Stumbling Block
Mark Stuart • October 24, 2024
This week we’re discussing Acts 15.
I have been a runner for almost forty years. During this long time of covering thousands of
miles, I have tripped and fallen maybe five times, which I guess is pretty good overall. But one
of my hardest falls was caused by a barely perceptible uneven spot in a sidewalk.
The lesson here is that even the smallest of impediments can put us on the ground before we
can comprehend what is happening. Paul talked about stumbling blocks:
Therefore, let us no longer criticize one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling
block or pitfall in your brother’s way. (Romans 14:13 HCSB)
Let me give you a made-up example of what not to do. Imagine you’re at a church event where
food is being served. Beforehand you meet a young man who is obviously very shy and has a
heavy accent. He says he is a Hindu but is interested in learning more about Christianity. He
explains that somebody he met in a college class invited him to this event, but he has not found
them yet and asks if he can sit with you until he finds his classmate.
Of course, you say yes and invite him to proceed to the food line with you. After getting your
food you take him to a table full of your friends and introduce him. Then you notice that instead
of the barbecued pork that everybody has piled on their plate, the young man has only corn and
broccoli. You good-naturedly slap him on the back and loudly declare, “Buddy, around here
you’re going to have to learn to eat you some meat!”
For somebody you’ve known for decades, some friendly teasing can be a sign of affection and
truly make them feel welcome. To somebody from outside the culture, something like that could
be interpreted instead as, “You don’t belong here.”
To be clear, I think the above scenario would be unlikely to play out in our church. But what
about more subtle examples?
I should not expect newcomers to know all the traditions of our church culture. And to those of
you new to our church family, you should never feel like you don’t belong just because you don’t
understand everything happening around you. The eighty-year Christian and the first day
Christian are both infinitely short of God’s perfect standard, and loved by Jesus anyway, and our
doors are open for both.
Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles
who turn to God… (Acts 15:19 HCSB)
By Mark Stuart
Mark is the husband of Laura, father of Shelby and Jacob, and father-in-law of Bailey.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. (John 20:19-20) Have you ever found yourself hiding behind locked doors that we create out of fear? Perhaps it’s fear of failure, the unknown, rejection, or the pain of past experiences. These barriers give the illusion of safety, but all too often they trap us in isolation and keep us from stepping into the fullness of what God has for us. The disciples knew this well. That night, just days after Jesus had been crucified, they locked themselves in a room, fearing for their lives. The disciples' fear is highly relatable. They had seen their Teacher arrested, brutalized, and crucified by the same authorities they feared would come for them next. What’s beautiful about this passage is that Jesus didn’t wait for the disciples to muster the courage to come out of hiding. Instead, He met them right where they were – behind locked doors, paralyzed by fear. Locked doors were no obstacle for Him. He entered their space, literally and emotionally, bringing the exact message they needed to hear: "Peace be with you." This peace Jesus announced wasn’t just a polite greeting; it was an authoritative declaration. Jesus’ peace was a gift rooted in His victory over sin and death. Because of His resurrection, they no longer had to live enslaved by fear. Then, Jesus showed them His hands and His side. The scars on His resurrected body were definitive proof of His identity. Jesus’ scars tell a story: He knew what it meant to suffer deeply, yet His suffering had resulted in triumph. This resonated with the disciples, who had seen those same wounds days earlier as a symbol of death — and now, they saw them glorified, a testament to life. Jesus’ presence transformed their fear into joy. Consider this: the situation hadn’t changed. The Jewish leaders still threatened their safety. Their fears weren’t baseless, yet something fundamental had shifted – they had encountered their risen Savior. Fear loses its power when it’s met with the reality of Christ’s presence. For us today, this story reminds us that Jesus is not deterred by the walls or barriers we put up. Whether fear, doubt, pain, or shame has erected walls in your heart, Jesus can and will meet you right there. When Jesus shows up, fear gives way to His peace, and sorrow turns to joy. By Jim Connell Jim is the founder of Lexington Rescue Mission, and authors JesusIsLordBlog.com, FaithAnswersPress.net, and FAQs of Faith (a mobile app)
