This morning I've been working on some reading for my sermon on Acts 15, and wondered what the time lapse was from Acts 10-11 which we looked at last time I preached.  I then wondered about the time lapses to Acts 17 and Acts 28, the other stopping off places in our journey through July and into August (four preaching Sundays).

It seems that the book of Acts covers a period of roughly three decades and, as luck/serendipity/Sophia would have it, the four stories seem to occur pretty much equi-spaced throughout that time.  Thus, for example, around ten years elapse between Peter and Cornelius and the Council at Jerusalem.  I think this is significant/important and something that is easily missed... the issue of what was required of Gentiles was not resolved in a few days, the 'paradigm shift' wasn't achieved in the 'twinkling of an eye', it all took time, lots of it.  This is not the main thread in my upcoming sermon, but it's a valid one.

Here's something to ponder, which may or may not find its way into the end result... What were the issues in church that occupied your mind a decade ago?  Are they still live today?  What has changed?  What hasn't changed?

Rome - and the Church - was not built in a day.  Sometimes we need to be reminded of that.

Oh, for amusement, according to the timeline I looked at, The Council at Jerusalem coincided roughly with the Roman invasion of Britain... I wonder where the use of wode/woad (spelling seems interchangeable) might have fitted in to the edicts given...?