Me First: Sermon 5 of Nudges of Grace (Sep 27, 2026)

Sep 27, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When God’s Menu Challenges Our Appetites

Peter’s rooftop vision of unclean animals wasn’t about lunch. It was a divine gut-check. God confronted his lifelong assumptions about purity, stretching him beyond kosher rules into a new understanding of holiness. Like Peter, we cling to traditions that make us feel faithful—until God serves a dish that turns our stomachs. True obedience means wrestling with the tension between what feels right and what God calls right. Holiness isn’t about keeping our hands clean, but letting God redefine our hunger. [04:56]

“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. (Acts 10:15-16, NIV)

Reflection: What “unclean” thing has God placed before you that challenges your spiritual comfort zone? How might saying “no” to your discomfort become a “yes” to someone’s encounter with Christ?

Day 2: The Holy Nudge That Disrupts Comfort

Cornelius sent servants, Peter saw a vision, and both faced a choice: obey the awkward nudge or stay safe. God’s grace often arrives as holy interruption—a knock during prayer, a stranger’s request, a conviction during routine. These moments test whether our rituals are walls or doorways. Like Peter’s rooftop trance, divine appointments rarely wait for convenient timing. The question isn’t whether God will send the unexpected, but whether we’ll descend the stairs to answer the door. [10:34]

While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” (Acts 10:19-20, NIV)

Reflection: When has a “divine interruption” last unsettled your routine? What practical step prepares you to respond next time the Spirit says, “Do not hesitate”?

Day 3: Radically Ordinary Hospitality as Testimony

Peter didn’t preach first—he invited. Sharing a roof with Gentiles broke every religious rule, yet that act of hospitality made space for the Spirit to fall. True welcome forces us to rearrange furniture and prejudices. Like Simon the tanner hosting Peter, or Peter hosting Cornelius’ men, ordinary spaces become holy ground when we risk discomfort. The world notices not just our message, but who we’ll let sit at our table. [11:30]

Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. (Acts 10:23, NIV)

Reflection: Whose presence in your home or church would feel as disruptive as Gentiles to Peter? What one action could take your hospitality from safe to sacramental this week?

Day 4: No One Is Exempt from the Sheet of Grace

The sheet held “all kinds” of creatures—no exceptions. Peter’s epiphany wasn’t dietary; it was about people he’d labeled irredeemable. When God cleansed Gentiles like Cornelius, He declared no soul too foreign, too polluted, or too “other” for redemption. Our biases often masquerade as discernment. Yet the same grace that scrubbed Peter’s prejudice clean whispers: “Who are you to call unclean what I’ve made new?” [15:25]

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” (Acts 10:34-35, NIV)

Reflection: Who feels “beyond the sheet” of God’s grace in your imagination? How might praying for their renewal first renew your own heart?

Day 5: “Me First” – The Prayer That Changes Everything

Peter’s story ends with a baptismal splash and a changed man. But transformation began when he prayed on a roof, wrestled with God, and whispered “me first.” Sanctification isn’t a group project—it’s individual surrender. Like Peter, we must let grace rewrite our reflexes before we can lead others. The kingdom advances not when we demand others change, but when we plead, “Lord, start with me.” [23:12]

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)

Reflection: What “me first” prayer is the Spirit nudging you to voice today? How might your personal transformation become someone else’s invitation tomorrow?

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Acts 10:1-48
"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, "Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.” [02:05]

Acts 10:15
“The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” [09:45]

Acts 10:34-35
“Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” [15:15]

Observation questions

What details describe Cornelius’s life before he hears about Jesus, and what does he do in response to the angel’s instructions? [02:48]
What does Peter see in his vision, how does he respond, and how many times does the vision occur? [05:27]
What happens immediately after Peter is still trying to understand the vision, and what specific instruction does the Spirit give him?
What actions show Peter crossing boundaries with Cornelius’s messengers and then with Cornelius’s household? [11:23]

Interpretation questions

Cornelius does not yet fully understand who Jesus is, yet God notices his prayers and generosity and leads him toward Peter. What does this show about God’s grace toward people who are sincerely seeking but still have many questions? [03:18]
Why was Peter’s vision about animals necessary before he could enter a Gentile home? How had food laws and cultural habits become connected to Peter’s view of Gentile people? [12:44]
Peter declares that God does not show favoritism. How does this statement challenge the idea that a person’s ethnicity, past, social standing, or religious background can place them beyond God’s grace? [15:15]
The Holy Spirit comes upon Cornelius’s household before Peter’s companions are ready for it. What does this reveal about who has authority to decide where God’s grace may go? [18:17]

