The Good News for Everyone

So, if you're using a church Bible, it's page 1103, Acts chapter 10.! At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian regiment.

He and all his family were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day, about three in the afternoon, he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God who came to him and said, Cornelius. Cornelius stared at him in fear. What is it, Lord? he asked. The angel answered, Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.

Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon, who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the Tanner, whose house is by the sea. When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants.

He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa. About noon the following day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat.

And while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.

It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, Get up, Peter. Kill and eat. Surely not, Lord, Peter replied.

I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. The voice spoke to him a second time. Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon, who was known as Peter, was staying there.

While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the spirit said to him, Simon, three men are looking for you, so get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.

Peter went down and said to the men, I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come? The men replied, We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man who is respected by all the Jewish people.

A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say. Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

The next day, Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day, he arrived at Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. Stand up, he said. I am only a man myself.

While talking with them, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them, Cornelius answered, Three days ago, I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon.

Suddenly, a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter.

He is a guest in the home of Simon the Tanner, who lives by the sea. So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.

Amen. This is God's Word. Now if you pick up your Bibles again, we can turn back together to Acts chapter 10. We'll pick up our reading at verse 34.

In this wonderful chapter that reminds us that the good news of Jesus truly is for everyone. So again, as we hear God's Word, Then Peter began to speak.

I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

You know what's happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.

We are witnesses of everything He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him by hanging Him on a cross, but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen.

He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

All the prophets testify about Him, that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.

The circumcised believers who'd come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. So He ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. Amen. So today we are thinking about a meeting that changes the world forever.

Now that's a pretty big claim about a meeting. Many of us live in a lot of meetings. And meetings are not always that interesting. But it is true to say that sometimes a meeting can change the world.

I asked the internet about meetings that changed the world. Got some interesting responses. 1919, the Versailles Treaty. 1945, the Yalta Conference.

I guess whenever there's peace conferences, that's a big deal. That has an impact. I was also directed to the year 325, an important time in church history.

There was a council of Nicaea where they basically said, Here is what the truths about God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are for the church. And in a slightly different vein, 1957, at St. Peter's Church Garden Party in Liverpool, there was the meeting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

And very soon the Beatles would be four. So lots of different significant meetings. But no list that I looked at mentioned this meeting between Peter and Cornelius.

But I want to suggest that this meeting is honestly huge. It has the power to explain why we are here.

It has the power to explain how the good news has come to the city of Edinburgh. And it explains how we can say to anyone, Jesus is good news for you.

What's happening here is we meet Peter. Peter, when Jesus was alive, used this illustration of Peter being given the keys of the kingdom.

That through his message, he would open the door of salvation. And we've seen Peter do that as he preached to some Jewish people in Acts chapter 2.

And we've seen it in Acts chapter 8 with some Samaritans. And now, in chapter 10, the door of salvation is wide open to the world.

This is when the gospel and the Holy Spirit comes to the Gentiles. So to the non-Jewish world. So I imagine that applies to almost all of us here today, that we have good news because of this meeting.

This is a huge step in what Jesus called the Great Commission. Go and make disciples of all nations. Be witnesses for Jesus to the ends of the earth.

So it's a huge moment. And to help us to kind of sense it, so Luke, who writes our book, he is a brilliant historian. I like reading history books.

And what really brings history to life, I think, is when you have like, here's this big event of life-changing significance seen through the eyes of an individual.

And so we get the story of the good news of God coming to the world through the eyes and the life of one man, Cornelius and his household. We also know this is a super significant moment because Luke slows the pace right down.

So we get two chapters thinking about Peter and Cornelius. And we got some great cinematography as well. So there's six scenes in this chapter.

Different locations, sometimes over in Joppa, sometimes in Caesarea. Different characters will be focused on. But one message is consistent through it all. That there is good news in Jesus for everyone.

So the first part of the chapter, first four scenes really, in verses 1 to 33, what we see is that God is preparing hearts for the good news.

