May 18, 2025

Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbus

“Love Crosses the Line"

by Rev. Trip Porch

May 18, 2025                                                                                                                                                                Based on Acts 11:1–18

I want to start today with a simple question: Have you ever been told you didn’t belong? That you were too different, too complicated, too outside-the-box to fit in? Maybe you were told it directly. Or maybe it was more subtle—a look, a rule, a closed door.

Acts 11 is a story for anyone who has ever felt left out, unworthy, or unwelcome. It’s also a story for anyone—perhaps all of us—who has ever drawn a line in the sand and decided who’s in and who’s out. Because here’s what we discover in this passage: Whenever we draw lines, Jesus steps over them. Whenever we build walls, God knocks them down. Whenever we try to shrink the circle of love, the Spirit expands it wider than we could imagine. And if that kind of boundary-breaking love feels disruptive—if it scandalizes us—we’re in good company. It scandalized the early church too

Let’s take a closer look.

Peter has just come back from visiting a Roman centurion named Cornelius—a Gentile, an outsider. Not only did Peter go to his house (which was already a big faux pas for a devout Jew), but he shared the good news of Jesus with him and even baptized him and his whole household.

Now the other apostles and believers back in Jerusalem aren’t exactly celebrating. They’re scandalized.
“You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them?!… Peter, you crossed a line. You let the wrong people in.”

So Peter explains that He had a vision—three times!—of unclean animals being lowered from heaven. And God said, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” Peter pushed back: “No way, God. I’ve never eaten anything impure.”
And God said, “Do not call anything impure that I have made clean.”

In other words: Stop deciding who’s outside of grace. Stop assuming God is bound by your categories. Stop drawing a circle so small that God can’t even fit inside it.

Right after having the vision is when Cornelius’ messengers arrived. The Spirit told Peter, “Go with them—without hesitation.” So he did. And to his amazement, as he preached, the Holy Spirit fell upon these gentile outsiders, just like at Pentecost. And Peter says something remarkable:
“If God gave them the same gift of hearing this message and understanding it that we were given… who was I to hinder God?”
I don’t think this is just a story about Peter’s awakening or about the church having their eyes opened. It’s a story about a God was already beyond the bounds the church had said, already beyond us working in love, just waiting to be discovered. Before Peter preached a word, before the believers back home could catch up, the Spirit was already moving in Cornelius’ household. Already embracing. Already including.

Because God’s love doesn’t wait for our permission to expand. Over and over again in Scripture, we see it:
— God calling Abram to be a blessing to all nations.
— Ruth the foreigner Moabite becoming part of the lineage of Jesus.
— The Samaritan woman at the well becoming the first evangelist.
— The Ethiopian eunuch baptized on the side of the road.
— And now Cornelius, a Roman officer, receiving the Spirit of God.

God keeps breaking through every boundary we try to build.

This isn’t just about individual salvation. This is about the shape of the church and even the shape of society—about who gets to belong, and whose stories are heard, and whose lives matter. Acts 11 shows us that diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just political buzzwords—they are sacred practices.

Diversity is part of God’s design. The Spirit is drawing together people of every language, nation, gender, and background—not to erase differences, but to celebrate them. The Body of Christ was never meant to be homogenous.

Equity is how the early church learns that God’s gifts aren’t rationed. Cornelius and his family don’t get a lesser version of the Holy Spirit. They receive the same gift. Full dignity. Full belonging.

Inclusion is the Gospel on the move—reaching those who’ve been shut out, building community where there was once division, drawing the circle wider, again and again. 

And just like in Acts, there are still voices today—some even in religious or political power—who are scandalized by this kind of expansive love. There are still people who say, “You can’t welcome them.” “You shouldn’t affirm those people.” “You’ve gone too far.”

But Peter's question still echoes: Who are we to hinder God? Because we still draw lines everyone in our society.

Lines of race, politics, religion, gender, sexuality, class, nationality. We decide who’s in and who’s out.
We cling to systems that benefit the few and exclude the many. Often it is the government enforcing those lines, and making them more rigid. But Sometimes churches draw those lines. Sometimes we draw them in our own hearts.

But Jesus keeps showing up on the other side of any line people draw. And the Spirit keeps whispering,
“Do not call unworthy what I have called beloved.”
But when we allow God to expand our hearts, when we let the Spirit challenge our boundaries, we begin to see the world—and each other—differently. Peter went from arguing with God…to crossing the threshold of a stranger’s home…to baptizing people he never thought would be part of God’s story. And by the end of Acts 11, even the skeptics in Jerusalem say,
“Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.” Even to them. Even to us. Even to you.

Beloved, the good news today is that the circle keeps widening. And every time we try to shrink it back down,
Jesus meets us—not with shame—but with a vision. A vision of welcome. Of healing. Of radical inclusion.

So may we be brave enough to follow Christ across the lines we’ve drawn. May we become a people who live out God’s vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion— not because it’s trendy, but because it’s true to who God is.

And may we find joy, again and again, in discovering that the love of God has already gone ahead of us.

