Small Shifts, Big Faith: Taking a Moment to Sit (Part IX)

Sermon Title: Small Shifts, Big Faith – Taking a Moment to Sit

Good News Statement: Jesus encourages his church to be alive

Summary: The church isn’t perfect but yet is willing to grow in faith, practice love, and be alive today and tomorrow.

Preached: Sunday, August 9^th, 2026 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSVUE): Acts 8:26-40 Today’s scripture passage comes from the Book of Acts. In this specific passage, Philip finds himself in the presence of an Ethiopian Eunuch. Philip sees that the Eunuch needs Jesus, so he decides to sit with him. Could we do the same thing? Our scripture reading comes from the Book of Acts Chapter Eight, Verses Twenty-six thru Forty. May the hearing and understanding of this scripture add a blessing to your life?

 

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

²⁶ Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) ²⁷ So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” ³⁰ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. ³² Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” ³⁸ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

 

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

Introduction:

The ministry of Jesus Christ has been shared. Healings have been performed. The blind were able to see and the lame able to walk. Those demon possessed were set free. The chains of the oppressed were broken. People began to believe and prayed to have their “unbelief turn into belief” (Mark 9:24). Some were even raised from the dead to breathe again. And some were welcomed home after being outcast to the dark, damp, tombs outside of the city walls.

Then, after riding into Jerusalem on a never before ridden donkey and being praised as the people laid their cloaks on the ground as shouts of “Hosannas” filled the air, Jesus is turned over to the religious leaders of the day. Jesus is questioned and tortured by the Roman soldiers—beaten nearly to death—prior to receiving a crown of thorns and a purple robe as a sign of earthly mockery. He was presented to the people in the presence of Pontius Pilate, who said, “But what crime has he committed? I cannot find anything he has done to deserve death! I will have him whipped and set him free” (Luke 23:22, GNT). To which the people responded, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Luke 23:20, GNT). Luke 23:24 states, “So Pilate passed the sentence on Jesus that they were asking for.”

Jesus is marched from the palace to Calvary, bearing the weight of the cross—most likely the horizontal beam—as excruciating pain shot through his body with every step, as blood dripped from his head to the ground, soaking the dirty road beneath his feet, and as both cries and shouts surrounded him. On Calvary, he hung on the cross for six hours before taking his last breath and proclaiming “It is finished” (John 19:30). Then he was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Three days later he rose from the dead to prove that death does not have the last word, that a tomb sealed by a large stone could not withhold him, and that an instrument of death—the cross—is a promise of hope and salvation. And now, after 40 days of walking this earth in his resurrected form, he has ascended to heaven; but before leaving this earth, he gave his apostles and disciples a challenge: to keep the church alive.

This is where the Book of Acts comes into play. For those that are unaware, the Book of Acts (or sometimes called the Acts of the Apostles), written during the time of 33AD to 62AD, is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Luke was a physician back in the day and has been credited to write the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. The theme of Luke’s writing after the ascension of Jesus Christ is focused on how the Holy Spirit empowers believers to declare the gospel among both Jews and Gentiles. In doing so they establish the church, which is the fulfillment of God’s promises from the beginning of time. Jesus states in Matthew 16:18, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Luke’s purpose for writing the Book of Acts—the journey and testimony of Paul and the rise and growth of the early church—was to give an orderly account of the early church after Christ’s resurrection; and to highlight the notion that keeping the church alive was not, is not, and will not be easy. But keeping the church alive is necessary. So, for the next several weeks, we are going to explore certain themes sprinkled throughout the Book of Acts which I believe remind us of how important it is to keep the church alive today for tomorrow. And the question I propose to you is this: “What are we doing and could be doing to keep our church and the whole Church—the body of Christ—alive?”

 

Body:

On a bench along the outer wall of the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater in Los Angeles, California, sits a full-size bronze statue of Albert Einstein with his right index finger held roughly a foot from his face. The most famous scientist of the 20^th century isn’t depicted in a laboratory per-se, nor is he seen wearing a white jacket with a microscope resting on his lap. The bronze statue shows Einstein outside, wearing a sports jacket with a vest and button-down shirt while resting on an ordinary bench outside. His pose and gaze send the message of “Hey, come and sit with me and observe the stars.” Even the most sought after people, most brilliant of people, and the most influential people have been found sitting on benches all over the world: resting, observing, and still thinking.

Putting Einstein on a bench is not absurd or even out of this world. In fact in March 1929, The New York Times quoted Einstein explaining his theory of relativity by using the analogy of sitting with someone you love on bench. He wrote, “When you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think its two hours, but when you sit with someone you love for two hours you think it’s only been a minute.”[1] For those that have fallen in love, these words probably speak some truth: time seems to slow down when you are with the one that changes your life.

