WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.480 Well, tonight we are entering part two of a short series that we're going to be looking 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:12.280 at together through the month of February, and the series is called Christians from Monday 00:00:12.280 --> 00:00:17.359 to Friday. And the basic theme of it is to look at the fact that our Christian lives 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:23.519 are not simply lived on a Sunday, but they affect us throughout the whole week, particularly 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:29.560 in regard to our daily routine, whether that's work or school or studies or responsibilities 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:37.439 at home or involvement in our community and roundabout. It's a great, what we want to 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:45.560 emphasize is the fact that following Jesus affects every single part of our lives, and 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:53.519 a relationship with Him is relevant to every single day. Tonight I want us to look together 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:59.920 at what I think is a great example for us in scripture of what we're trying to look 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:06.920 at. And this example is a married couple whom we read about in Acts chapter 18, and that's 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:14.359 Priscilla and her husband Aquila. Let's read again at Acts 18. After this, Paul left Athens 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:19.280 and went to Corinth, and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:23.879 from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:30.320 Rome, and he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them 00:01:30.320 --> 00:01:38.680 and worked, for they were tent makers by trade. When you read through the New Testament, very 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:44.159 often our attention is drawn to some of the big names. We think of people like Paul and 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:53.159 Peter and Luke and John and Timothy and James, these huge figures who were so prominent in 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:58.719 the spread of the gospel in these early years and in the building up of the early church. 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:05.879 There's lots of big names that we associate with the New Testament, but at the same time, 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:10.039 if you read through the New Testament, you'll see that there's actually a constant stream 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:16.199 of what we could call ordinary people who get mentioned. A great example of that is 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:21.959 the passage at the very end of Romans, which we'll study in more detail when we reach that 00:02:21.959 --> 00:02:26.039 point in our morning series. But I'm just going to put it on the screen. This is an 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:32.639 abridged version, because I'm just focusing on the names. It starts with Priscilla and 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:37.680 Aquila. You'll see it says Priscia there. That's just a variant of the same name. Paul 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.719 is writing to Rome and he's sending greetings at the end of the letter. He says, 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:47.760 greet Priscia and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. Then he goes on to say, 00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:55.120 greet my beloved Epennetus, Mary, Andronicus, and Junia, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachis, Epelaus, 00:02:55.120 --> 00:03:00.960 the family of Aristobulus Herodion, the family of Narcissus, Thrifenea, that was a difficult 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:09.719 one, and Thrifosa, Persis, Rufus, his mother, Asincritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrabus, Hermas, 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:14.360 the brothers who are with him, Philodgulus, Julian, Eris, and his sister, and Olympus, 00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:20.439 and all the saints who are with them. Now, there's something very important about that 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:30.000 list. We've got pretty much no idea who any of them are. We know about Priscilla and Aquila, 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:35.879 and there's one or two others that are possibly mentioned elsewhere, but on the whole, these 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:42.719 are people whom we know very little about. In other words, they were very ordinary. They're 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:48.479 not big names. They're not key figures, but yet they were special to Paul, and they were 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:55.080 crucial to the life and work of the church. And that reminds us of a really, really important 00:03:55.080 --> 00:04:02.200 point about the Christian church. The Christian church is not elitist. At least it should 00:04:02.200 --> 00:04:09.160 never be. It's not for those who are super strong, super clever, super successful. It's 00:04:09.160 --> 00:04:14.320 the complete opposite. The church throughout the past 2,000 years has been the greatest 00:04:14.320 --> 00:04:21.920 beacon of equality and inclusion that the world has ever seen. And today, I want us to 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:29.520 look at two of these ordinary names that we read about in the New Testament, Priscilla 00:04:29.520 --> 00:04:36.480 and Aquila. We read about them at the start of Acts chapter 18. There are married couple, 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:42.639 Aquila is a Jew, and he was born in Pontus. Now, here's our wee test for you. Here comes 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:48.720 a map. I want you to see if you can find Pontus. Okay? Can you see it? Can you see Pontus? 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:53.240 Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. Anyone's got it? Have you got it? I'm sure 00:04:53.240 --> 00:05:01.280 some of you do have it. Pontus is way up there. You all knew that, of course. There's Pontus. 