When I was about to finish college, I remember feeling very nervous about all the decisions I would have to make following graduation. I had to figure out where to live, where to work for the next 40 years, how to pay off my student loans… and a hundred more conundrums. I was very concerned about discovering God’s will and making the right choices. Life presents many decision points similar to college graduation that make us ask: How can we know God’s will? Sometime in April 2013, just before I walked across the stage at Asbury University and claimed my diploma, I heard a very important sermon that has stuck with me even now, 12 years later. The thesis of the sermon was “Do the next right thing.” We often can’t see the whole bridge, staircase or pathway in front of us. But God won’t leave us in the dark; He will show us the next step, and that’s what we need to do. Something about that phrase “Do the next right thing” introduced a measure of peace to my heart. It was such great news, because it meant I didn’t have to have all the answers at the same time. For example, I didn’t have to decide where to work for the next 40 years. I just had to pick my first job. Someone told me that it was OK to quit if the job didn’t work out and that it wouldn’t ruin my resume forever. I really didn’t know that, so luckily someone told me. Often, the “next right thing” means simply following the general commands God gives us in the Bible. We need to make sure we are attending to the “basics.” It will be easier for us to discern the more specific will of God in our lives if we are making sure that we obey His commands that we already know of. The Bible commands us to pray, read His Word, forgive our enemies, care for our families, and confess our sins, to name a few. Here is a good prayer to pray about discovering God’s will that comes from Psalm 25:4-5. “Show me your ways, Lord. Teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” By Melissa Landon Schnell Melissa is an editor at automation.com, a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, a cyclist, a book lover, and a grammar enthusiast. She lives in Lexington with her husband Daykin, dog Zoey, and cat Scooter.
In John 20, Mary Magdalene went to the empty tomb looking for Jesus. She discovered He had risen from the grave! She saw Jesus face-to-face. When you seek and encounter Jesus, your life will be changed. You cannot stay the same. Mary went to find Jesus, and she found Him. And she now had a mission. Jesus was not finished with His ministry. He gave a command to Mary: “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17 CSB) Jesus did not want Mary to linger with Him any longer. There was work to be done! Jesus wanted Mary to continue to share this good news! And she did! Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her. (John 20:18 CSB) It had to be hard for Mary to leave Jesus right after finding Him. But Mary had good news! And she knew she needed to share that good news with Jesus’ followers. We too have the greatest news! Jesus is alive and provides salvation to all who accept it, and this is news we need to share with others. When Jesus sent the disciples out in Matthew 10, He sent them out with urgency. He told them to move quickly between towns, especially if people did not accept Him. This can be hard, but there is a lot of work to be done. The good news of Jesus’ resurrection almost 2000 years ago is still good news today – so let’s go forth in faith and share this great news with those that need to hear it! By Jason Grace Jason is a software engineering manager. He and his wife, Karen, have two children and have been active members at Immanuel for over 22 years.
In John 20:1-2, Mary Magdalene had visited Jesus’s tomb. Once she found the stone had been moved from the opening, she decided to enter the tomb, where two angels asked her why she was crying. Mary said: “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” (John 20:13 CSB) Mary didn’t have to look for long! Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it that you’re seeking?” Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve carried him away, tell me where you’ve put him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, “ Rabboni !”—which means “Teacher.” (John 20:14-16 CSB) Mary had a wide range of emotions while looking for Jesus. Grief. Fear. Confusion. Doubt. And now excitement. She is seeing Jesus! And He is alive! Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Seek, and you will find.” (Matthew 7:7 CSB) Mary was seeking Jesus, and she found Him. She was the first witness to the resurrection. We can feel far apart from Jesus. We can feel disconnected. And our spiritual life can feel dry at times. But Jesus does not change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 CSB) Even through the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus was always God. And when Mary sought Him with all her heart, she found Him – her Savior and her Lord. By Jason Grace Jason is a software engineering manager. He and his wife, Karen, have two children and have been active members at Immanuel for over 22 years.