And then we have Peter preaching the good news. And then those few verses towards the end of the chapter, we see the power of the good news in people's life.

So let's go to the beginning as we see God preparing hearts for this wonderful reality that the good news is for everyone. So scene 1, God prepares Cornelius. So look with me at verse 1.

At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. A couple of things that are important. This is happening in a city called Caesarea. Maybe you hear the name Caesar in there.

This city was a showpiece for Roman culture. It had a temple so that Caesar could be worshipped. Now this is important because if you're a Jew, you don't think very warmly of Caesarea.

It represents enemy territory. And who's in focus here is Cornelius. And he is a Roman soldier. That means to many people's way of thinking, he is the enemy.

He's an occupying army soldier. But God is preparing his heart. Look at verse 2. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing.

He gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. He has been drawn towards the way of life of the Jewish worshippers.

He's drawn towards their worship, their worship of God. So that when the angel comes to see him, he says in verse 4, your prayers and your gifts, they've come up like a sacrifice.

So here is this man. He looks like the enemy. But God's preparing his heart. And then in verse 3, a vision comes. 3 in the afternoon. A vision where he distinctly sees an angel of God.

And he has the usual response. He has fear. What is it, Lord? And he gets these directions. Go and send for this man called Peter.

He's not told why. But we see that Cornelius quickly obeys. He hasn't heard the good news yet. But God has been preparing his heart.

And I want us to just think about and reflect on even in our own experience of how God does this. God prepares us in lots of different ways that we might hear and respond to the good news.

So some of us, that preparing will look like all of a sudden we have a real sense of sin and a need to be right with God.

Sometimes it's more general. We just have a spiritual concern. Maybe we have that sense that there's something more. And that draws us perhaps to the Bible or to ask questions of a friend.

Maybe we find ourselves seeking for truth. Maybe over many years we're listening and we're reading lots of books and we're asking lots of questions. Sometimes it's the case where seeds that are planted when we're kids, we forget about them for years.

And then all of a sudden those words from God, they come back to us in power. God has lots of ways to prepare hearts for the good news. That's what he's done with Cornelius. Scene 2.

So we're moving from Caesarea to Joppa and we're jumping ahead in our timeline, 21 hours. So it's the next day at midday.

And we're with Peter, the friend of Jesus, who's been appointed as an apostle, sent to speak for Jesus. So this is verse 9 to verse 16.

And it's important before we get into what's happening just to remember that because Peter is Jewish, there is a backstory there that we need to explain really briefly. So from birth, I guess, Peter would have been brought up with the Old Testament law.

So he would know there is some meat or food that is clean and some that is unclean. He would also have been brought up to believe there were some people who were clean, Jewish people, and there were others who were unclean.

Now, that's going to be really important, as I hope we'll see, because God needs to prepare his heart by undoing some of the pride and prejudice that we see within people like Peter because of their upbringing.

So verse 10, we meet Peter, it's noon the following day, and he's hungry, and he's waiting for a meal to be prepared, and he's praying, and then he falls into a trance.

And he sees this vision, and he's hungry, and so he sees this vision of food. Maybe we think that's fairly normal. And then there's this, the vision looks like a great big sheet that comes down from the sky, comes down from heaven, and it's like a mixed platter of meats, of animals, some of which are clean and some of which are unclean.

And because they're all mixed in together, Peter naturally would look at that and say, that's all unclean. It's contaminated. And within the vision, there's a conversation.

So he hears God's voice, verse 13, get up, Peter, kill and eat. Peter replies, surely not, Lord. I've never eaten anything impure or unclean, to which God responds a second time, do not call anything impure that God has made clean.

And this happens three times, up, down, up, down, up, down, to emphasize how important this message is. Peter doesn't know exactly what it's about at this moment.

But again, we can say, from our vantage point, God is preparing his heart. There are some barriers, some prejudices that need to be broken down to make Peter ready to share the good news of Jesus across cultures, across his normal comfort zones.

