14 June 2026 - Peter van Breda - Two Faiths, One Heart (Pentimento)

Jun 15, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Layers of Faith Beneath the Surface

A painting’s hidden brushstrokes resurface over time, revealing the artist’s changed vision. Just as pentimento uncovers an artwork’s buried layers, our lives expose old prejudices, cultural biases, and unresolved wounds that bleed into our faith. These layers—formed by upbringing, pain, or tradition—shape how we read Scripture, judge others, or resist God’s call. Like infrared scans exposing Mona Lisa’s altered hands, pressure reveals what’s hidden: road rage over patience, distrust over grace, or tribal loyalties over God’s impartial love. Transformation begins when we let God’s light expose these layers. [01:00:23]

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: What “brushstroke” from your past—a cultural bias, painful memory, or unhealed wound—has recently surfaced in a moment of stress or decision? How might God be inviting you to renew your mind in that area?

Day 2: The Storm That Exposes Dual Faiths

Jonah proclaimed God as Creator of sea and land, yet fled from His call to Nineveh. His faith in God’s power clashed with his hatred for Israel’s enemies. Like Jonah, we often hold conflicting beliefs: trusting God’s sovereignty while resisting His mission, or affirming His love while withholding grace from “undeserving” people. The storm revealed Jonah’s divided heart, just as crises expose our own contradictions. God used creation—a fish, a vine, a worm—to confront Jonah’s hypocrisy. What storms might God send to realign our professed faith with our hidden reluctances? [01:08:15]

“I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9, ESV)

Reflection: Where do your actions this week contradict your spoken beliefs about God’s character? Is there a “Nineveh” you’ve been avoiding—a person, group, or act of obedience that tests your claim to fear the Lord?

Day 3: Table Manners and Tribal Lines

Peter ate with Gentiles until Jerusalem’s leaders arrived, then retreated to the “safe” table. His public faith in God’s inclusivity clashed with private loyalty to cultural norms. Like Peter, we often compartmentalize: championing unity in sermons but avoiding certain neighbors, or praising diversity while clinging to homogeneous circles. The Antioch incident mirrors modern church foyers where visitors feel scrutinized for their dress, tattoos, or social status. God’s table defies human hierarchies—yet our silent withdrawals whisper, “You don’t belong.” [01:19:38]

“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, ESV)

Reflection: Who would feel out of place at your dinner table or pew? What unspoken “law” (tradition, preference, or fear) might God be asking you to surrender to make others feel truly welcomed?

Day 4: Hindering the Unlikely Believers

The disciples tried to stop outsiders—a non-affiliated exorcist, noisy children, a scantily clad woman—from approaching Jesus. Yet Christ rebuked them: “Do not hinder.” Our standards of decency, decorum, or doctrinal purity often build walls God never mandated. The blue-haired woman covering the new believer’s exposed shoulders embodies true holiness—protecting dignity, not policing appearances. What requirements do we add to grace? What broken, “messy” people do we subtly turn away, forgetting we too were once strangers? [01:21:49]

“But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 18:16, ESV)

Reflection: When have you judged someone as “too broken” or “too worldly” for God’s kingdom? How could you actively “not hinder” them this week through practical kindness or vulnerable fellowship?

Day 5: Light for the Labels We Discard

Paul, once a Pharisee obsessed with Jewish identity, became Christ’s envoy to Gentiles. His mission in Antioch—a city with 96 languages—mirrors our multicultural neighborhoods. Like artwork stripped of old layers, Paul’s renewed heart saw beyond ethnic labels to souls needing salvation. The gospel’s light isn’t for curated groups but “the uttermost parts”—the immigrant grocery clerk, the addict in recovery, the political opponent. Eternal worship will dissolve every earthly division; why wait to let those labels fall? [01:31:50]

“For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 13:47, ESV)

Reflection: What label (political, ethnic, or social) do you struggle to see beyond in others? How might praying for God’s heart for that specific group reshape your interactions this week?