In John 20:1-2, Mary Magdalene had visited Jesus’ tomb and found the stone had been moved. She then hurried to tell the disciples, and they came to investigate for themselves. And now Mary has decided to visit the tomb again. She did not look inside the tomb the first time, but this time she decides to look inside. When the disciples looked inside, they only saw burial cloths. Mary sees something else: But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” (John 20:11-12 CSB) Angels were God’s messengers, and they had some news to share with Mary. She is still overwhelmed and begins a conversation with them: “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” (John 20:13 CSB) Mary is still doubtful and confused. She’s concerned that something awful has happened to Jesus’ body. She refers to Jesus as her Lord, but here she is trying to save Him (or at least His body). Instead of relying on Jesus as her Savior, she is trying to save Him! How often do we play the role of Savior? We say that Jesus is our Lord or our Savior, but then we do the work ourselves. We show our fear and doubt. We let our fear and doubt consume us, and then we take it upon ourselves to try to remove the possibility of anything going wrong. We don’t give Jesus free rein to be our Savior. In this story, Jesus didn’t need to be saved! He was alive! And Jesus doesn’t need to be saved by us either. He’s here to save us too. We need to focus more on relying on Him to do just that. By Jason Grace Jason is a software engineering manager. He and his wife, Karen, have two children and have been active members at Immanuel for over 22 years.
In John 20:1-2, Mary Magdalene was confused that Jesus’ body was missing from His tomb. So, in her confusion, she rushed to seek out Peter and another disciple. When we are confused, we should not hesitate to reach out to others for help. These two disciples then began to investigate the tomb: At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then, following him, Simon Peter also came. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself. The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying. (John 20:3-10 CSB) When the disciples ran to the tomb, they had a similar reaction to Mary. At first, they were afraid – as they wondered why Jesus’ tomb was disturbed and where His body was. But when they went inside and found the linen cloths folded up in a separate place, they believed something was happening; but their grief and confusion prevented them from fully comprehending – even though Jesus had told them this would happen. In Luke 18, He said: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, spit on; and after they flog him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.” (Luke 18:31-33 CSB) So why weren’t they excited or concerned about His words when He first told them? In the very next verse, Luke says: They understood none of these things. The meaning of the saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. (Luke 18:34 CSB) Sometimes we quickly rush to figure out and understand what’s going on. Do we ever consider that perhaps God knows when the timing is right and when we are ready to understand? By Jason Grace Jason is a software engineering manager. He and his wife, Karen, have two children and have been active members at Immanuel for over 22 years
It had only been a couple of days, and Mary Magdalene and all of Jesus’ followers were still processing the recent events. They could not believe what had happened. Hadn’t Jesus said He was the Messiah? He was the one they had waited for! How could this happen? And now He was gone. Betrayed and crucified in less than a day! Mary Magdalene was still mourning Jesus. She decided to go to the place where Jesus was buried. She went while it was dark. She knew the tomb was being guarded, so she was very careful – not wanting to draw attention to herself. On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. (John 20:1 CSB) When she arrived, though, she saw something she didn’t expect. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. (John 20:1 CSB) This had to be even more discouraging! Someone had disturbed Jesus’ grave! Mary then decided to go investigate and found out what we all know - Jesus was not in the tomb! This was very confusing to her, so she reached out to others in her confusion: So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!” (John 20:2 CSB) God was unveiling His plan. He had already raised Jesus from the dead. However, Mary, so full of her grief, could not see that God was moving. When someone is grieving or suffering, we cannot necessarily expect them to see God’s plan. Their judgment and understanding might be clouded by their tears. Grief heals over time, but we don’t need to rush that process. Grief will resolve in God’s timing as He reveals Himself. Trust Him. By Jason Grace Jason is a software engineering manager. He and his wife, Karen, have two children and have been active members at Immanuel for over 22 years.