When was the last time you sat on a bench? When was the last time you sat with someone and didn’t think about the things you have to do, the places you need to go, or wondered about every sound or vibration your phone made while it sat in your pocket? When was the last time you simply sat down? Studies have suggested that “One in four [Americans] sits for more than eight hours a day.”[2] We love to sit! Sitting gives us time to relax and rest, some work while they sit, and most people sit while they eat. But, how often do we sit simply to be with someone in our life?

Our story from Acts 8:26-40 is a story of what happens when we take a moment to “sit.” God gave the deacon Philip a moment to sit with an Ethiopian Eunuch Treasurer, who didn’t believe in Christ but wanted to learn about Christ and needed help with doing so. Because Philip sat with this Eunuch, what was only a few hours turned into a lesson that lasted a life time. The Eunuch needed help and Philip was there to sit with him. Who are you willing to sit with today? Who are we, as a church, willing to sit with?

There are a few things I want to mention this morning that I found faith worthy in our text: everyone you meet needs the Lord, listen to the prompting of the spirit, and point people to Jesus.

 

Movement One: Everyone You Meet Needs the Lord…

Hear these words from Luke’s writing of Acts 8:26-40: “Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth. (Isaiah 53:7). The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.”

Our first point is “Everyone You Meet Needs the Lord.” Verse 27 says that on the Gaza road where the Lord sent Philip, “there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury….” So this Ethiopian Eunuch—who is unnamed and who is unable to produce offspring—is not just some Eunuch. He is a high ranking royal official to the Queen’s treasury. He was the treasurer of their whole country; today he would have the title of something like “The Minister of Finance” or “The Secretary of the Treasury.” He was a big shot in his country, which was not what we think of as “Ethiopia” today. The ancient nation of Cush, in what is now Sudan, was a nation of dark-skinned peoples that the Jews considered to be “the ends of the earth.” This man was well-off, traveling in a chariot, not walking or riding a donkey. The opposite of the ends of the earth. But despite his riches and position and physical characteristics, he still needed the Lord. Furthermore, this man was a very religious man: he had access to religious scrolls. But despite that, he still did not know the Lord. He was reading Isaiah 53, and didn’t know who it was talking about. He needed someone to share Jesus with him. And God had Philip go up to his chariot to lead him to Christ.

This is a good lesson for us today: everyone you meet, whoever they are, wherever they happen to be, needs the Lord. Now, some people you meet may already know the Lord, but if they don’t, they need Him, no matter who they are, what riches they seem to have, or what position they hold. I was told a story some time ago that involved a family going on a cruise ship. They were paired with a lady during an excursion who told everyone she met about Jesus. It didn’t matter who someone was, what they believed, how they acted, the words they said, or even how they looked: this lady told people about Jesus because in her heart everyone needed to know about Jesus. I’m sure if she had a little Jesus figurine with her, she would have handed everyone a figurine and said, “Everyone needs a little Jesus in their life.” Philip, by the prompting of the angel, sat with someone who needed a little Jesus.

Believe it or not, the Bible tells us the same thing. The Apostle Paul wrote, when writing to the Romans, “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We have all sinned against God: rich, poor, white, black, American citizen, every race. We have all sinned in our thoughts, words, deeds, attitudes, and things left undone. And we all have an empty place in our hearts that only God can fill. That’s why Jesus came: to die on the cross and pay for our sins, so that “WHOEVER would call on the name of the Lord would be saved.” Whoever believes that God so loved the world that He gave his only-begotten Son will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Whoever will admit their sin, and turn from their sin and trust Jesus as their Savior will be forgiven, given a home in heaven with God forever, and He will send His Holy Spirit into their heart to give them the relationship they need with Him, and the “love, joy, and peace” they are looking for.

That is the gospel. But we need to understand that EVERYBODY needs that gospel. There is no class distinction. There is no financial distinction. In the words of Paul, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Everybody we meet needs the Lord. Everybody we meet needs a little Jesus. Everybody we meet needs someone to sit with them.

Church, who have we missed that needs to know about Jesus? Who in our life could use a little Jesus? Have we let differences stop us from sharing the message of Jesus Christ? The people we may have missed may live in a cardboard shack, or they may live in a showplace. They may be very rich, or they may be “down and out.” They may be white, or black, or something in between. They may be atheists, or they may be “very religious” but they ALL need the Lord.  We need to understand that unless they are already saved, every single person we meet needs the Lord, and we need to watch for opportunities to share Christ with them. What do we need to do to make that happen?

