The apostle Paul has to be one of the greatest preachers that ever lived. Just think about it. With only a few companions he spread the gospel throughout the whole Roman world in just twenty years. So what should we think about a bunch of folks that weren’t quite willing to believe what Paul had to say about Jesus? That is, what should we think about folks that felt like they had to check up on what this great preacher said, instead of just taking Paul’s word for it? Well, the Bible says that this bunch would eagerly receive what Paul said and then go running to the Scriptures every day to check up on poor old Paul. Every day. Man, do you think he got tired of these folks second-guessing him all the time? Why couldn’t they just take him at his word? Sounds like a bunch of jerks doesn’t it? I bet God was really mad at them!

   Guess what. God LOVED it! He loved those folks digging around in the Scriptures for themselves and checking up on what the preacher said, even if the preacher was the great Apostle Paul himself. Look at how Luke describes these folks in Acts 17:11:

 11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 

   Luke says these folks, these Bereans, were of noble character because they not only eagerly listened and received what Paul said, they also went and verified his claims for themselves. Just think what that means. God likes it when folks question stuff, when they go to the Book for answers, rather than just taking someone’s word for it.

   So, what does that mean for us, the Body of Christ at Trees?

   It looks like this passage gives us permission, maybe even encourages us, to question what we hear, to examine the scriptures for ourselves. Think about it, when Gray, or Danny, or anyone, preaches or teaches they throw out all kinds of scriptures, right? Are they just doing that to show off how much Bible they can quote? I don’t think so. The idea is that they are giving us the passages we need to go and examine the Scriptures for ourselves. They give us these references so we can look at things like “is that really the way to interpret that?”, or “is he staying in the context or jumping out of context?”

   Wouldn’t it be cool if every Sunday after Gray’s sermon there was a bunch of folks down front with their Bibles out, ready to discuss or challenge a point of Scripture?  Man, that would be what a really living Body, the Body of Christ, is all about!

   Oh yeah, by the way, don’t take my word for this. Go read it for yourselves – Acts 17:11.