You could feel the joy in the church as my mom and my uncle sang the lyrics to Glorious Day by Casting Crowns, Living, He loved me Dying, He saved me Buried, He carried my sins far away Rising, He justified freely forever One day He's coming Oh glorious day, oh glorious day The lyrics of this song are a powerful reminder that we serve a risen Savior! Watching and hearing them sing on Easter Sunday will always be one of my favorite memories – not just because I love the people that were singing it, but also because of the truth about the One they were singing about. As we gather tomorrow, we will again celebrate the foundation of our faith – Jesus rising from the dead. Matthew records the angel’s pronouncement for us: But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7) The angel wanted them to know that Jesus was not only not there but that He had risen! The women didn’t keep this life changing news to themselves; they were instructed to go tell the disciples. And not only did they get to tell Jesus’ disciples the great news, but we as believers also have the responsibility and honor of telling others about Jesus and the empty tomb! We need to tell others about the resurrection and point out that Jesus longs for a relationship with each one of us. It’s the greatest news we have ever been told, and it’s the greatest news we can share with others. Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins and rising again so that we may not be separated from You. Thank You for the cross and the blood that Jesus shed for our sins. We ask that You give us courage and confidence to go and share the great news of the cross and the empty tomb with others. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. By Lauren Hill
“Little princess.” I may or may not sarcastically give my immediate family members this title when they are being overly picky or wanting some extra attention. We have come to think of royalty as those who are pampered, don’t relate to the commoners, and have a rather easy life. But if you think about the really great kings, leaders, and rulers, a common trait emerges. They identified with their people, usually to the point of suffering or being put at risk with them. Alexander the Great led his armies to battle. George Washington suffered the cold with his men at Valley Forge. David fought Goliath even before he was king. As you would expect, Jesus falls on the side of great leaders who get messy with their people. As He said Himself, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Though this may be familiar to us, we may not realize this was part of His assignment as king. Read what God said about David’s descendent who would reign forever. “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him.” (2 Samuel 7:14-15a) I struggled to understand how this applies to Jesus. Jesus never sinned so there is no need to discipline Him. But it is obvious that God’s promises to David are only partially fulfilled in Solomon and completely fulfilled in Jesus, so what does this mean? Another prophecy, this one from Isaiah, helps. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6) Jesus was disciplined not for His sin, but for ours. The stripes He received were not for His iniquity but ours. As the greatest king, He identified with His people all the way to taking on our sin. The innocent bore the punishment of the guilty when He died on the criminal’s cross. As we ponder this amazing grace on Good Friday, aren’t you glad Sunday is coming? How will you show Him gratitude today? By Philip Jones Philip and his wife Stacy have been attending Immanuel since 2015. They are blessed to be raising four kids. His passion in ministry is to help others follow Jesus through teaching, preaching, and personal discipleship.
I wish the English language had more words to express love. We are stuck with one word to describe our strong preference for certain foods and the affections we feel for those closest to us. I love steak and I love my wife, just with a different type of love. Though you may have heard of the different words for love in the Greek language, you may not be as familiar with a special word for love in the Old Testament. ‘Hesed’ is used throughout the Bible and is normally translated as ‘love.’ But the word doesn’t have a direct translation to English. In other contexts, the word is translated as kindness, mercy, loyalty, and steadfast love. When translated as ‘steadfast love,’ it is meant to communicate God’s covenant love. That is His solid, committed, sacrificial love for those He is committed to. As Sally Lloyd-Jones says in The Jesus Storybook Bible , it is His “never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always, and forever love.” Marriage is the closest example we have of this type of love. And I am not talking about the happy couple walking out together on their wedding day. That is nice and all, but it doesn’t illustrate hesed. Hesed is shown as the couple grows old together, perseveres through trials, forgives when wronged, supports when needed, and cares for each other until one or both draw their last breath. Hesed is more often found in the ICU than in the wedding chapel. With that type of love in mind, I appreciate God’s promise to the future forever King. “But my steadfast love (hesed) will not depart from him.” (2 Samuel 7:15) This is not a complicated verse, but it is an enormous promise. God showed hesed to His people, but they kept rejecting it. The same would soon be true for the kings after David. But God’s hesed would not give up. In His great plan, He sent Jesus to bring His hesed to the world. Jesus, as the promised king descended from David, is where God’s hesed is perfectly given and perfectly received. Why is this good news for us? Because we are in Christ, all the hesed given and received by Jesus is accounted to us. When we don’t feel like loving God, His hesed will not depart. When we fail, His hesed will not. When we doubt or face discouragement, His hesed will remain close by. Whatever trials you are facing, take heart that God’s “never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always, and forever love” will never depart from those in Christ. Rest in Him today. By Philip Jones Philip and his wife Stacy have been attending Immanuel since 2015. They are blessed to be raising four kids. His passion in ministry is to help others follow Jesus through teaching, preaching, and personal discipleship.