God wants the good news. God wants the good news to spread. And so he prepares Christians' hearts to make us willing to go.

So again, think about the friend or the family member or the colleague who shared Jesus with you. That's not always an easy thing to do.

God prepares hearts in love to make people willing. Or think about maybe chances that we have had to share faith with a neighbor or a classmate or a work colleague.

To speak truth across maybe the differences of culture or religions perhaps. Or maybe just to speak to someone who's got a very different view of the world.

This is all part of God's design. This is the way God's kingdom grows. Scene three brings two groups together.

We learn something about God's wonderful sense of timing in verses 17 to 23. With God, the timing is always perfect. So we find Peter, verse 17 and verse 19.

He's wondering, what was that vision about? He's thinking deeply about the vision, but he can't figure it out. And just at that moment, the bell rings downstairs. And those servants that have been sent from Cornelius almost 24 hours before, at just the right time, they arrive.

And if Peter was in any doubt, God makes the connection for him. In verse 20, we have the Spirit of God saying, Simon, three men are looking for you, so get up and go downstairs.

Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them. And so the Spirit is going to direct him according to his plan. So we're reminded that God has perfect timing.

The servants of the centurion and the servant of Jesus brought together so that the good news will be shared. We saw it a few weeks ago. Do you remember if you were here, chapter 8?

You got Philip, and he's a deacon. And he gets sent maybe a 50-mile journey to meet an Ethiopian in the desert who just happens to be reading the bit of Isaiah that speaks about Jesus, the coming suffering servant.

God has perfect timing and brings people together to make the message clear. And that's helpful for us to remember that the sovereignty and the providence of God for us.

We will never have a random encounter. We might think it is, but it's never. We will never have a random conversation. They are all designed and directed by God.

The Spirit is directing His people. Every person who spoke to us about God, every person who opened the Bible with us, that was not an accident. That was God's design.

Every time you were led to witness for Jesus, the Spirit was directing them. Now we get to scene four. Now we're going to get back to Caesarea.

Now we're in day three. This is when the world-changing meeting happens. God's been building up to this moment so that Jesus will be seen as a Savior for all people, not just for the Jewish people.

So from verse 23 onwards. Notice first what happens. So here's Cornelius. He's expecting them. Verse 24, he's called everybody that he knows, his relatives, his close friends, his household is there.

And he bows to show reverence to Cornelius. Now a couple of things to notice about Peter, our apostle. First of all, notice his right humility. And we saw this again last week.

When Cornelius bows to show him reverence, Peter says, get up, stand up. I'm only a man myself. Peter always now will point away from himself. He doesn't want to take any glory or attention to himself because he wants it to belong to Jesus.

It's a wonderful principle for us if we are Christians. But notice as well, verse 27 to 29, that God has given him a right interpretation of his vision.

So he can say to this group, you're well aware that it's against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.

Three days ago, Peter would not have come anywhere near Cornelius. But now he understands. God is saying to me, nobody is unclean. Nobody is beyond the good news.

So I'm going to go and I'm going to come and visit you, Cornelius, so I can tell you about Jesus. Jesus is for everyone. But I want us to notice again verse 33 as well.

Just to have the sense of here's a wonderful, this is like a dream audience in a sense for sharing the gospel. Because what's happened is, first of all, Cornelius is so eager for everybody that he knows to hear the good news that he's gathered a great big crowd.

We're all here. And he understands we're here in the presence of God. And what does he want to hear? He wants to hear God's word. Again, it's a wonderful attitude to bring to church week by week that sense of expectation.

Here we are. God is in this place. And God is speaking. And so God has been preparing hearts for this moment. And so there's been four scenes but a consistent theme.

The good news is for everyone. And here is God and he's king over creation. And he is working in history. And he's working because he wants Jesus to be seen as Savior.

Behind all global missions. Behind Christianity moving past borders and barriers. Behind you and I being here today.