Sermon Summary

Pentimento names the hidden layers that bleed through a life, and the image itself does the preaching. The canvas of a soul looks finished until pressure, time, and light make older strokes show. God uses that exposure not to shame but to save, because the living God loves to bring one heart where two faiths have been fighting underneath.

Jonah carries two faiths in one body. His mouth confesses the Lord who made sea and land, and creation itself answers him with storm, fish, gourd, worm, and wind. His eyes still count down for Nineveh’s doom while his theology knows God’s impartial grace. Grace proves hard to take when it lands on the enemy, because forgiveness often looks like condoning and rain keeps falling on both sides of the fence. The God who is kind to the ungrateful makes Jonah’s second faith surface so the first can finally rule.

Peter shows the same bleed. The sheet drops in Joppa and the voice says, if God calls it clean, it is clean. The Spirit falls on Italians in Caesarea and the confession comes, who is he to hinder God. Yet in Antioch, when the folks from James arrive, one faith moves his lips while another moves his chair. Luke keeps asking the same question with that one verb hinder. Do not muzzle the outsider casting out demons. Do not block the children. Do not build barriers at the door that make the wrong people feel like a spectacle. One heart knows how to wrap a trembling life in a shawl and give privacy with God.

Acts 13 sets the road under Paul and Barnabas. The Spirit speaks while the church fasts and prays, hands are laid, and the mission crosses borders God already opened. Opposition rises, but the word runs, and even a proconsul believes. The Lord keeps his promises better than politicians keep theirs. Eternal life is real, and so is judgment, because God will be God as he has revealed himself, not as anyone speculates. The call lands here. Let the Spirit renew the mind daily so that culture, pain, and long memory stop driving the wheel. Let one heart and one faith speak with the same mouth, and do not let pentimento bleed through to compromise Jesus.

Key Takeaways

1. Pentimento reveals a second faith. [01:02:24] Pentimento is a mercy because it shows what still lives under the paint. God lets pressure and time uncover old strokes so grace can reach the roots, not just the surface. Hidden layers explain reactions that do not match doctrine, and exposure becomes invitation, not indictment. Healing begins where truth finally shows. [62:24]
2. Grace tests tribal loyalties. [01:12:55] Jonah knows God is merciful, but mercy landing on Nineveh exposes the rival love of nation and self. Grace always stretches the borders someone drew to feel special or safe. If God loves enemies, then the gospel asks whether the heart does too. Where grace feels offensive, a rival altar stands. [72:55]
3. Do not hinder God’s work. [01:18:44] Peter learns to say, who am I to hinder God, and Luke keeps pressing that word into every boundary. The Spirit falls first, the water follows, and the church must not add fences God has torn down. Hindering usually masquerades as order or caution, but it starves faith at the door. [78:44]
4. One heart through a renewed mind. [01:09:39] Romans 12 calls for a mind God keeps remaking so that old loyalties stop leaking into new life. Daily Scripture and communion with Christ reshape instincts faster than culture can. When thoughts change, tables change, and so do the people allowed to sit there. Unity grows where habits of thinking are surrendered. [69:39]
5. The Spirit sends across borders. [01:26:32] Acts 13 begins with prayer and fasting, then the Spirit names the missionaries and the direction. God’s order is simple and weighty: listen, set apart, lay hands, send. The same Spirit who chooses the workers has already prepared the harvest. Mission is not a label; it is obedience to a living voice. [86:32]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[60:06] - Pentimento and the hidden layers
[63:41] - When old paint bleeds through faith
[65:05] - Jonah runs and God creates
[69:39] - Renewed mind and one heart
[72:55] - Grace for Nineveh and enemies
[76:34] - Peter’s vision and Gentile outpouring
[78:44] - Who am I to hinder God
[79:16] - Antioch’s table test
[81:49] - Do not hinder the little ones
[86:32] - The Spirit sets apart and sends
[90:35] - Sorcerer opposed, proconsul believes
[91:50] - A light for the Gentiles
[94:59] - One heart, one faith in Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 13:1-3 (ESV)
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Observation Questions

What specific steps did the church in Antioch take before sending Paul and Barnabas on their mission? [29:38]
How does Jonah’s confession about God as the Creator of “sea and land” contrast with his actions toward Nineveh? [08:15]
What repeated word does Luke use to challenge barriers in the early church (e.g., hindering children, outsiders, or Gentiles)? [21:49]
According to Romans 12:2, what two things are required for a renewed mind?