00:05:01.280 --> 00:05:08.680 That's where Aquila comes from, but they had been living in Rome way up on the other side 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:14.840 of the map. That's possibly where Priscilla was born. We don't know for sure, but that's 00:05:14.839 --> 00:05:20.399 generally, certainly some people suspect that that might be the case. They'd been living 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:26.560 there, but as we were reading, Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. This was one 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:32.399 of the early Acts of the Roman Empire that affected the Christian church. Probably happened 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:41.319 about AD 49. Just incidentally, it's mentioned by a Roman historian, say, you told me, yes. 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:47.199 Just as we reminded that what the New Testament says and what the historical ex-the biblical 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:53.000 records say match up. It seems to be the case that Priscilla and Aquila were part of the 00:05:53.000 --> 00:06:00.079 church, the Christian church in Rome, but at that point, to the outside of the Christian 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:03.800 church, just looked like it was part of the Jewish religion. They didn't really understand 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:07.719 it. Outsiders didn't really understand that it was a bit different. When the Jews got 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:13.600 expelled, the Christians got thrown out with them. As a result, they came to Corinth right 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:22.320 there in the middle. We've got this Christian married couple in the early church. How did 00:06:22.320 --> 00:06:27.600 God use these two ordinary people? What do we learn from them when we think about our 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:32.360 Christian lives from Monday to Friday? 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:36.640 In order to see that together, I want us just to focus on three things very briefly. We're 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:43.800 going to look at their work, their home, and their marriage. At the start of Acts, chapter 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:49.439 18, it's really interesting to notice that Paul came into contact with Priscilla and 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:55.000 Aquila primarily through their work. You can see at the end, because he was of the same 00:06:55.000 --> 00:07:00.800 trade, he stayed with them and worked for they were tent makers by trade. Here you can 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:08.240 see the amazing providence of God as he brings things together. Priscilla and Aquila had just 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:16.000 arrived in Rome from the east, from the west, sorry. Paul had made his way across from Athens, 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:21.720 having traveled from the east. You see these two trajectories, one coming from the west, 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:28.240 one coming from the east, and God brings them together in Corinth through their jobs. In 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:33.680 doing so, God was meeting a great need. If you imagine that you were Priscilla and Aquila 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:39.680 arriving at Corinth, they had just been thrown out of Rome. They were probably thinking, 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:44.879 well, what is going to happen to this Christian church? They may have felt dissolutioned, they 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:48.280 may have felt worried, they may have felt a great sense of concern, thinking, what's 00:07:48.280 --> 00:07:56.600 going to happen next? They arrive at Corinth and they employ the greatest missionary that 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:03.280 the world has ever seen. And likewise for Paul, meeting Priscilla and Aquila was a huge 00:08:03.280 --> 00:08:11.120 help to him. It's always interesting whenever you read the book of Acts, it's good to remember 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:17.160 that quite often, particularly in the travels of Paul, you can find out a little bit more 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:23.439 information if you go to some of the letters. So for example, when you read about Paul arriving 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:27.959 at Corinth, as we read at the beginning of chapter 18, if you go to the letter of the 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:33.840 Corinthians, you can find out a little bit more about what was going on. Because in chapter 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:38.840 18, verse one, it says, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. That sounds simple enough, 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:44.240 doesn't it? But if you go to 1 Corinthians chapter two, verse three, it tells us Paul 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:53.480 said, I was with you, so I was with you in Corinth, in weakness and in fear and in much 00:08:53.480 --> 00:09:02.639 trembling. So when Paul arrived there, he was feeling very low. And it's no surprise that 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:11.000 Paul felt low when we just taste back what happened in chapter 16 and 17 of Acts. Back 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:16.720 in chapter 16, Paul received what we call the Macedonian call, where he was at the end, 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:25.320 the western edge of Asia Minor, and he received this call from God. Let me go back. There 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:31.519 we are. A vision appeared to him the night, a man from Macedonia said, come over and help 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:38.279 us. And so that's exactly what he did. Paul was in Macedonia, Paul was in Asia Minor. 