Sunday September 26 2021
Acts: The Adventure Begins
Daring The Journey
Acts 28: 1-6, 11-16, 30-31 NRSV
Rev Mary Beth Hardesty-Crouch
Scripture
1 After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it. 3 Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
11 Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days; 13 then we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day there a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 The believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
16 When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. 30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
ACTS 28:1-6, 11-16, 30-31 NRSV
Call To Worship
We come to worship seeking the Spirit.
Holy God, today we recommit ourselves to You.
We renew our trust in You.
We will dare to practice resurrection, to do hard things,
as we are set free by the freedom you give us.
God’s Spirit moves throughout Creation
We will follow the untamable Spirit,
who gives us strength and courage for the days before us.
Creed
Let us affirm our faith.
We belong to God, eternal and infinite, Creator of all things and all that is to come.
We follow Christ, who comes to us from God and reveals God to us. He heals people and transforms lives, and calls us to join in his ministry. He was crucified, died, and was raised again by God, and reigns over all creation, and he bids us to die and rise with him in the service of the healing of the world.
We are moved by the Holy Spirit, together with the communion of saints, as members of the body of Christ, God’s holy universal church.
We are confident in the forgiveness of sin, the power of the resurrection and the reality of eternal life. In all things, it is our desire to follow Christ, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, for God’s glory. Amen.