Adventures in Preaching

During our visits to Pennsylvania one of the joys I have is being asked to guest preach at the church I was raised in.

This last Sunday I was preaching out of Acts 2. I was reading this text from Peter's Pentecost sermon. Note the transitional "but"...

Acts 2.22-24
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."

Reading this passage I wanted to emphasize the apocalyptic interruption of the resurrection:

"You put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

But!"

So, to do this, after I read the line "You put him to death by nailing him to the cross" I read the word "But..." and look up and say, with the greatest seriousness:

"This is the biggest but in world history."

Only later, on the drive home, does my wife explain why she started laughing in the middle of my sermon...