 

Movement Two: Listen to the Prompting of the Spirit

The second lesson we learn from this text is we need to “listen to the prompting of the Spirit.” Verse 29 reads, “Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’” The next verse states, “So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’” (Acts 8:30). Philip didn’t hesitate. Remember what I talked about last week: not being afraid to do something new or to make changes? Philip is doing something new, encountering a change in his life and he isn’t backing away or trying his best to come up with excuses, like Moses. He reacts without hesitation. He ran to the Eunuch. He listens to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and reacts. He doesn’t know what the outcome may be. He doesn’t know the future. He doesn’t even know if this Eunuch is a good guy or not. All he knows is that he was prompted by the Holy Spirit do something now.

Let me share with you a story to highlight what is happening. In 2014, a pastor and his wife, Cheryl, were living in Norman, Oklahoma. One winter afternoon about 4:00 the pastor suddenly had a strong urge to go out and check the mail in the 26 degree weather, and the mailbox was 60 or 70 yards across the parking lot from his condo. When he got to our mailbox, there was nothing in it! He started back to the condo, puzzled, and wondering, “I had such a strong impression to go. Why would God lead me to walk all the way out there in this cold, only to find an empty mailbox?” He had not taken two more steps when he heard a voice: “Excuse me!” He looked and there was a young lady, with no jacket on, who said that she had just locked herself out of her apartment, and needed help making a phone call. The pastor told her his wife was at home, and they could call from there. The two ended up taking this lady to her work, which was not far, where she had a key. On the way they were also able to talk to her about the Lord, and mentioned that the church they attended was just a couple of blocks from her job. The pastor gave her his card and put his wife’s cell number on it, in case she ever needed them again. Looking at this story, that “empty mailbox” sure made a lot more sense!

This is one of the most important things we need to learn, to effectively witness and minister in our community: Listen to the prompting of God’s Spirit and do something about it. John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer is a really good example of allowing God to use you and our church to help those in need. Wesley prayed every morning, “I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

Maybe if we prayed this prayer every day, we would realize all the possibilities that God wants to use us: “put me to what thou wilt… put me to doing… let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing.” This is not just a prayer of surrender. It is a prayer of realizing that you want God to do something in your life, that you want God to use you, that you want God to prompt you do something for someone else. It is prayer that says, “Lord, help me help you by helping someone in my life.” It is a prayer that invites that church to say, “Lord, let us do something for you, for those in our pews, for those outside our walls.” It is a prayer that invites everyone to listen to God so that all can be prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something. When He says something in your heart, DO IT!

Like Philip, when God says, “Go up and join this chariot,” DO IT!  Like the pastor when going to the mailbox, when God says, “Go to the mailbox, get up and go to the mailbox!” When you’re in a room at some function and God says, “Just walk across the room” then just walk across the room! If we hesitate every time God told us to do something, think of all the missed opportunities, think of all the people that could have been helped, think of the ways the church could have grown, improved, and become a place people want to attend. The early church didn’t grow because it waited: it grew and lives today because it listened and responded. Some things worked. Some things failed. Some things were talked about but nothing happened. The early church did something.

Church, there are too many people sitting in “chariots” wanting to know or needing to know about Jesus. There are too many people needing some sort of help. When God tells us to sit in the chariot, then we can’t hesitate. We must act before the moment is lost. When we choose to listen and respond it’s not just that person that is receiving help: we are also being helped. Let’s not be a church that only listens. Let’s be a church that listens and does.

 

Movement Three: Point People to Jesus

The third point is “Point People to Jesus.” Verse 31 states, “[The Eunuch] replied, “’How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.’” This is the most important thing that Philip did here: he shared Christ with that Ethiopian official. When he went up to the chariot, he saw that he was reading the scroll of Isaiah the prophet, and he asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (A great opening line, by the way!) The man said, “How could I, unless someone guides me?” So Philip went up and joined him in the chariot, and they looked at Isaiah 53 together. The Ethiopian asked him who is Isaiah speaking about, and verse 35 says: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he preached Jesus to him.”

That’s the key, right there: “He preached Jesus to him.” Isaiah 53 was prophesying about Jesus. Isaiah was written 700 years before the time of Christ, but it speaks of how the One, the Messiah, was coming who would be “led like a sheep to slaughter,” and it goes on to say “We, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” That is so obviously speaking about Jesus—and it was written 700 years before He was ever born!  Jesus was slaughtered on our behalf of our sins with hopes that we would return to God after traveling down our own path.