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:43.839 He went across to Macedonia to Philippi, and there he went to preach the gospel. What happened 00:09:43.839 --> 00:09:50.240 at Philippi? He was thrown into prison with Silas. But they were released shortly. So 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:53.600 he traveled to Thessalonica. You can see it there. He's following a path. What happened 00:09:53.600 --> 00:10:00.639 at Thessalonica? There was a riot, and Paul had to escape during the night. So Paul and 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:06.879 Silas traveled on to Berea next. But the Jews from Thessalonica followed them there. And 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:13.240 again, they stirred up trouble and put Paul in danger. So in order to combat this, they 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:19.000 sent Paul off on his own to Athens. And in Athens, Paul was horrified by the idolatry 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:24.639 that he witnessed. And he spoke to some of the prominent leaders there. And a few of 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:31.200 them listened to him. But many were unsure, and some of them mocked him. And I just want 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:36.360 you to imagine for a moment being Paul. Imagine getting that Macedonian call where you think 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:43.480 to yourself, wow, this is so clear what God wants me to do. I've had this vision. God 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:48.879 is saying, come across to Macedonia. And sometimes in our lives, we can think, wouldn't it be 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:55.919 so great if God just made it so clear what we were supposed to do? And we think, well, 00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:05.560 to have a call that was so definite, it would be easy, wouldn't it? Easy to follow him. 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:15.719 And yet the reality was incredibly difficult for Paul. He follows God's call. And then 00:11:15.719 --> 00:11:25.879 it was blow after blow after blow. And by the time he got to Corinth, just there, he was 00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:40.519 dejected, weak, afraid, and trembling. But there in Corinth, God had a lovely Christian 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:48.639 couple waiting for him. And God brings them together through their job. They were all 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:55.879 tent makers, and they worked together. And there's two really important things there 00:11:55.879 --> 00:12:03.840 just to mention briefly. First, all of this reminds us what an amazing encouragement Christians 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:11.039 can be towards each other. Paul was desperately low, and yet he meets these two people who 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:17.200 become great friends in the fellowship of the gospel. And that's a theme that Paul 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:22.480 emphasizes again and again in his life. You see it throughout the letters. In Romans 1, 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:28.200 he says, I long to see you. He longs to be encouraged, to be mutually encouraged by each 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:33.480 other's faith. Same when he talks about Timothy, he speaks about longing to see him, that he 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:41.920 might be filled with joy. It's a really important reminder that as Christians, we need each 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:50.360 other. We are made for fellowship. We're made to be together. From the very beginning 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:56.759 of creation, it was not good for humanity to be alone. God wants us to be together. 00:12:56.759 --> 00:13:04.000 God wants us to support, encourage, comfort, and help one another. And Helen spoke of that 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:10.199 so clearly when she mentioned city groups. That's exactly what we're trying to do, to 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:18.600 come together in the middle of the week to help and support and encourage one another. 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:22.840 Those of you who are with us in the run up to Christmas, we were studying the gifts of 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:29.320 the Holy Spirit, speaking about all the different skills and attributes that God gives to his 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:35.960 people in different ways. But I hope you can remember what the key reason for those gifts 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:43.759 were. They weren't to make us look great. They're there for us to serve and help one 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:51.800 another. A great reminder that in God's family, we need each other. 00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:57.960 So that's a really important thing to remember when you come to church. You're not just here 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:05.200 to grow in your own knowledge, and you're not just here to increase your own faith. You're 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:10.360 actually here to boost each other as well. And that's why it's so brilliant that you're 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:21.120 here. It's a fundamental truth of the Christian church that we need each other. And it all 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:26.400 makes perfect sense. And I always remember that everything that God says and does makes 00:14:26.400 --> 00:14:32.759 perfect sense. We desperately need each other. We need each other's support. We need each 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:40.080 other's encouragement. We need each other's comfort. And that's why the New Testament 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:54.519 categorically bans criticism, jealousy, gossip, and division from the Christian church. Because 00:14:54.519 --> 00:15:02.879 all of these things are the very opposite of what we need and of what God wants for us. