Legislation is being considered in the UK to ban all forms of mobile phone usage while driving. It is currently illegal to hold a phone or SatNav while driving, with only hands-free access allowed (e.g. a Bluetooth headset, voice command, a dashboard holder or mat, a windscreen mount or a built-in SatNav), but because of the number of accidents where the distraction of a mobile phone is considered a major factor, even banning the use of hands-free phones is being considered.

In 2015, six hundred and sixty thousand drivers in the United States were estimated to use mobile phones each day, while driving behind the wheel during daylight hours. Mobile phone use while driving has become a leading cause of vehicle crashes over the last two decades. This is not the only potential source of distraction for a driver (as any parent of screaming babies or warring toddlers will testify!), but it is one which can be easily remedied. Remove the source of distraction!

Distraction is one of the enemy’s favourite weapons. It is particularly dangerous to us because it looks so attractive; we are often lured to do something which is good, rather than tempted to do something we know to be dangerous or harmful. In the early church, the growth of the church (something good!) had the potential to become something bad, as Acts 6:1-7 describes.

Church growth led to the problem of the Greek-speaking widows being overlooked in the process of food distribution (Acts 6:1). This was a real problem, because the protection of and provision for widows was a key part of the church’s call to mirror God’s nature and obey God’s laws (see Deut 24:19-21). However, the solution proposed by the apostles recognised the important principle that they should not be distracted from their primary calling (to prayer and the ministry of the word) in order to solve the problem. (Acts 6:2)

It would have been easy for them to seek to solve the problem themselves, but if they had done so, they would have had less time to devote to their primary calling. This is what distraction does to us. It offers us new opportunities for service and leads us down the path of diversion. There will undoubtedly be times when God leads us in new directions and we may well have to be diverted from our everyday routines and jobs. But we need to seek God’s leading in all things and understand our primary calling. The enemy loves to distract us, very often with good causes and new opportunities, but we need wisdom, as Nehemiah showed when the opportunity to leave the work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem came up: “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” (Nehemiah 6:3) He knew what God had called him to do and he refused to be distracted or diverted from it (with the result that the walls were rebuilt in an incredible 52 days!)

It’s easy for us to look at the apostles and think they were being inflexible. Actually, the solution they proposed (appointing others full of the Holy Spirit to do this work) was wise: delegation is an important strategy, since we all have different giftings and callings and need to use these in God’s service. More than anything, in knowing their calling and role, they demonstrated what is the very essence of success in God. To be successful is simply to do His will, to follow His calling for our lives. That will differ for each one of us, but if we continue with our gaze fixed on Jesus (Col 3:1-3, Heb 12:1-2), we will not be distracted or diverted from the race marked out for us.

We often have a very naïve and rose-coloured view of the early church, believing this to be a golden age when nothing ever went wrong. By contrast, we see the differences, disputes and divisions in the church nowadays very clearly and often get disheartened by these. As we study Acts 6:1-7, however, we see how differences and disputes can be handled so that division is not the end result, and this acts as a spur to us in our own everyday disputes and differences.

The devil loves to promote and keep our attention on differences and disputes in order to create division and disunity. Paul warns us against this, telling us to ‘make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.’ (Eph 4:3) He stresses the unity of the Godhead in order to make us realise the importance and relevance of unity: ‘There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.’ (Eph 4:4-6)

The Bible is very clear that differences will always abound and are to be embraced and appreciated. We are all different and there is a place for each one of us in the body of Christ (see 1 Cor 12:12-14, Rom 12:4-8). When disputes arise because of these differences (in this passage, the dispute was that the Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the distribution of food, a fact no one seems to have actually disputed), we can either let the dispute escalate to the point where we are divided and no longer want to work together, or we can bring the dispute to God and to the church and seek to work through the differences to find a solution (usually compromise is required at this point!) It requires maturity to do this and many people leave churches because of unresolved conflict which is never really addressed, often dealing with relative minor matters.

Grumbling and complaining, trying to sweep issues under the carpet and not addressing problems almost always leads to division and disunity. By bringing the dispute into the open and seeking God’s solution, the apostles showed us that disputes can be resolved. The solution of appointing Spirit-filled men to oversee the food distribution, freeing the apostles to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word, worked and everyone was happy and united.

If we are to overcome disputes and divisions, we have to understand the Biblical precedent of honouring others above ourselves (see 1 Cor 10:24, 33; Phil 2:2-4), clothing ourselves with love (see Col 3:12-14) and striving for unity. This is hard work; it isn’t something that comes easily to us and does indeed require a spiritual perspective which helps us to explain the criteria demanded (‘to be full of the Spirit and wisdom’, Acts 6:3). Only as we see unity as integral to God and to His church will we be able to embrace differences without becoming divided.

Diversity is a bit of a buzzword in today’s society, especially when associated with ‘equality and diversity’ training in the workplace. The truth about diversity is indisputable, however: we are all different and diversity is to be found everywhere.

In Acts 6:1-7, we see how the apostles reacted when faced with the logistical problem of feeding so many widows. We’re not sure how many people were involved, but with the church growing at a fast pace (5,000 believers were mentioned in Acts 4:4 and the number had probably grown by then, as Acts 6:1 indicates), this was not an easy task. As a result, some Greek-speaking Jews complained that their widows were being overlooked in the daily food distribution.

The apostles’ response indicated that there needed to be diversity in ministry: ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.’ (Acts 6:2-4) There is no indication that the ministry of the word of God is more important than waiting on tables, simply a recognition that we are all called to different ministries (ways of serving God and the church.) Paul taught about this in 1 Cor 12:7-31, reminding us that even though the body is made up of many parts, it’s still one body and all parts are equally needed.