Behind every time somebody shares Jesus with someone else stands God. God who is calling people to come. To come with faith to Jesus.

And standing behind it too is the God who commands his people to go. To make disciples of all nations. So we've seen how God has been preparing hearts for the good news.

Now we need to turn to verse 34 to 43. And think about Peter preaching the message of good news for everyone.

Because the Spirit directs Peter. To bring this message to show that salvation in Jesus. It cuts across barriers of race and culture and religion.

It is a force that is capable of turning an enemy soldier into a brother in Christ.

Think about the world that we live in. How fractured and how divided it is. Think about the power of the gospel. The good news. The message about Jesus.

The Prince of Peace. To bring true and lasting peace. It's in Jesus we find the hope of healing and unity. And so the time has now come for Peter to preach.

And his emphasis is going to be God has good news for everyone through his son Jesus. So to look at this section we're going to slow down a little bit.

And we're going to ask some questions of the good news. And I hope this will be helpful for all of us. But maybe especially if we're new to Christianity. It may be helpful too as we think about sharing our faith in Jesus with others.

So first of all from our passage. Question one. What is the good news? Now there's many answers the Bible gives to that. But our text gives us two really helpful ones.

Look at verse 36. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel. Announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ.

So there's one answer. What's the good news? The good news of peace. And of course the word peace brings that idea of reconciliation. And the message of the Bible is that God has sent Jesus so we could be reconciled and at peace with God.

And by extension then at peace with others. The Bible tells us that in the beginning people were made by God and made for God.

For relationship with God. But our first parents Adam and Eve. They walked away. They chose to reject God and life with God. And now by nature so do we all.

But the wonderful thing is that God has taken the initiative. And he has acted to make peace in the sending of his son. So there is the good news of peace.

And then right at the end of Peter's message verse 43. Here's another aspect of the good news. What is the good news? So there's more of the good news.

We can be forgiven of our sins. That word sin. That's the word that the Bible used for when we reject God as our king. When we want to be in charge.

When we ignore God's word of command. We want to live life on our own terms. When we ignore God in his world. When we choose to live for other things instead.

The Bible says that's sin. And the reality of sin is that it leads to separation. It means that we are enemies of God and not friends of God. And it means ultimately if nothing changes.

We stand under the judgment of God. And again notice the message of good news. Peter is saying God has acted in his grace and kindness.

So that we could be forgiven of our sin. So there is peace and there is forgiveness. It's the good news. The second question we need to ask is how does God bring this good news?

And the answer is through his son Jesus. Look at verse 36. Announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all.

That's a really striking phrase. This is Peter's way of saying in summary Jesus is fully God. He is Lord. But he's also at the same time Peter will talk about him as fully man.

In verse 38 he'll talk about him as Jesus of Nazareth. So we're talking about the one who is fully and eternally God. Who became one of us. And then what I want us to see and really to encourage us as we think about Christianity.

And think about sharing our faith is to notice what Peter does. How does Peter share the good news? He shares the good news really by sharing Jesus. By sharing the life of Jesus.

So look at how he walks Cornelius through the story of Jesus. Beginning at verse 38. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.

This is a reference to Jesus being baptized. Being anointed as God's chosen king. To represent God in the world. And at his baptism there was the voice from heaven.

You're my son. I love you. And he received the Holy Spirit. And he received God's power. And then Peter goes to the life of Jesus.

Still in verse 38. Jesus went around doing good. And healing all who were under the power of the devil. Because God was with him. When we speak about Jesus.

We're speaking about a good and gracious king. Who acted in love and mercy and compassion. To restore and to heal. We're speaking about a king of power.

Who rescued those who were in the grip of the devil. And the forces of evil. So we're speaking about a king who brings a kingdom. That brings spiritual freedom.

And true spiritual life. We're speaking about a rescuer. Who breaks the chains of slavery to sin and its effects. And so he goes to the life of Jesus.

Jesus came to bring in the kingdom of God. To give us a little window into. What God's eternal kingdom will be like. Showing that Jesus came to rescue and restore. And then he moves on.