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:09.240 We're not here to tear each other down. We're here to build each other up. So if you've 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:16.159 had a rotten week, then please just press on remembering that God is with you and that 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:20.679 we are here for you. We're right behind you to support you. If you're feeling low about 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:26.359 yourselves, we want you to know that we love you as a church. We're so thankful that you're 00:15:26.359 --> 00:15:42.000 here and we really value you. I remember hearing a story about a doctor who was often dealing 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:54.600 with people who had very low sense of self-esteem. And he used to always say that they were worth 00:15:54.600 --> 00:16:02.519 his time that he cared for them and that he thought that they were valuable. And he demonstrated 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:07.320 that by giving the time that he had very little time, but he always gave his time to these 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:17.960 people who thought they were worthless and had hugely low self-esteem. Anybody who feels 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:29.640 that they're worthless, as a church, we value you so much. And it is so brilliant that you're 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:37.559 here and that you're part of our family here. And for those of you who have good news, we 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:46.120 rejoice with you and we are so encouraged by the blessings that are in your life. Yesterday, 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:51.600 two of the people in our congregation, Hamish and Anna, got married and the service was 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:57.559 here and it was a brilliant service and a brilliant occasion to see them. And it's a 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:05.159 reason for us all to rejoice as a family together. Whether things are going well or whether things 00:17:05.159 --> 00:17:12.200 are hard, we're being reminded from God's word that we need each other. The church of 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:21.159 Jesus Christ should be a place of total and constant togetherness. So we're seeing that 00:17:21.159 --> 00:17:27.519 we need each other. But the other thing that we're seeing here is that God can use us 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:33.680 through our jobs. And that's something that's really encouraging for us all. The means that 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:40.720 God used to bring a dejected, worn-out Paul into fellowship with this exiled Christian 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:48.519 couple was making tents. It wasn't a missionary conference. It wasn't a communion weekend, 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:53.319 as we still have in the Highlands and Islands. It wasn't a theological debate. It wasn't 00:17:53.319 --> 00:18:02.159 some massive Christian event. It was a very, very ordinary job. And the point that that's 00:18:02.159 --> 00:18:06.079 highlighting for us is that our jobs are an amazing opportunity for the work of God's 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:13.639 kingdom. In Romans 16, Paul speaks about Priscilla and Aquila and he refers to them as his fellow 00:18:13.639 --> 00:18:20.839 workers. And I think that's a wonderful phrase because in a way it kind of has a double meaning 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:24.679 to it because when he talks about Priscilla and Aquila, they were his fellow workers because 00:18:24.679 --> 00:18:29.839 they were his fellow tent makers. They shared the same trade. But of course, there was more 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:38.519 to it than that. They were also fellow workers for Jesus. And you're exactly the same as 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:44.240 a Christian. Your job is a brilliant opportunity for you to reach out with the gospel. And 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:50.599 your job has a double meaning as well. So you might be a teacher, a builder, an engineer, 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:59.399 whatever you may be. But you are also a worker for Jesus. And every Sunday, God brings his 00:18:59.399 --> 00:19:05.240 church together for worship and for mutual encouragement. And then every Monday morning, 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:11.719 he scathers us all about the city, all about the country to be a witness and to be a servant 00:19:11.719 --> 00:19:17.000 of Jesus in our daily lives. And it's really important to remember that sometimes our jobs 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:21.920 can feel dull and frustrating. Sometimes we can feel we don't really know what we want 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:25.599 to do with our lives. We think there's this massive career decision and I have to try 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:32.039 and find this one perfect career that if I miss out on, I'm going to wreck my life. Sometimes 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:36.519 we can feel years down the line that I should have done something different and I've squandered 00:19:36.519 --> 00:19:40.720 my life. We can feel that the whole thing is falling apart. But if you are trusting in 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:49.120 Jesus, then all of a sudden, whether you're a lawyer or a butcher or a tent maker, all 00:19:49.120 --> 00:19:54.880 of a sudden your job has amazing potential. And the opportunities to serve Jesus through 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:59.960 your work are huge. You can show other people around you that you're different through your 00:19:59.960 --> 00:20:06.160 attitude and conduct. You can stand out in your workplace by being patient and encouraging 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:12.600 towards your colleagues. If you are a boss and there's plenty bosses in here, if you 00:20:12.600 --> 00:20:22.120 are a boss, then you can show amazing Christian concern for your staff. You can bring joy 00:20:22.120 --> 00:20:27.000 and enthusiasm to your workplace because Jesus is your savior. You can show love towards 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:31.800 people by taking an interest in their lives and being a support to them. And you can pray 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:38.480 and pray and pray for people that you work with. You can plead with God for their salvation. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:50.559 And do you know how often you can do that kind of thing? Every day. Every single day. 