Fifth Sunday of Easter
Bible Readings Acts 11:1-18, Isaiah 12:1-6, John 16:5-15
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Pastor John Melke
Sermon text: Acts 11:1-18

Peter Defends His Actions

1 The apostles and brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2 When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who insisted on circumcision criticized him, 3 saying, “You went to visit men who were uncircumcised and ate with them!”

4 So Peter began to explain everything to them, point by point. He said, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision in which an object like a large sheet was let down from heaven by its four corners. It came right to me. 6 When I inspected it very carefully, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’

8 “But I replied, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

9 “A voice spoke from heaven a second time: ‘What God has made clean, you must not continue to call unclean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up into heaven again.

11 “At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without any hesitation. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he saw an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and call for Simon, the one called Peter. 14 He will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as he came down on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered how the Lord had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to try to stand in God’s way?”

18 When they heard these things, they had no further objections, and they praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted repentance that results in life also to the Gentiles!”

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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