18 Nov Devotional

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Assignment 5a: Devotional

Please explain and give thoughts on this devotional

Acts 18:24-28 (Links to an external site.)

Being critiqued from time to time for a sermon that I’ve preached is hard and humbling. My hardest critique doesn’t come from my wife, even though she can be really tough at times. I’m harder on myself than anyone else. I want to preach the perfect sermon, however, I don’t really think that it’s possible anymore. My seminary professor used to say that the moment he preaches the perfect sermon, that he will stop preaching in fear of messing it up. There is no such thing as a perfect sermon.

In this text, Apollos was an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures. He had credentials! He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. Apollos was bold, but his understanding was limited. Aquila and Priscilla heard him, took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Apollos had three principles that governed his life. First, he was faithful! Apollos ministered with everything he had. He was fervent with his limited knowledge. He was passionate about the scriptures! Secondly, Apollos was available! His lifelong pursuit was filled with traveling and sharing the word of God. He was fulltime in the ministry. He was available for dialogue and spirited debate of the scripture. But the thing that impressed me the most about Apollos is that he was TEACHABLE! When Aquila and Priscilla heard him and critiqued him, Apollos could have rejected them! He could have operated in past success. Apollos could have compared the sizes of their ministries, but instead, he remained teachable. The text implies that when the couple showed him the way of God more accurately, Apollos experienced greater success. If you want to be and remain effective over a lifetime, you must embrace healthy critique and remain teachable!