In your bulletin is an insert entitled, "Prayer for A Child," authored by the late Rev. Dr. Louis H. Evans, Sr. (not to be confused with the Rev. Dr. Louis H. Evans, Junior, who was our guest last May; this prayer was written by his father). It is a wonderfully worded petition that eloquently captures the essence of the hopes, prayers, responsibilities and obligations which accompany every observance of the Sacrament of Baptism, such as was just observed minutes ago:

"... we launch this tiny ship with its little sail upon a great and stormy sea of life. May Thy word be its compass, the wind of Thy good will fill its sail, Christ's hand be upon the tiny rudder, and through storm and flood bring it to its desired haven in Thine own day." As virtually all of you know from bitter experience, life is indeed a great, and at-times stormy, sea. No life "journey" will experience totally calm seas. In our reading from Acts this morning, the apostle Paul experienced some stormy seas, both literally and figuratively. In the account it seems apparent that Luke, the author of Acts as well as the author of the Gospel that bears his name, was traveling with Paul. Luke wraps up his historical account of the Early Church by describing this great storm that ended in the destruction of the ship in which he and Paul were sailing. It's no coincidence that, more than likely, by the time the church was able to read Luke's account of the Acts of the Apostles, the church was also facing a great storm ... the storm of persecution we briefly addressed last week. This account is so much more than just an exciting story to end the book. Very likely the interest of the Holy Spirit who inspired this Scripture is to tell the people of God how to survive when the storms hit. This morning and next week we will look at three qualities displayed by Paul, three qualities of good form in the storm, qualities the people of God would do well to emulate when the storms of life strike.

Paul was under arrest, guarded by the centurion Julius who placed them all on board a ship. From almost the moment they began the journey, the wind was against them (see verse 4 ... I spared the lector from having to read all these geographical names, a few of which I can't even pronounce). By the time they sailed near Crete (verse 7), they had lost so much time that it was now "after the Fast," or, as the footnote says, after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. That means that winter is approaching; the winter storms were on their way. Paul the prisoner warned that they should simply stay put for the winter, but those in authority took the advice of the boat's pilot and owner and insisted on sailing on. It wasn't long before a Northeaster swept in (see verse 14; this Nor'easter didn't hail from the Chesapeke!). The skies turned dark, the wind turned violent, and this great storm raged down on the boat of 276 passengers. Luke vividly describes how the sailors pulled ropes across the bottom of the ship to keep it from breaking apart, lowered the anchors, threw the cargo and the tackle overboard, all in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. Still the tempest raged on, day and night, for many days. Luke wrote in verse 20, "... we finally gave up all hope of being saved."

It was precisely at this point where all human hope has been abandoned that the prisoner Paul took his stand. With the wind howling and the storm raging, he manages to get everyone's attention on the ship, (verse 21) and it seems he can't resist getting in an "I told you so!" Acts 27:21: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete!" He then goes on to shout over the gale, "I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me." A little later on, perhaps to demonstrate his confidence, Paul exhorts them all to have a bite to eat (v. 33). In fact, Paul goes ahead and says the blessing over the food, while the waves are still crashing over the boat! The sailors went ahead and had a bite to eat as well. So there on board a ship that was destined for destruction, with the storm raging about them, they sat gathered around a common meal, giving thanks to God. We read in verse 36 that "... they were all encouraged." It seems that Paul's expressed faithfulness, his "good form in the storm," helped turned the sailor's despair into hope.

The first and most important display of good form in the storm was Paul choosing hope, choosing to believe in the divine promises, in spite of the "circumstances" raging about him. As mentioned two weeks back, Hope is always a choice. Despair is always a choice, as well. When we are in the middle of a dark storm, we must choose hope. We must remember that we are only in the present tense. Tomorrow belongs to God, and He has made some wonderful promises about it. Choosing hope is choosing to live with three tenses at the same time: (1) remembering God's faithfulness in the past, (2) believing and trusting in God's faithfulness for the future, and (3) then placing yourself between past faithfulness and future faithfulness. Hope is simultaneously focused on what God has done, will do, and is doing. So Paul shouts above the wind and gale to the 275 others on board, "I have faith in God!"