Verses 39 to 41. To look at Jesus' death and resurrection. And notice too that he makes pains to say. Remember I'm talking to you as an eyewitness. This is a public event.

This is true history. And I'm an eyewitness to this reality. But notice again how he speaks. He says in verse 39. They killed him.

By hanging him on a cross. Literally they killed him by hanging him on a tree. But God raised him from the dead on the third day. And Peter likes to talk about Jesus hanging on a tree.

Because of the connection to the Old Testament. Anyone that was hung on a tree. Stood under God's curse. And was outside of God's covenant. And the point is that Jesus goes there for us.

Jesus takes the curse for us. So that we could know God's blessing. So that we could be included in God's covenant of love. That's not the end of the story for Jesus.

They killed him. But God raised him. And when he does that. They killed him. God raised him. He's wanting to say. Listen this is God's verdict on his son Jesus.

He is pleased with his son. His son has accomplished his mission. He is the son who is now shown to be victorious. Having achieved all that he came to do.

But notice he doesn't just stop there. In the life of Jesus. He moves us on again. Verse 42 and verse 43. He commanded us to preach to the people. And to testify.

That he is the one whom God appointed. As judge of the living and the dead. That's part of the apostles creed. He will come to judge the living and the dead. It's straight out of scripture.

And this reminds us. Of the solemn part of the good news. And the urgent part of the good news. There is a day coming. We don't know when.

But there is a day coming. When the Jesus who returned to heaven. Will come back once again. And when he does. That will be judgment day. And all of us will stand before Jesus.

The judge one day. With our eternity. At stake. Our eternal future at stake. That's why Jesus spoke so much.

About the realities of heaven. And of hell. There is one to avoid. And there is one to attain. Pain. And so he reminds Cornelius.

That this message. It matters. Not just for the moment. But for all of our life. And into eternity. Jesus is judge.

But then in verse 43. We also are reminded. That everyone who believes in him. Receives forgiveness. He is judge. And he is savior. And this also tells us.

Doesn't it? How we should respond to Jesus. This isn't just. Oh I've got some facts. Interesting. Or otherwise. There is a call to believe.

And so what the Bible says. Whenever we hear that. The good news about Jesus. There is that moment. It is like evidence demands a verdict. And the response is to.

That God wants from us. Is to turn away from our sin. And to place our trust in Jesus. To believe in him. To receive forgiveness. And peace with God.

And the promise of life. Now here is the third question. And this is where it gets really personal. Who is the good news for?

And this is why Acts 10 is such a massive chapter. Look at verse 34. Here is Peter reflecting. I now realize. How true it is. That God does not show favoritism.

But accepts from every nation. The one who fears him. And does what is right. God's door of salvation. That's now wide open. All the barriers are down.

Anyone who comes with faith. We're welcomed in. There's no checking of our passports. There's no checking of our status. We're welcomed when our faith is in Jesus.

Look at verse 36. Jesus Christ who is. What does our text say? Who is Lord of all. Not Lord of some. Not Lord of some little corner of the globe.

He's Lord of all. He's the only Savior we need. He is the only Savior this whole world needs. Yes it was a message given first to Israel. But it was given to Israel for the sake of the whole world.

That includes us. And he ends on the same note as well. Verse 43. Everyone who believes. Receives forgiveness. If you believe in Jesus today.

Whoever you are. Wherever you're from. There is a promise from God. You will have peace. You will have forgiveness. And you will have life. Turn to him in faith.

And then finally and briefly. We see the power of the good news is proved. And this is an important moment for people to witness. Some of us I imagine in the next week.

Because it's holidays. We'll be going on holiday. Even if you're not going abroad. Think about times where you go abroad. And you hit up a local market. One of the questions you're asking.

Maybe. When you go to a local market. Is this article that I have here. Is it genuine. Or is it fake. And you know there's ways that you can tell. You can look at the price tag.