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:57.079 Your job's an amazing opportunity. And from time to time, you may even get the chance 00:20:57.079 --> 00:21:04.799 to speak to people about your faith. And these opportunities maybe don't come up very often, 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:09.559 but you might get asked one day, why do you go to church or what is this Christianity 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:16.039 all about? If you are ever in that situation, don't panic. And don't feel you have to answer. 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:22.960 Every question is perfectly okay to say, I don't know. But a good place to start is simply 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:30.759 by saying, no, in Jesus has made an amazing difference to my life. And from there, you 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:39.440 can maybe say a little bit more about your story. Never forget, no job is pointless. 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:49.120 Your job is mission work. So what's this week? As we go back to work tomorrow, is it a normal 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:57.919 week? Is it a dull week? Is it a hard week? Or is it an amazing gospel opportunity? Priscilla 00:21:57.919 --> 00:22:04.719 and Aquila served through their work. They also served through their home. And this is 00:22:04.719 --> 00:22:12.359 a fascinating topic to look at. That passage in Romans 16 speaks about Priscilla and Aquila. 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:19.079 And it's talks about, it says, greet also the church in their house. We see the same 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:24.240 thing in the letter to the Corinthians. Speaks about Aquila and Priscilla together with the 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:32.240 church in their house. This couple used their home as a place for the church to meet. Now 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:36.959 we have to pause here because before, right now, we're being reminded of a very important 00:22:36.959 --> 00:22:41.519 point about ecclesiology. When we say ecclesiology, we're talking about the Bible's teaching in 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:48.319 regard to the church. And we're being reminded here that the church met in their house. And 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:58.000 the key point is that the church is not the house. The church is in the house. And the 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:07.879 same as through today, the church is not this building. The church is the people in the building. 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:13.880 And so if we went to another building, we would still be the church. And although we always 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:19.720 talk about going to church and we refer to the building as the church, we would really 00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:26.920 be more accurate if we said that this is the building where the church meets. Because that's 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:35.640 really what the biblical teaching is. It's very important to recognize that the church 00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:44.280 is God's people. The sanctuary where God, the Holy Spirit, dwells is in our hearts according 00:23:44.280 --> 00:23:49.720 to New Testament's teaching. So not only did Priscilla and Aquila use their jobs, they 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:55.640 also used their home to serve Jesus. Now here we have to just kind of catch up a wee bit 00:23:55.640 --> 00:24:02.440 on Priscilla and Aquila because they move about a wee bit throughout the New Testament. Remember 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:09.000 they said they started off in Rome, they were expelled under the order of the emperor. So 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:16.279 they came from Rome to Corinth as we pick up the story in Acts 18. But from there they 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:22.759 went to Ephesus. We read about that at the end of Acts 18. And then at some point after 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:30.160 that they must have returned to Rome. Because when Paul writes to F, when Paul eventually 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:36.560 writes to the Roman church, Priscilla and Aquila have returned there. So over a number 00:24:36.560 --> 00:24:44.880 of years they've traveled a good bit. But in all of these places they had a house and 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:54.680 they used that house for serving Jesus. It was the place where the church met. And the 00:24:54.680 --> 00:25:00.200 great lesson of all of that is that our homes are a great tool for serving Jesus. Now we 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:05.720 no longer have a house church structure for our Sunday services. It's an amazing blessing 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:11.320 the fact that our churches, our congregations have grown too big for that. But we all still 00:25:11.320 --> 00:25:18.519 have homes and we can all still do great things through our homes. We can welcome people and 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:23.120 bring them into our homes. That can be for dinner, for coffee, for fellowship, for Bible 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:28.959 study. It's brilliant to get an invite to people's houses and it's great to see that 00:25:28.959 --> 00:25:38.079 week to week people are being invited. It's amazing the dignity that you can give to a 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:49.519 lonely person by inviting them to your home. And there's probably far more people than 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:57.920 we realise who never get invited anywhere. When I left school I became a postie for about 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:08.920 a year and a half. And I did two Christmases as a postie. Now posties deserve their Christmas 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:17.400 dinner more than anybody. Christmases are a really busy time for posties. And they used 00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:22.759 to say that in the run up to Christmas, throughout the country, royal