They were staring into the sky where [Jesus} had gone. Suddenly two men wearing white clothes were standing beside them. They said, “Men from Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky?” – Acts 1:10-11

It is good to be back in fellowship with the Tuesday morning men’s Bible-study. We had taken a ten-week summer hiatus and I always wonder exactly how things are going to fit back into place once we gather again.

As for me, the guy tasked with teaching/facilitating, I feel a bit like one of those rusty lawnmowers that’s just been pulled out of the shed after being mothballed for the winter. A handful of shoulder-wrenching pulls and the engine begins to run, sputtering at first, then some black smoke pours out the back and pretty soon we, albeit hesitantly, get going.

The guys for their part showed up with all systems running smoothly. I had heard regrets from four or five who are out of town, so anticipated just a dozen or so around the table to get the ball rolling. But I counted more than twenty which is a really good beginning.

This new session, rolling forward and into the fall, is slated to be “Part III” of my Derek’s Bible overview curriculum. Part I (five months) was a gallop through the Old Testament. Part II (five months) covered the life of Jesus via the Gospels. I have labeled Part III (the early church) “So What?” We are beginning in the Book of Acts.

This week was all about setting the stage. We talked about the following essential points from Acts 1:

1. First, Jesus addresses the disciples’ obsession with “restoring the kingdom to Israel.” It was another one of those, “You keep using that word…” moments. “I don’t think that word (kingdom) means what you think it means.” What Jesus is talking about here absolutely merits more discussion.
2. Then Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit. “You will receive power,” he says, “to be my witnesses…” We talked about how parochial the disciples’ world-view was and how they are going to need such power to move forward.
3. Finally we take a few minutes to talk about the comedy scene in verse eleven: “Why are y’all standing around staring at the sky?”

This is why the book is called the Acts of the Apostles and not the Standing Around of the Apostles.

• Peter (on the Mount of Transfiguration): “Let’s build some tents here and just hang out.”
• Jesus: “How about not; how about y’all go into Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the Earth…”

The scriptures are always so interesting and illuminating and inspirational, so consistently on-point vis-a-vis the world we live in right now. I don’t know at this point exactly what route we will be taking through the balance of the New Testament, but I have no doubt it will be an amazing journey.

Here in North America, at “the uttermost parts of the Earth,” we are still turned upside down whenever we hear the words of Jesus. So why are we still “standing here looking at the sky?”

Remembering that we are supposed to be transformed, not transfixed, it’s a good question – DEREK