Application questions

Cornelius obeyed God’s nudge before he knew the whole plan. Is there a next step of obedience God may be placing in front of you—a conversation, an invitation, an act of generosity, or a step toward Jesus—that you have delayed because you do not have every answer yet? [04:16]
Peter’s first response was, “Surely not,” because God’s instruction challenged deep habits and assumptions. What kinds of people, situations, or changes tend to bring out a “surely not” response in you? What might be underneath that response? [05:27]
God showed Peter that no person should be treated as impure or beyond grace. Is there a person or group you find difficult to respect, welcome, or even imagine sharing a meal with? What would Christlike love look like in one small, wise, and genuine step toward them? [13:13]
Peter invited Gentile visitors into his home before he fully understood everything God was doing. How could hospitality become a practical way for you to make room for someone who might otherwise feel outside the church or outside your life? [11:30]
Peter had walked closely with Jesus and still needed his heart changed. Where might God be asking you to pray, “Me first—change my heart first,” rather than waiting for someone else, a church, or a culture to change? [21:40]
God’s grace reaches people in families, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and ordinary daily encounters. Who is one seeking or struggling person you can begin praying for by name this week, asking God to help you see them through Jesus’ eyes? [16:38]

Sermon Summary

Acts 10 begins with Cornelius, a Roman centurion living in Caesar’s city, a man who fears God, gives generously, and prays even though he does not yet fully know the God he is seeking. God’s grace reaches Cornelius first through a vision, a nudge that sends him looking for Peter. Cornelius responds in obedience before he has all the answers, and that obedience opens the door for something far bigger than he can see.

Peter receives a vision too, but his vision hits a much more uncomfortable spot. The sheet full of unclean animals is not really about lunch, not even dog or lizard stew. God is cooking up something new in Peter’s view of people. Peter’s “Surely not, Lord” shows how deeply his old categories run. The food laws had become tangled up with his view of Gentiles, until unclean food became unclean people.

God’s words cut through that mess: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” The Spirit then gives Peter a quick, real-life nudge: Gentile men are at the door, and Peter must go without hesitation. Peter first invites them into his house, then enters Cornelius’s house, even knowing there will be some serious explaining to do back in Jerusalem.

Peter finally understands that the sheet points to people. God has shown him that no person should be called impure or unclean. Christlike love leaves no room for fear, disgust, prejudice, or hatred. God’s love corrects limited, selfish, selective love, the kind that decides who is worthy and who is not.

Peter tells Cornelius and his gathered household about Jesus, the true face of the God Cornelius has been seeking. The Holy Spirit falls on Gentiles just as he fell on Jewish believers, leaving Peter’s companions completely gobsmacked. God makes it plain that no ethnicity, history, background, or story puts a seeking person beyond grace.

Peter’s trip from Joppa to Caesarea becomes another round trip of transformation. Peter returns changed before the church itself can change. God’s will often moves forward through hearts that first let God do his work in them. “Me first” no longer means first in line, first to eat, or first to speak. “Me first” means, “Lord, change this heart of mine today, so that tomorrow it is ready to go where you say go.”

Key Takeaways

1. God’s grace comes before understanding. Cornelius does not begin with a full grasp of Jesus, yet God sees his prayers and his response to the light he has received. God’s prevenient grace is already at work in people who are still seeking, still confused, and still far from having everything figured out. Cornelius shows that obedience to God’s nudge matters, even before the whole road is visible. [03:33]
2. God confronts selective human love. Peter’s struggle shows how easily convictions, habits, and disgust can become excuses for keeping certain people at a distance. God does not erase holiness, but Christlike holiness fills the heart so fully with love that fear and prejudice lose their room. God’s image has not been deleted from the people human hearts would rather avoid. [13:31]
3. Peter had to change first. Peter knew Jesus closely, yet Peter still needed a heart transplant. God’s work among Cornelius could not move forward until Peter’s old categories were challenged and reshaped. Long years with Christ never make a person exempt from deeper transformation. [21:40]
4. The Spirit breaks human boundaries. The Holy Spirit falls on Gentiles without waiting for anyone’s permission or approval. Peter’s companions are gobsmacked because God refuses to fit inside the lines they had drawn. God’s grace reaches every person who seeks him, across race, nation, background, and history. [18:10]
5. “Me first” means surrendering to change. “Me first” becomes a prayer for God to mold, make, shape, and form the heart before sending it out. God’s gentle nudge often comes without much warning, requiring a real yes in the moment. A changed heart becomes ready to love the people it once would have shunned.