mail handles in a day at 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:28.680 Christmas what it normally handles in a week. So there's mountains of mail, mountains of 00:26:28.680 --> 00:26:34.720 Christmas cards, mountains of parcels and presents and you're delivering constantly 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:40.800 to all of these different houses tons of cards. Back in the day when people still sent loads 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:49.480 and loads of Christmas cards, what struck me was that there were many houses that got 00:26:49.480 --> 00:27:02.279 none. Absolutely none. And we as a church can give dignity to people in situations like 00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:09.759 that who are so lonely that they don't even get a single Christmas card. So we can welcome 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:14.920 people into our homes. We can also make things in our homes so we can contribute to church 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:23.640 activities. So like yesterday at Haymish and Anna's wedding loads of people did baking 00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:30.599 at home when they took it here. Doesn't sound like much but it was brilliant. My poor wife 00:27:30.599 --> 00:27:40.639 made a lovely tray bake and left it at home. But I'm secretly delighted because now I get 00:27:40.639 --> 00:27:46.919 to eat it. We can use our homes to make stuff to help the church. But today in God's providence 00:27:46.919 --> 00:27:53.279 you can actually reach the whole world through your home. And that's one of the astonishing 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:58.919 things that technology now enables us to do. You can pick up your phone, your computer and 00:27:58.920 --> 00:28:04.080 you can send a message of encouragement to a missionary anywhere in the world. Katrina's 00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:08.680 in Valencia and she can send us prayer points so that we can pray for her. People who you 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:13.440 know who are serving, you can go home tonight and send a message of encouragement to them. 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:19.759 You could text them right now on WhatsApp or whatever and give them a message of support. 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:26.240 It's amazing what you can do through technology. And it doesn't actually even need to be technology. 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:36.680 I remember when I was in Carlaway we had a very sudden death in the congregation and 00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:42.880 it was a massive loss for us as a congregation and it was a massive, massive loss for the 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:49.240 widow of the man who died. And I went to visit her a week or two later and she showed me 00:28:49.240 --> 00:29:01.279 a letter that somebody from Edinburgh had sent to her. And it was the most moving, gentle, 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:06.839 supportive letter that I've ever read. It was only a page long and the person who had 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:11.640 written it had just sat at their computer and just typed it up. He wouldn't even have 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:19.079 moved from his desk and yet it made an amazing difference to that person. So you can do 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:26.480 awesome stuff from your house. So you're not going to bed until, I don't know, 11 o'clock 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:34.559 tonight so do something awesome for the Christian church between now and then. And I suppose 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:41.240 a key point in all of this is that we belong in each other's homes and the reasons for 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:46.759 that are theological. And I want to emphasize that the reasons for that are theological. 00:29:46.759 --> 00:29:54.559 As Christians we are adopted as God's children. We are united to Jesus Christ by faith. Therefore 00:29:54.559 --> 00:30:02.319 we are now brothers and sisters in Christ. We are bound together in Him. We are part 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:10.519 of one body. We are part of one family. We belong together. And that's why being in each 00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:16.519 other's homes should just be something that's very, very normal in the life of the church. 00:30:16.519 --> 00:30:21.480 Now some of us are more sociable than others and that is absolutely fine. And we're not 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:28.359 saying that everybody has to be the extrovert who's ready to welcome everyone. But please 00:30:28.359 --> 00:30:33.799 do remember just what an amazing source of potential your home is for the work of the 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:39.599 Gospel. So Priscilla and Aquila use their work, they use their home. Finally I want 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:44.279 us to just notice the fact that they used their marriage. One of the interesting things 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:48.839 about Priscilla and Aquila is that they're always mentioned together. They're a married 00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:57.279 couple and in that marriage they worked together to serve Jesus. And this is interesting because 00:30:57.279 --> 00:31:04.799 if you look through the New Testament there's not a huge number of examples like this of 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:08.879 married couples working together. Even people who were married like Peter, they never really 00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:16.280 mentioned in connection with their wives. And Paul himself placed a great emphasis on 00:31:16.280 --> 00:31:23.280 the blessings of being single and he highlights the value of that. And one is not better than 00:31:23.280 --> 00:31:33.800 the other. Both have blessings and both have challenges that they bring. But in terms of 00:31:33.800 --> 00:31:37.480 Priscilla and Aquila there are a couple, they're always mentioned as a couple. But the interesting 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:43.960 thing is that very, very, very often it's Priscilla who's named first and