When we recognise the diversity of gifts and ministry in the church, the church can flourish. One person doesn’t have to do it all. We need different people to do different jobs: cleaning the church, making drinks, sorting finances, ordering equipment, teaching the Bible, leading worship, working the words on the projector, welcoming people into meetings, teaching children and so on. The apostles recognised that God had called them to prayer and the ministry of the word and they couldn’t do this if they were overseeing the distribution of food, so other people were appointed to do that.

The criteria for service are not simply skill or willingness, though both of these things are key. Service is spiritual, therefore the apostles wanted the church to choose men ‘known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.’ (Acts 2:3) In all things, we need to be spiritual people, people born again of the Spirit of God and seeking to live according to His ways and wisdom. There really is no division between our service to God. Whatever our roles, however we serve God, we are required to be people full of the Spirit and wisdom, for there’s no other way to serve God.

I was a very young Christian when I first heard the Michael Card album ‘Scandalon’ (still one of my all-time favourites) which introduced me to the Biblical notion that Jesus is ‘a stone that makes men stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ (‘Scandalon’, quoting Isaiah 8:14, Rom 9:33, 1 Pet 2:8) I am profoundly grateful that I learned this lesson early on in my Christian pilgrimage, for it disabused me of any notion that Jesus is nice.

‘Nice’ is one of the most over-used words in the English language. I learned that Jesus is radical, counter-cultural, devotedly obedient, passionately loving and wholly committed to doing God’s will, but is not the nice, saccharine, tame, people-pleasing Messiah many would like Him to be.

Jesus offended many people, especially religious people who thought they’d got God in a nicely ornamented and contained box and who missed the point entirely as a result. He continues to offend people today, especially the churchgoers who think they are safe and secure in their religion, smug and self-righteous. To be honest, if Jesus doesn’t offend us, there is a problem. Grace is outrageous, as the parable Dave expounded last night shows us. Forgiveness is revolutionary. Mercy chops down pride at the roots and love is not our instinctive response to anything that threatens our independence and comfort. If we’re not offended by Jesus, we haven’t really encountered Him or haven’t fully understood His message.

There has been talk recently of Christian leaders renouncing the faith and in the midst of all this is a common theme: how do we respond to the tough questions of life?

Christianity is simple, but not easy. We don’t have satisfactory answers to many of life’s tough questions about sin, evil and suffering; the answers we have give us glimpses into God’s ways, but we cannot reduce God’s nature to a simplistic formula. We worship the all-mighty, all-loving God who is, nonetheless, a mystery to us in so many ways and it can feel like walking a tightrope at times as we we wrestle with the paradox of love and justice, mercy and judgment, sovereignty and free will. Paul says we know in part now (1 Cor 13:9) and accepting the limitations of our knowledge is not always easy.

Faith is not always about perfect, sunny days when everything in the garden is rosy. If we read the Bible, we find Jacob wrestling with God (Gen 32:22-32); we read Jeremiah’s laments and arguments with God (Jer 20:7-18); we find people who are fiercely honest and often confused, bewildered, hurt and angry with God, just as we are at times. None of these reactions precludes faith and an ongoing relationship with God. God can handle every question and every mood we throw at Him without them changing His love for us or altering His nature in any way.

If we are sincerely honest with God and willing to allow His Spirit to change us, the fact that we don’t have all the answers will ultimately not longer be a stumbling-block to us but simply another stone to climb over. Rock-climbing can become our favourite pastime, unbelievable though that sounds!

Dave spoke from Matt 20:1-16 tonight, a parable about a farmer who owned a vineyard and employed labourers to pick the grapes in the harvest. This is a parable which offends us deeply, for the workers who were employed late in the day ended up earning the same as those who had worked all day and we can easily identify with those first workers who were offended and angry with the farmer. To us, this parable seems unfair, reinforcing bad business practices and creating resentment among the workforce – and since Jesus specifically said the kingdom of heaven is like this, we wonder if this means there are no rewards for hard work in God’s kingdom and if we can trust God or if He is as fickle as the farmer.

The parable is really about provision (for a day’s work was necessary if the workers were going to eat) and about God’s amazing, outrageous grace. When we get what we deserve, that is justice – but is justice what we always need? None of us could ever deserve or earn God’s favour or love. When we don’t get what we deserve, that is mercy – and all of us need God’s mercy. When we get what we don’t deserve, however, that is grace, and this parable reminds us starkly of the nature of grace.

Most of us live with a tit-for-tat mentality until we experience God’s lavish grace for ourselves. We bring this mentality to our dealings with God, bargaining with him as the workers did with the farmer (who actually paid the earlier workers exactly what had been agreed, so they did not have any legitimate complaints about his justice.) This leads us to compare ourselves with others, resulting either in pride (feeling we are so much better than someone else) or in despair. We find it almost unbelievable that salvation is free and everyone – regardless of our efforts, temperaments, circumstances or personality – can receive salvation for free. We may pay lip service to this truth, but the resentment which colours our attitudes towards others often reveals the true depths of our hearts.

When we grasp the enormity of God’s grace, we won’t want to quibble with Him about how He treats other people. Instead, we will be overwhelmed by gratitude, immensely grateful for all He has given us. We have received the gift of inexhaustible love; we have been blessed in ways we can never fully comprehend. People overwhelmed by grace don’t complain; they simply respond in thankfulness and praise.