Cornelius was a Roman...

Read together

1. Psalm 34:3 congregation invited to sing 'glorify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together'
2. Psalm 34:8 'taste and see' sung as part of Psalm 34
3. Acts 1:8 Jesus prophesied the disciples would receive power and be His witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth
4. Acts 1:22 the qualification for replacing Judas was that the candidate must be a witness of Jesus' resurrection
5. Acts 2 'God raised Jesus from the dead and we are all witnesses of this'
6. Acts 3 'you killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead and we are all witnesses of this fact'
7. Acts 5 'we are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit who is given to those who obey him'
8. Acts 10:1-47 the entire passage preached through as the sermon text
9. Isaiah 64 referenced as the source for the song Canvas and Clay, 'we are the clay, God is the potter'
10. Joel 2 God promised to pour out His Spirit on sons, daughters, old men, and young men of all peoples
11. James 2:1 don't hold your faith in Jesus with an attitude of personal favoritism

Talk about it

1. Peter had grown up following Jewish dietary laws his whole life, and when God told him to eat what he had always considered unclean, his first response was 'No, Lord.' Can you think of a time when God asked you to do something that went against your background or upbringing? How did you respond?
2. The pastor pointed out that Cornelius feared God and gave generously to the poor before he had ever heard the gospel, yet the angel told him his prayers and gifts had been received by God as an offering. What do you make of the difference between knowing about God and actually knowing Him?
3. Peter said, 'I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism,' and then stepped into a Gentile home he would never have entered before. Is there a person or a group of people you have quietly decided are too far from God for you to reach out to? What would it look like to take a step toward them?
4. Throughout Acts, the word 'witness' keeps coming up. The pastor said witnesses testify to what they have seen and heard. They are not lawyers arguing a case or judges deciding one. What is one specific thing Jesus has done in your life that you could testify to this week?
5. Youssef's story about Miriam and the dream she had, and the story of Cornelius, both show God preparing someone's heart before a believer even arrived. Have you ever had an experience, even a quiet sense from the Holy Spirit, where you felt nudged toward someone and then found out they were already searching? What happened when you obeyed or when you didn't?