it was very 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:51.319 unusual for the wife to be named first. And there's various suggestions as to why that's 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:56.720 the case. Sometimes people think that she was maybe of a higher social class than Aquila 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:01.480 so maybe that brought her more status. Others suggest that she was maybe the more prominent 00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:10.400 personality so maybe she was more talkative. Although for the wife to be more talkative, 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:16.400 I don't know if that could ever be the case. It could have been any of these things. It 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:25.400 could have been both. But what I want to emphasize is this. Priscilla was absolutely at the heart 00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:36.480 of the early church's life and she was a she. And it's a great reminder of how incredibly 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:44.519 important you women are in the life of the church. People often accuse Paul of being 00:32:44.519 --> 00:32:52.720 anti-women. The truth is he was the opposite. One of his best and closest co-workers was 00:32:52.720 --> 00:33:00.480 a woman. It was Priscilla. And even though Paul taught that eldership is for men and 00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:05.400 we would agree with that as a church, that does not mean for one second that women have 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:11.799 a secondary role. Women played a vital role in the life of the New Testament church and 00:33:11.799 --> 00:33:17.600 women have done so throughout the history of the church over the past 2,000 years. So 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:24.719 even though women may not be elders, they may not be deacons, they are still co-workers. 00:33:24.719 --> 00:33:31.119 And that qualifies you women to support and help and participate in every single part 00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:36.799 of the church's work. So it wasn't just that Priscilla was Aquila's wife and the fact that 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:41.000 she's mentioned first is really important. It's not just that it was always Aquila and 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:47.240 Priscilla's kind of just tagging along as the faithful, obedient wife. She was a co-worker 00:33:47.240 --> 00:33:53.240 in her own right. And even if she hadn't been married to him, she could still have served 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:59.160 and done great things for the gospel. So they have this wonderful couple in their own right 00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:06.759 serving together as co-workers. They came as a team and they served God as they could. 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:11.360 And it appears that they've got many gifts. They had a very hospitable home and they seem 00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:18.599 to be very good at using that. But we're also seeing in chapter 18 of Acts that there was 00:34:18.599 --> 00:34:25.519 another gift that they had. They seemed to be very good at talking to people as a couple. 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:30.720 And there's a great example for us there that I'm just going to read because I think it's 00:34:30.720 --> 00:34:38.240 very significant what this says. A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. 00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:42.399 He was an eloquent man competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the 00:34:42.399 --> 00:34:46.799 Lord and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning 00:34:46.799 --> 00:34:53.319 Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. 00:34:53.319 --> 00:34:58.959 But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way 00:34:58.959 --> 00:35:06.879 of God more accurately. Now, here we have this guy Apollos who's come from Alexandria, way 00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:14.079 down there. And he's heard about Jesus and he knows certain things that are true. But 00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:20.760 he doesn't seem to have a full, complete understanding of the gospel message. Priscilla and Aquila 00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:24.200 hear him. They're listening to this man and they're thinking, okay, he's kind of getting 00:35:24.200 --> 00:35:32.640 this but he's also kind of getting it wrong. And what do they do? They take him aside and 00:35:32.639 --> 00:35:42.400 they explain to him the way of God more accurately. 00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:50.719 There's two vital lessons here. First of all, we've been reminded that accuracy is very 00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:55.199 important in the Christian church. We must always strive to make sure that we understand 00:35:55.199 --> 00:36:00.079 God's word accurately. That means we must never be blasé or casual. It means we don't 00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:05.759 make up our own opinions. We want to be scriptural and precise in every way that we can be. That's 00:36:05.759 --> 00:36:11.960 why our studies in the New City Catechism every Sunday morning are really good because 00:36:11.960 --> 00:36:16.319 resources like that and older Catechisms, the Westminster Confession of Faith, things 00:36:16.319 --> 00:36:23.079 like that are so good for giving us an accurate understanding of God's word. So it tells us 00:36:23.079 --> 00:36:28.880 that accuracy matters. But secondly, I want you to notice how they handle Apollos. So 00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:35.360 Apollos is full of enthusiasm. He's eloquent. He's fervent in spirit, but his understanding 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:42.119 was not perfect. And so Priscilla and Aquila did two things. They went alongside him and 00:36:42.119 --> 00:36:50.440 they spoke to him and explained things. Now notice what that says. They went to him and 00:36:50.440 --> 00:37:03.320 they spoke to him. Far too often, when somebody is wrong, we keep away from them and we talk 00:37:03.320 --> 00:37:09.360 about them. Priscilla and Aquila did the complete opposite. They didn't mock him. They didn't 00:37:09.360 --> 00:37:13.320 rebuke him. They didn't keep away from him. They didn't criticize him. They didn't divide 00:37:13.320 --> 00:37:21.160 from him. They quietly, gently took him aside and explained things to him more accurately. 