You know, especially in the midst of a storm and difficult times, anxiety is contagious. Despair is contagious. Criticism is contagious. Cynicism is contagious. And all four only make coping with the storm worse and may even cause the ship to sink faster. To paraphrase a quip in last weekend's Wall Street Journal: Anxiety, Despair, Criticism, Cynicism are the mourners at the funeral ... who were also members of the firing squad. They hastened and perhaps even help cause the end. But do you know what else in contagious, especially in times of storm and difficulty? Genuine faith in God is contagious. Hope is contagious. We are called to believe in God, not just for our sake, but for the sake of the others who are on board around us. There are people around you who need you to believe. They are going to be leaning on your faith, they will be need to encouraged by your vision. How will you see that vision? The same way Paul did; by consistent faithfulness to Jesus Christ. It is as we nurture our relationship to God, it is as we are consistently faithful in our service to God, that we can begin to discern the angels of God who come to minister to us.

Again, the first and most important display of good form in the storm: Paul chose hope. He did not choose despair, he did not choose anxiety, he did not choose criticism (except, perhaps, to say that one "I told you so"), he did not choose cynicism ... he chose to focus on the promise of God's messenger, he chose to nurture his vision of God. This is the same Paul who earlier admonished Christians to pray without ceasing. Since Paul learned to pray in the ordinary times, when the seas were calm, he knew how to see angels when the storms hit. Do not wait for the storms to hit before you start nurturing your relationship to God. Through his prayer, through his passionate relationship with the God he served, Paul had already learned to discern the presence of God. When the storms come, it is really too late to learn how to do that. We have to start the disciplines of faith today, we need to pray without ceasing beginning NOW. Note, too, that as soon as Paul began to speak about the visions he received, immediately he became the one who was really in charge of that ship. Though a prisoner, though having no "official" command, he effectively became the captain of that storm-tossed ship. That is the power of a man or woman of genuine faith and Godly vision to be of effective help to those around ... it has little or nothing to do with who is in an official position of leadership, and everything to do with who is listening to God.

The second display of "good form in the storm" is attending to ordinary things. Paul reminds everyone that they haven't eaten in two weeks. But Paul isn't just worried about the need for a meal. More importantly, he is teaching them to do an ordinary act as an extraordinary act of faith in God. Nobody ever sits down to breakfast on a ship in the middle of a dark storm! Unless ... they have genuine hope. We live in a stormy world that sometimes looks like it is coming apart at the seams. There is violence in our streets and in our "entertainment," there is corruption in our government, there are diseases visiting our homes, there are storms of addiction or heartache that are ripping apart our families. Nevertheless, we who believe in God insist upon still having children in the midst of the storm. We still persist in teaching them virtues. We still go to work and attempt our best, we still maintain our homes, we still participate in the political process, we still eat our meals. We faithfully attend to the ordinary, as a silent testimony that "We have faith in God;" we have genuine hope. Like Paul, we declare our "faith in the God whose we are and whom we serve" by faithfully and consistently attending to the ordinary things, come what may.

The third display of good form in the storm is giving thanks to God ... before the storm is over. It was before dawn, before there were any signs of this storm letting up, that Paul "... took some bread, and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat." This is the same language Luke used in his gospel when he described the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. When we celebrate the Lord's Supper we are giving thanks for the grace we have received. It is significant that Jesus instituted the Supper on the night He was betrayed, in the midst of the storm, not after the storm was over, after the Resurrection. To emulate Him is to give thanks for a deliverance that is still on the way. A mark of genuine faithfulness in a person is the ability to give thanks before the storm is over.

Three displays of good form in the storm: (1) In the midst of the storm, Paul chose hope, he chose to believe in the divine promises, in spite of the overwhelming "circumstances" raging about him, (2) In the midst of the storm, Paul displayed his confidence by attending to ordinary things, come what may, and (3) Paul demonstrated faithfulness by giving thanks to God ... before the storm is over. We'll continue in Acts 28 next time.