Philip explained to him how this was all fulfilled in Jesus, who was led like a lamb to slaughter before Pontius Pilate, was killed on the cross, but He bore our sins in His body, paying for our sins, forgiving our sins—but He rose from the dead three days later proving that He was Lord and God, and now whoever will believe in Him will be saved. Philip “preached Jesus to him.” As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Philip could have just said, “You are reading about Jesus” and then walked away, giving the Ethiopian food for thought for a little while. But instead, he preached to him, giving him something to feed upon for the rest of his life. Philip preached about Jesus, taught about Jesus, and shared about Jesus.  Jesus was what this Ethiopian treasurer needed to hear and receive. Isaiah gave the Eunuch an understanding for a day, but Philip preached on Isaiah giving the Eunuch Jesus for a lifetime.

In the same way, we need to remember that Jesus is what the people need. The people we meet don’t just need “religion;” they don’t just need to “go to church.” They don’t even need to just “read their Bible every day;” what they need is Jesus. Only Jesus can save. We need to remember this as God gives us opportunities to share with people. When we get those opportunities, let’s be sure that we share Jesus. Especially that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. That’s the heart of the gospel: Jesus saves (Luke 19:10). Put your faith in Jesus. We need to point people to Jesus. And sometimes, that means meeting people where they are.

If you noticed in this text, Philip is promoted by an angel to “get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza…” (Acts 8:26). Philip is told to go just like Peter is told to go while in prison and just like the disciples are told to go in the Great Commission before Jesus ascends to heaven (Matthew 28:19-20). Along this road, Philip encountered the Ethiopian Eunuch because he went. Philip meets the Eunuch where he is. The Eunuch doesn’t come to Philip: Philip goes to the Eunuch. Philip had church on the open road in a chariot with someone who wasn’t considered a believer, just a reader of scripture. And the Eunuch needed help.

Church, when we take the time to point people to Jesus, their life begins to change. When talking about baptism, Philip orders the chariot to stop at a body of water. The text says, “And both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:38-39).[3] Besides Philip just “poofing” into thin air and being transported somewhere, something else happens here. When we take the time to point others to Jesus—help others learn about Jesus—God will take over. God will lead them to the next step. God will begin to wash away their sins as the waters of baptism wash over them. God will lead them to paths of righteousness. God will guide their footsteps. God will show them mercy, compassion, and grace. God will never leave them. God will take care of them. The point is, our ability to point people toward Jesus—to teach them about Jesus—is planting the seed; and from there, God will nurture them with what they need to understand who Jesus is and what Jesus does at they grow in their faith.

In your life, who have you or who are you pointing to Jesus? Who are you teaching Jesus to? Who are you helping? Because Philip took the time to help the Eunuch, he didn’t just give him Jesus for a day, he gave the Eunuch Jesus for a lifetime. How can we do the same thing in our life?

 

Movement Four: “Go, Therefore…”

This leads us to our challenge as a church. Before I share this challenge, I invite you to hear these words from Matthew 25:34-36 and 40, “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.…Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’”

Church, when God needs us to make sure everyone needs Jesus, to be prompted to do the work of Jesus, and to point others toward Jesus, we have to do so by meeting people where they are. We have to meet them on the open road. We have to approach their chariot. We have to be willing to feed them, to clothe them, to offer them something to drink, to care for them, to welcome them, and to visit them. And we have to be willing to sit with them. What does this look like from out context? Well, as a church, we have donated to the Oblong Food Pantry; each year we financially donate to certain organizations that are helping those in need; we provide assistance to families both within and outside our congregation that are experiencing hardships; we come together as a church to support one another and to celebrate one another; we pray; we show compassion and mercy; we extend grace; and we share ideas and suggestions that can potentially keep our church alive. To be clear, I’m not boasting about our church (although it is easy to do so!). But I am proud of how, throughout the years, our church has found a way to sit with people.

However, who else could we be sitting with today? Could we support more local organizations than just the Food Pantry? Could we give more to the Food Pantry? Are there other organizations that we could financially support? Are there more families in our community that we should be helping? Are there people within these walls that need our help with something? Are there things in are church that we need to be doing to stay alive? Who else could we be praying for? Who are hungry, thirsty, and needing clothes? Who can we welcome? Who can we visit and check-in on? Who needs to receive a card from a loving church? Who can we sit with today?

You know, when giving the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sat down. When teaching from the boat, Jesus sat down. When in the synagogue in Nazareth after reading the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus sat down before speaking to the people. Jesus sat down with the people and changed their life. I wonder what would happen if we took a moment to sit down with people in our own life. I wonder what would happen in the life of the church if we met people where they were and sat down with them.

