Reject Prejudice
Pray – (1/2 minute)
Read – (2 1/2 minutes) – “And he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” (Acts 10:28-29)
Passage: Acts 15:1-11
Peter grew up in a faithful Jewish home. He learned that there is only one, true God. He learned God’s laws given in the 10 Commandments to Moses. He also learned other laws God gave the Jews, such as what kind of foods he could eat and what kind of activities he could do. He also learned prejudice against non Jews. He was taught that when God told His people to be separate, it meant that all other people were inferior to the Jews and that the Jews were never to to associate themselves with non-Jews. Even through He had received the Holy Spirit, his old sin nature held on to those prejudices he was taught. God had to give him a vision of unclean animals which he was told to eat and lead him to the home of a Roman Centurion named Cornelius, in order for him to learn that prejudice is a sin and prejudice must be rejected in a believer’s life.
Look at any preschool play yard. If there are children there of different ethnicities, they will play with each other without hesitation. They have to be taught prejudice by someone else. Prejudice is pre-judging someone based on a something seen or perceived that is different. Prejudice is a sin. It is wrong. God loves people. All people. In heaven, there will be people from every ethnic group, every socio-economic strata and every educational and occupational group. We need to reject any prejudice and be accepting of people now.
Apply - (2 1/2 minutes)
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Pray - (1 1/2 minutes)