Do you really need a special vision before you open your door to a stranger? Fear, distrust and the images that reach us from the news quietly keep us from inviting into our world people who speak another language, dress differently and live differently. This sermon returns to the meeting of the Roman centurion Cornelius with the apostle Peter (Acts 10), two men who would never have met had God not intervened. Listen, and consider where you would be today if someone had not once invited you.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Why would Peter, as a Jew, never have gone to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, on his own, and what did he come to understand through the vision of the sheet full of unclean animals (Acts 10:9-28)?
- Peter says, "God does not show favoritism." What lies at the heart of the gospel in his message at Cornelius's house, and why, as the sermon stresses, must Jesus' sacrifice never be left out?
- The story of eight-year-old Mirka, rejected by the other children, shows how easily we close ourselves off from others. What kind of people do you find hardest to invite into your world, and why?
- The elderly woman on the train knew a lot about God but did not understand why Jesus died. How would you explain in simple words what Jesus did for our salvation?
- The speaker points out that we do not need an angel or a vision, because God's Word is enough to know what to do and say. How does feeding on Scripture regularly affect your courage to share your faith?
- Where would your life be today if someone had not invited you into their home or to a gathering, and who specifically could you invite this week?