In an attempt to put this moment in the early church into action today, before us on the altar are twenty-four (24) zip-lock bags filled with a small bottle of water, a sucker, a Slim Jim, trail mix, a granola bar, a gift card to McDonalds, scripture readings, a little sheep, and a little Jesus. These bags are meant to be taken by you—one bag per family—and shared with someone who you think is in need—someone who is sitting in a “chariot” needing to feel the love of Jesus in their life. And here’s the thing: these bags don’t have legs, so like Philip you will have to meet that person in need wherever they are. The church didn’t grow and become alive because it waited for people to find the love of Jesus: it grew because the love of Jesus was taken to them. Your challenge is to do the same thing.

My hope and prayer today is twofold. First, that these bags do in fact bless someone’s life with the love of Christ and that this simple bag reminds that person that they are heard and seen. Second, that these bags inspire us as a church to find more ways to help those in need: to let others know that we are here, to see a need and fulfill a need, and to be motivated to share Jesus with everyone, to point people to Jesus, and to not be afraid to pursue what the Holy Spirit nudges us to do.

 

Conclusion:

On a bench along the outer wall of the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater in Los Angeles, California, a full-size bronze statue of Albert Einstein sits on a bench with his right index finger held roughly a foot from his face inviting others to join him as he takes in the beauty and wonder of God’s creation.

When was the last time you sat with someone? In our text today, Philip taught us that everyone needs Jesus, that we are prompted to do Christ’s work on this earth, and that we are to point people to Jesus. But most importantly he taught us how meeting someone where they are and sitting with them can change their life. The early church thrived because, again, it met people where they were—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually—and along the way it learned the significance of taking time to sit with people. Church, who are we sitting with today and who needs us to sit with them today? Are there opportunities by which we can do a better job of meeting people where they are? Are there things within our own church that need our attention? Who needs a little Jesus in their life?

This week, when you sit down—to relax, rest, eat a meal, or just visit—think about the people that are sitting with you, think about the people that aren’t sitting with you, think about the people that you could invite to sit with you; and as you do that, take a moment to thank those, especially Jesus, who, no matter their schedule, are willing to sit with you. It’s those people that can make two hours feel like a minute. Who are you willing to sit with? Who is seeking your help?

Let it be so…

 

Closing Prayer:

Let us pray… Dear Jesus, thank you for sitting with us in all moments of life. Thank you for meeting us where we are. And thank you for reminding us of how much we need you in our life. O Lord, guide us today to take time to sit with others and to help them in any way that we can. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Benediction:

Church, who are we sitting with and who can we be sitting with? This week, take a moment to sit with someone: ask them how they are doing, share a little Jesus with them, and see how you can help them. A church that wants to be alive is a church that meets people where they are and sits with those in need. May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; and May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit go forth being the church God needs all of us to be. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.

 

 

[1] “Quote Origin: Relativity: A Hot Stove and A Pretty Girl,” published on November 24, 2014, updated on January 2, 2025, and accessed on August 3, 2026: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/11/24/hot-stove/

[2] National Library of Medicine, “Americans sit too much, CDS says,” published November 20, 2018, accessed August 3, 2026: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/7546/

[3] But the question of the Ethiopian is a question for us today too: “What prevents YOU from being baptized?” If you have never been baptized, what IS keeping you from being baptized?

— maybe you have never put your faith in Jesus as your Lord & Savior. Maybe you still have some questions about it. Don’t just leave it where you are. FIND out more about it. Talk to me or talk to somebody else you trust today. Nail this down. Give your life to Christ, and then follow through by being baptized.

— or maybe you HAVE given your life to Christ, but you have just gotten busy, or didn’t realize the importance of it, or whatever, but you have never been baptized. You need to do it.

— or maybe TODAY you are giving your life to Christ for the first time. You have heard this message today, and understand it, and TODAY, right now, you are giving your life to Christ in your heart. If so, you are saved right now, as you trust Jesus in your heart. But as we have been talking about, you need to be baptized, and make that public confession of Christ as your Lord & Savior in baptism.

— Or maybe there IS something that is “keeping you from being baptized.” Maybe you’ve thought it wasn’t that important, if you don’t “need” it to be saved — but Jesus commanded His followers to be baptized. If He is your Lord, one of the evidences of the reality of His Lordship in your life is that you will obey Him in baptism.

Maybe you’re thinking it’d be hard to be baptized in front of all those people … But Jesus said, “If you confess Me before men, I’ll confess you before My Father who is in heaven …” It IS important to be baptized.