No Favoritism With God

In one paragraph

Acts 10 was the text for this service, and Pastor Mark walked the congregation through the whole chapter, from Cornelius receiving a vision in Caesarea to his entire household being baptized. The throughline was the same plan God has always had: that people who know Him would simply go and tell what they know, without making distinctions about who is worthy to hear it. Before the sermon, four...

Read together

1. Acts 10:1-48 the primary text of the sermon, the story of Cornelius and Peter
2. John 4 the Samaritan woman at the well, used to illustrate cultural barriers Jesus crossed
3. Acts 1:8 Jesus tells the disciples they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth
4. Acts 1:22 the replacement for Judas must be a witness of Jesus' resurrection
5. Acts 2 after the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter declares they are witnesses of the resurrection
6. Acts 3 Peter before the Sanhedrin declares they are witnesses that God raised Jesus from the dead
7. Acts 5 we are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit
8. Joel 2 God will pour out his Spirit on all people, sons and daughters will prophesy, used to show the Spirit coming on the Gentiles was foretold
9. James 2 do not hold faith in Jesus with an attitude of personal favoritism

Talk about it

1. Peter said 'No, Lord' when God told him to kill and eat the animals in the sheet. The sermon pointed out you can say yes to the Lord or you can say no, but you cannot say 'no, Lord.' Where in your own life have you found yourself saying no to something you also claimed God was Lord over?
2. Cornelius was described as devout and God-fearing, responding to the light he had, even though he was not yet saved. What does his example say about how God works in people before they hear the full gospel, and how should that shape the way we look at people around us who are not yet believers?
3. The sermon used Youssef's story of Miriam and the dream to make the point that the vision pointed her to a person who would tell her about Jesus face to face. Why do you think God so consistently works through personal witness rather than just revealing everything directly, and what does that say about our responsibility?
4. Peter told Cornelius's household plainly that it was against his custom to enter a Gentile home, and then said 'but God has shown me I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.' What barriers, whether cultural, social or personal, might God be asking you to cross in order to carry the gospel to someone?
5. The sermon noted that in scripture, obedience to what God says is almost always immediate, whether it is Cornelius sending men to Joppa right away or Peter going with strangers without hesitation. The sermon also said it is easier to hear the Holy Spirit when you are used to obeying what you hear. How has prompt obedience, or the lack of it, affected your ability to sense what God is calling you to do?