Jump Start # 3682
Acts 8:28 “and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.”
It’s Monday morning. Back to work. Back to school. Busy day. Doctor’s appointments. Errands to run. Get the dog to the vet. Get a hair cut. Run to the bank. Grocery shopping. Laundry. Catch a game on TV tonight. And, through all of this haste and things to do, have we forgotten about yesterday, Sunday, the best day of the week?
Our verse today sets the tone that leads to the conversion of the treasurer from Ethiopia. He had been to Jerusalem to worship, which likely would have been a Sabbath day. Now he’s heading home. I expect with him were satchels of important papers. Business demands. Economic concerns. Building projects that he had to work into budgets. Meetings with various people. One doesn’t get to his position by being lazy and incompetent.
Yet, the Scriptures reveal to us that he is reading Isaiah. Worship is over and he is still reading. He is on his way home and he is reading God’s word. He didn’t toss his Bible in the back seat of the car and forget about it until the next week. How easily he could have checked off that worship was over and now it’s time to think about business, sports and fun.
Have you ever just listened to conversations that take place after Sunday worship? The final amen is said and multiple mini conversations take place. And, what are people talking about? Do you see anyone sitting down with Bibles opened and discussing the sermon that they just heard? No. Usually it’s about what team won the football game on Saturday. It’s about the ups and downs of a recent vacation. It’s about how do you fix a car. It’s about sharing recipes. And, I admit, that I’m right in the thick of those conversations. And, before the noon meal is finished, the sermon is forgotten, the songs can’t be recalled and worship has been reduced to a moment and the moment doesn’t last long.
Worship was over, and the Ethiopian was reading Isaiah. Amazing! How can I make Sunday impact, direct and color my Monday? How can I keep what I did, learned and loved on Sunday alive through the week? This is something we preachers think about. We want to say something so memorable that the audience will never forget it. But that won’t happen. And, that puts too much on us and not on the individual worshipper.
Here are some thoughts:
First, take thorough notes of worship. I was going through some old ledgers from the 1950s of a congregation. Recorded for every Sunday was the name of the song leader, the list of songs sung, the name of the preacher and the title of the sermon. You may not go to such detail, but take a look at your sermon notes Sunday evening and go over them again. Lay the sermon notes by your wallet, purse or car keys. In the morning as you busy day begins, there are the sermon notes. As you drive about, think about Sunday. Think about the people you saw. Say a prayer for them. Think about the songs you sang. Sing them again. Think about the sermon. Let those points simmer in your heart and mind.
Second, one thing we do at Charlestown Road is we have a Wednesday podcast that recaps what was preached on Sunday. We chase a few rabbits, lower the nets some, and consider the lesson in more detail. You can do that on your own without a podcast. Talk about the lesson over Sunday lunch. What stuck with you? What other verses could have been used? What did you learn? How did you see Jesus?
In our area we have some die hard Kentucky basketball fans. I know a family that has season tickets to the games. They’ll drive over, listening to the pregame on the radio. They’ll tail gate and talk the game with other fans. After the game is over, they will listen to the post game report on the way home. Then, once they get home, they watch the game again, that they recorded on TV. They thoroughly immerse themselves in that experience and game. Now, compare that to what we do on Sunday?
Third, the Ethiopian wanted to learn. God sent Philip to him because he had an honest and good heart. He just wasn’t reading, he was thinking. He wanted to know who Isaiah was talking about. His mind was in the word of God. And, when our mind is in worship, things will stick with us.
What happens on Sunday can make a difference on our Monday and Tuesday.
Roger