That's usually a pretty good clue. You can look at the label. Maybe on the clothing. You can examine the quality. You can probably have a pretty good stab. Is this thing real or fake.

When the good news of Jesus goes global. It has a massive impact. And God knows it's going to have a massive impact.

Some people are going to wonder. Hold on a minute. How has this change happened? Is this real or is this fake? And so God gives signs. Decisive signs.

That he really is extending his kingdom to all nations. That these guys really do have real faith. That Jesus really is good news. So let's just see the signs. First of all verse 44 to 46.

Sign one. The Spirit. The Holy Spirit. Came on all who heard the message. The people who came with Peter. Are astonished. That the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Had been poured out. Even on Gentiles. They didn't think highly of Gentiles. But now they see. God does. Jesus does. And so it can't be denied. That the same thing that happened.

To the church. Made up of Jewish people. At the beginning. In Acts chapter 2. Has now happened. Here as well. There's no first class. And second class Christians. Second sign.

Baptism. Verse 47. Surely no one can stand in the way. Of their being baptized with water. They've received the Holy Spirit. Just as we have. Baptism is this wonderful symbol.

We use water. And we pour it. As a sign that the Spirit. Has been poured out. And that forgiveness of sins. Has been poured out. By Jesus. And then when Cornelius.

And his family. His household. Are baptized. It's a sign that they now belong. To Jesus. And his church. And it's the same sign. For the church. Everywhere. In all times.

In all places. It's a great unifying sign. So we've seen the Spirit. And we've seen baptism. There's a third sign. That this is the real deal.

And we could easily miss it. It's in verse 48. It's in fellowship. And hospitality. So Peter ordered. That they be baptized.

In the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter. To stay with them. For a few days. And he does. Okay. So a couple of days before. As we said. There is no way.

Peter would have. Knocked on that door. And walked in. He would never have had a meal. He would never have stayed the night. But this is the power of the gospel. Old barriers. The food laws.

Were like a barrier. Protecting. The Jewish religion. From the rest of the world. Well. Well food now becomes a bridge. Because they can eat together. Around a table. All one.

In Christ Jesus. The evangelist. Sam Chan. Reckons that perhaps. The greatest tool. The modern church has. In our evangelism toolkit.

Is hospitality. Spending time with people. Over food. Breaking down barriers. Extended time. To let others. Feel and see.

And hear. The difference. That Jesus makes. To our lives. And so the good news. Is for everyone. This meeting.

Between Peter. And Cornelius. Is a sign. That God. Is changing the world. As his kingdom grows. Just as he promised. Opening the way. For everyone.

To be saved. Through faith. In Jesus. Two things. To take away. As we close. One. If we are Christians. Let's be encouraged. That we can. Confidently.

Introduce. And invite. Anyone. To Jesus. We can call. Them. To faith. Invite them. To turn. From sin. To become a part. Of his church. And his family. To freely.

Offer them. Jesus. Because we know. That's God's design. And we know. God is building. His church. Around the world. And if you're here today. And you're not a Christian.

Understand. That this good news. Is for you. Jesus lived. And died. And rose again. So that you.

Could be forgiven. And be reconciled. To God. That just like Cornelius. You could believe. And receive. The gift.

Of new life. Let's pray. Together. Lord God. Thank you for this. Amazing meeting. And the way it shows. How you are changing. The world. How you are.

Breaking down barriers. So that people. From all places. People like us. Can hear the good news. About Jesus. And be saved. Lord. We thank you.

For your loving kindness. In giving us your son. We thank you. For his perfect life. Death. And resurrection. We thank you. That he will return. One day. To judge.

And to save. And to make everything new. Lord. We pray. That you would give to us. The gift. Of faith. To believe. The good news. To find peace. And forgiveness.

And then we ask. That you would give us opportunities. Perhaps even through hospitality. To make something of your love. And your goodness to us in Jesus. Known to others. That we pray in his name.

Amen.