00:37:21.160 --> 00:37:26.760 And that's exactly how we should be. If an individual or a group or even another congregation 00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:32.240 has inaccurate knowledge, how should we respond? Do we throw stones at them from a distance? 00:37:32.240 --> 00:37:35.600 Do we criticize them? Do we mock them? Do we say we are never going to have anything 00:37:35.599 --> 00:37:44.000 to do with them? Or do we go alongside them and try to explain what the Bible says? And 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:49.239 notice what they said. They didn't go and explain their own opinions. They went to explain 00:37:49.239 --> 00:37:56.159 to him the way of God more accurately. In other words, they went to explain what God 00:37:56.159 --> 00:38:00.519 has said. And that's fundamental to how we help others. We don't go to people with their 00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:05.759 own opinions. We go to constantly lead people back to what God has said in his word. 00:38:05.759 --> 00:38:13.679 I'm going to give you a great quotation from my hero. William Cunningham, who was a theologian 00:38:13.679 --> 00:38:17.800 about 170 years ago, here's a great quote. Well, I think it's a great quote because I 00:38:17.800 --> 00:38:24.280 love William Cunningham. He says, in theology, there is, of course, no room for originality 00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:30.000 properly so-called. For its whole materials are contained in the actual statements of 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:37.320 God's word. And he is the greatest and best theologian who has most accurately apprehended 00:38:37.320 --> 00:38:44.920 the meaning of the statements of Scripture. Christianity is not our way. It's not Thomas' 00:38:44.920 --> 00:38:55.360 way. It's not St. Columbus' way. It's not the free church's way. It's God's way. We 00:38:55.360 --> 00:39:02.760 always want to be biblically minded. And Priscilla and Aquila are a wonderful example to us. 00:39:02.760 --> 00:39:07.960 So what it means to disciple somebody. They go alongside Apollos and they help them to 00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:16.039 grow and to understand. And we want to be the same. We want to learn from one another. 00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:24.079 So Priscilla and Aquila used their work, their home, and their marriage in God's service. 00:39:24.079 --> 00:39:30.000 It's a great reminder that all of life is to be lived for Jesus. Our whole lives are 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.960 an opportunity to stand out assault and light for Him. We want to be in contact with the 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:40.079 world, that we want to show that we are different and that there's something special in our 00:39:40.079 --> 00:39:45.440 lives. So whatever you are doing from Monday to Friday this week, do it as Priscilla and 00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:52.079 Aquila would do it. Your job, your family responsibilities, the school run, whatever 00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:58.319 sports you get involved in, whatever it is you're doing, do it all in a way that glorifies 00:39:58.319 --> 00:40:11.480 God and that shows that you love Jesus. But last of all, if you are not yet a follower 00:40:11.480 --> 00:40:16.599 of Jesus, if you're not trusting in Jesus or if you're not sure where you're standing, 00:40:16.599 --> 00:40:29.319 what does all this say to you? Well, one thing it shows you is that following Jesus will 00:40:29.319 --> 00:40:37.039 take a normal life and make it an amazing life. That's something that we can often be 00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:40.559 afraid of. We think, if I'm going to start following Jesus, it's going to muck up my 00:40:40.559 --> 00:40:48.799 life. Priscilla and Aquila show you that that's not true. So you might have a really ordinary 00:40:48.799 --> 00:40:57.559 job, but Jesus can do amazing things through it. You might have a very modest home, but 00:40:57.559 --> 00:41:03.199 it can be alive with the joy of the Lord. And you might be a very ordinary couple or 00:41:03.199 --> 00:41:11.559 a very ordinary person. But if you follow Jesus, you will have joy and peace and purpose 00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:19.639 for your whole life. If you look out in Edinburgh today or at Scotland or really all of modern 00:41:19.639 --> 00:41:28.599 life, you'll see that it's very much fulfilling what was described in Ecclesiastes chapter 00:41:28.599 --> 00:41:37.599 1. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils unto the sun? A generation goes and 00:41:37.599 --> 00:41:44.159 a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, the sun goes down, 00:41:44.159 --> 00:41:48.759 and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to 00:41:48.759 --> 00:41:53.239 the north and around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All 00:41:53.239 --> 00:41:57.440 streams run to the sea, the sea's not full. To the place where the stream flows, there 00:41:57.440 --> 00:42:04.720 they flow again. All things are full of weirdness. A man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied 00:42:04.720 --> 00:42:11.200 with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be. What has been 00:42:11.200 --> 00:42:22.559 done is what will be done, and there's nothing new under the sun. For many people, that's 00:42:22.559 --> 00:42:31.440 what Monday to Friday is like. Priscilla and Aquila show us that if you trust and follow 00:42:31.440 --> 00:42:45.239 Jesus, life will never be like that. Let's pray. Dear God or Father, we thank you, and 00:42:45.239 --> 00:42:50.400 for all that your word teaches us about Priscilla and Aquila. We thank you for the way in which 00:42:50.400 --> 00:43:00.440 you use them through an ordinary job and an ordinary home and as an ordinary couple. We 00:43:00.440 --> 00:43:10.639 come before you as those with ordinary jobs, ordinary homes, and as ordinary people, those 00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:21.359 who are married, those who are single. And we pray that just as you used Priscilla and 00:43:21.360 --> 00:43:41.320 Aquila, please use us as well. Amen.