Skip to main content

Long-Winded Much?

So what do you do if you realize that someone is about to kill you? As I read my Bible, the answer is to tell a long story.

Acts 7 is a perfect example. Stephen, a guy hired to help distribute food (read: waiter) was pulled before the religious leaders of the day to answer some accusations.

Apparently Stephen was looking at the situation and decided his chances weren't good. So he began to tell a story. From the beginning.

From the very beginning.

The question was about what Stephen believed about Jesus. If someone asked me what I believed about Jesus, I might answer simply that He is the Son of God. He died for my sins and now I live for him. Even conservatively speaking, that's 2 Bible verses, tops.

But Stephen had a different idea. They ask him the question and he begins by talking about Abraham. Yeah, father Abraham. The guy with many sons. Then Stephen takes these religious leaders on a walk through the Old Testament, something I am sure they adored. He spoke for 51 verses. 

But if you're going to die and they offer you some final words, you might as well make sure and tell it right. What amazes me, almost as much as the long answer, is that nobody cuts him off. Apparently there were no NFL-kickoffs to get to. 

Well, once Stephen took a breath, they all picked up rocks and killed him. One of the guys standing there was a guy who would later be called Paul. Perhaps it was here he learned the art of long-windedness. Because he would go on to be a great orator, but man oh man he was a long-talker. 

I'm just saying, we pass on more than just our faith.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Studies on the Go...Genesis

To be honest, I had not heard of Studies On The Go before being offered a review copy by my god friends at Youth Worker. But since I’m always looking out for study ideas, I said yes to this opportunity. Studies On The Go by Laurie Polich-Short has 30 studies. This particular edition is on the book of Genesis. Any book of the Bible can be daunting when you’re trying to interest and impact teenagers. But Genesis increases that difficulty due to the many questions that arise on the topic of creation. On top of that, you have the many stories of questionable characters that we often call heroes of the faith. Each study comes with great questions, not mindless Sunday School questions where every answer is Jesus. They also come with an optional activity to take the lesson a step further and create true impact. Add to that a weekly plan for students to go deeper and you have a winner of a study in one little book. If all the book studies are as well done as this one, I’d ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Are You Capable Of?

I fancy myself to be just like Batman...without the money, the cave, the vendetta, the car and the cool belt. Other than that, we're pretty much the same guy. Does it help my case that I have a boy wonder? It's my son, but I'd take him over a dude in green tights any day. I've also imagined myself to be similar to Superman...you know, but without the super strength, speed, or that thing he can do with his eyes. Oh, and I'm also not from another planet. But he was a reporter and I like to write, though that hasn't been proven much by my blog. At least, not compared to what I used to write. The first time I write this post, it sounded like an apology. But that's not really the message I want to convey. Yes, I wish I were posting more. I also wish I had super strength or a cool utility belt, but those things aren't happening right now either. Maybe some day . The truth is I have been keeping busy. I'm not sitting back, sipping lemonade. I've never c...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...
5 comments
Read more