To those of you in our community who are graduating, here’s what I think this scripture might offer you.

This is a big moment. For years now, your life has been held within the familiar rhythms of school and family and community—within people who know you, who see you, and who support you. And now you’re about to step into something new. Maybe it’s exciting. Maybe it’s terrifying. Maybe it’s a bit of both.

Some of you will be moving away, or starting work, or entering new communities that don’t know your story yet. You’ll face questions about who you are and where you belong. You may walk into rooms where you feel like the outsider. You may wonder if your voice matters. So here is what I want you to remember: God is already wherever you’re going. The Spirit of love that met Cornelius before Peter even got there—the same Spirit is ahead of you now.

Before you unpack your boxes, before you walk into your first class or meeting or dorm lounge—God is already there, waiting to meet you, and to remind you that you are beloved. And just as Peter discovered new dimensions of God’s love in unfamiliar places, so will you. You will meet people who are not like you. You will grow in ways you didn’t expect. You will be challenged. You will be stretched.
And I hope—oh, how I hope—you will be surprised by grace.

So take heart. Be bold. Cross lines. Ask questions. Open your heart wide. And trust that the God who goes before you
is already preparing a place for you in the next chapter of your story. And wherever you go, this church—your church—will always be a home.

Friends, may we see the lines our society draws and step over them, to discover God’s spirit already stirring in love.
Amen.

WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE 

PRELUDE         "For the Beauty of the Earth (with This is My Father’s World)”               arr. Michael Ware

INTROIT                              “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”                    arr. Paul Sjolund

WELCOME                                                                    Rev. Trip Porch

One: This is the day that the Lord has made

All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  

*CALL TO WORSHIP  

One: Come, all who have been told you don’t belong 

All: Here, Christ opens the door wide.

One: Come, all who’ve drawn lines to keep others out— 

All: Here, God invites us to tear down our walls. 

One: Come, seekers and skeptics, insiders and outsiders—

All: The Spirit is already moving ahead of us.

One: Come and be surprised by grace.

All: Come and be changed by love. Let us worship God. 

*HYMN 319                                                                     “Shout to the North”                                                 SMITH

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                                                                          Marie Boozer

Gracious God, we confess that we often draw boundaries you never drew. We’ve decided who is in and who is out, who is worthy and who is not, even though your love knows no such borders. Forgive us for the times we’ve stayed safe inside our circles, fearing what is unfamiliar or uncomfortable. Break open our hearts, so we might be part of your ever-expanding welcome. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen. 

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON 

*RESONSE OF PRAISE 14          “For the Beauty of the Earth” vs 1,2,5   DIX

*PASSING OF THE PEACE                                       

     One:   The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

     All:      And also with you. 

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD

ANTHEM                              "Laudate Dominum"                                                    WA Mozart

                                                                  Skye Johnson, soprano solo                     

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE                                                                 Marie Boozer

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE   Acts 11:1-18  CEB

The apostles and the brothers and sisters throughout Judea heard that even the Gentiles had welcomed God’s word. When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him. They accused him, “You went into the home of the uncircumcised and ate with them!” Step-by-step, Peter explained what had happened. “I was in the city of Joppa praying when I had a visionary experience. In my vision, I saw something like a large linen sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. It came all the way down to me. As I stared at it, wondering what it was, I saw four-legged animals—including wild beasts—as well as reptiles and wild birds. I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’ I responded, ‘Absolutely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ The voice from heaven spoke a second time, ‘Never consider unclean what God has made pure.’ This happened three times, then everything was pulled back into heaven. At that moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. The Spirit told me to go with them even though they were Gentiles. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered that man’s house. He reported to us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is known as Peter. He will tell you how you and your entire household can be saved.’ When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as the Spirit fell on us in the beginning. I remembered the Lord’s words: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, then who am I? Could I stand in God’s way?” Once the apostles and other believers heard this, they calmed down. They praised God and concluded, “So then God has enabled Gentiles to change their hearts and lives so that they might have new life.”

Holy Wisdom, Holy Word

Thanks be to God

SERMON                                                                                              Rev. Trip Porch

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

*HYMN 754                               “Help Us Accept Each Other”                                         BARONITA

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE  

TIME OF OFFERING    online giving is available at  www. indianolapres.org/give

OFFERTORY                                    “Holy Ground”

                                                                    Andrea Dent and Sophia Haws, soprano duet

*OFFERTORY RESPONSE      “For the Beauty of the Earth” VS. 3,4,5                                                  DIX

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Loving God, we offer these gifts as signs of your love at work in us. Use them—and use us— to widen the circle, heal the breach, and build your beloved community. Amen. 

*HYMN 770                           “I’m Gonna Eat at the Welcome Table”      WELCOME TABLE

TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING 

    Graduate Blessing      Henry Byrne, Keegan Tullis, Heidi White

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

CHORAL RESPONSE                        “Amen”                                                               Peter Lutkin 

POSTLUDE                           "Let Us With a Gladsome Mind"                                 arr. Marla Iyer

Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452