## [23:12]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:26] - The Problem With “Me First”
[01:32] - Cornelius and God’s First Nudge
[04:16] - Peter’s Vision of the Sheet
[06:34] - Feeling Peter’s Disgust
[09:43] - Do Not Call People Unclean
[11:30] - Hospitality Across Boundaries
[13:09] - Christlike Love Overcomes Prejudice
[15:03] - God Shows No Favoritism
[17:15] - Peter Tells Cornelius About Jesus
[18:10] - The Gentiles Receive the Spirit
[19:54] - Peter Returns Changed
[22:13] - Be Transformed
[23:53] - Me First to Change

Sermon Clips

27s

#HeartTransformation

“Just like Peter, be before he could go to Cornelius and before God could could move in that way in the Gentile word, Peter had to be changed first. We all need a heart transplant probably, even those who have been walking with Jesus for a long, long, long, long, long time. If Peter needed it, I don't think any of us are exempt.”

32s

#OvercomePrejudice

“If you remember a few weeks ago when Rich shared his testimony about the tattoo man, he he made a a short statement almost under his breath. Don't if you caught it, but he he said I had to overcome my prejudice to talk to him. And we all have a little bit of that, don't we? But that's what Christ like love will do to us. It'll force us to move past ourselves. spirit of God will push us past our own boundaries.”

31s

#GodFirst

“Show me a vision, Lord. Give me a dream. Me first. Lord, give me boldness. Encourage. Me first. Lord, mold me, make me, shape me, form me me first. Lord, nudge me to go out of my comfort zone, me first. Me first today, Lord, so that I'm ready for whatever you have for me tomorrow. Me first today so that I can do your work tomorrow.”

45s

#NoOneExcluded

“So if God were to nudge you towards that person who's in your mind a moment ago, how would you respond? Peter is realizing that, you know, to the Jewish mind, there's no one more unclean than the Gentile. And if God could call the Gentiles clean, then no one's exempt. Right? No ethnicity, no race, no religious background. Whatever those things we divide by nothing, though, for the person who seeks after God the best they know how, for the one who is truly seeking truth, responding to the grace that God has placed in their life, no one is exempt from that grace that God pours out.”

45s

#GraceForAll

“No one is unclean. No one is impure. No one is unworthy. People drowning in their sin like all of us have been at times in our life. Maybe even while we're sitting here at church. No one, no matter their story, no matter their history, no matter their background, is beyond the reach of God's grace that cleanses and heals and restores and forgives for me, for you, for all of us, for everyone in your families, those those family members who aren't walking with the Lord, the people in your neighborhood, the people at work, the people at school, wherever you go, the cashier at Walmart.”

28s

#LoveOverPrejudice

“The holiness that we talk about and preach about means that our hearts are so full of Christ like love that there's no longer any room for fear. There's no room for disgust. There's no room for prejudice. There's no room for hatred. There's no room for any of that kind of stuff. Any of those things that divide and cause us to think others are not as worthy as we are.”

40s

#SeePeopleNotLabels

“You know, Gentiles, these were these dirty people because they ate these dirty animals. And, you know, because they ate the dirty animals, they began to be thought of as dirty, disgusting, unclean people. And we might think that's terrible, but we kinda do the same thing today, don't we? We we take a a dislike for a certain kind of sin you know, our disdain for a certain type of people, And we transfer it to them and begin to think of them as just not good people, unclean, impure, not not worthy of God's attention, not worthy of God's grace.”

53s

#ChangedByGrace

“And and last week, we saw this pattern of round trips. Remember this? We looked at the Ethiopian eunuch. He came from Ethiopia, somewhere South Of Egypt, to Jerusalem and back. And when he came back, he was a completely changed man. Saul left Jerusalem, went to Damascus, and then eventually to Arabia, and back to Damascus, and back to Jerusalem. And when he returned to Jerusalem, he was a completely changed man. And now we see Peter. He goes from Joppa up to Caesarea. And when he comes back, a completely changed man. And his testimony of what God did would change the church forever and change the history of of Christianity forever.”

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