Interpretation Questions

Why might the Holy Spirit’s instruction in Acts 13:1-3 have been surprising or challenging for the church in Antioch?
Jonah knew God’s character was merciful (Jonah 4:2), yet he resisted grace for Nineveh. What does this tension reveal about the relationship between theology and lived faith? [12:55]
Peter withdrew from Gentile believers in Antioch when Jewish leaders arrived (Galatians 2:11-14). How does this illustrate the difference between doctrinal belief and ingrained cultural habits? [19:16]
The sermon states, “Grace tests tribal loyalties.” How does God’s impartial love expose hidden biases in our lives?

Application Questions

Where have you noticed a “pentimento” moment in your life—a situation where pressure or time revealed a hidden layer of fear, prejudice, or old loyalties that contradicted your faith? [02:50]
The church in Antioch fasted, prayed, and listened before acting. What practical step could you take this week to create space to discern God’s voice in a decision you’re facing?
Jonah struggled to accept grace for his enemies. Is there a person or group you find it hard to believe God loves fully? What would it look like to pray for them this week? [10:30]
The sermon warns against “hindering” others’ access to God through unnecessary barriers. What habits, assumptions, or traditions in your life might unintentionally exclude someone from feeling welcome? [22:02]
Romans 12:2 calls for daily renewal. What specific practice (e.g., Scripture, prayer, confession) could help reshape a thought pattern or instinct that doesn’t align with Christ’s heart?
The older woman in the sermon story covered the new believer with a shawl to protect her dignity. When have you seen someone model this kind of grace? How could you intentionally “cover” others in your community this week? [24:48]

Sermon Clips

38s

#GraceIsHardToWatch

“``There are times when nothing is harder to take than the grace of God when it is showed to someone else. Luke says, God is kind to the ungrateful and also to the wicked. are the ungrateful and the wicked ever gonna learn about the grace and the gratitude and the generosity if God is kind to them? It looks like they're being blessed in spite of what they're doing. The difficulty with forgiveness is that it looks a lot like condoning.”

40s

#RainOnGoodAndEvil

“I tell you what, if I was running the world, the rain would come down on the righteous right up to the fence and the unrighteous on that side of the fence, nothing. Remember God said that it rains on the good and the evil alike. I guarantee you that the guy who never darkens the door of a sanctuary after about nine years without rain, he might say to his wife and kids, well, why don't we go to church this Sunday? That's the way to run the world.”

35s

#RenewYourMindDaily

“And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of mind. Every single day we need to be spending time with God and in his word so that we can be transformed so our thinking becomes different. Our thinking isn't based upon where we grew up, our education, our religiosity, or whatever it is. We become like Jesus each and every single day so that we have one heart and one faith. Doesn't matter what happens to us, doesn't matter what comes against us, we have one heart and one faith.”

36s

#GodKeepsHisPromises

“We know that politicians never keep their word or very few of them ever keep their word. And it also greatly bothers us when somebody we love and trust fails to keep an important promise. And if we're gonna entrust our souls to eternity with God, it's important to know that he keeps his promises. Many of us have been disappointed by God. I understand that. We've trusted him for something that we thought he'd promised but it didn't work out But it's not God who was mistaken.”

30s

#GodsMercyForEnemies

“What happened with Nineveh? It says God repented of the calamity that was going to be sent upon Nineveh and the city was saved. And Jonah said, didn't I tell you? That's the very reason I didn't wanna go. They're Israel's enemy. I knew you would love them, forgive them, and accept them because you are full of mercy and grace. Two faiths. Think about it.”

54s

#LoveYourEnemies

“Well, let's be honest. Do you love your enemies? Do you love that brother-in-law that came against you and said bad things about you? Or that mother-in-law who's a hellion on wheels? What do you think about her? But then, let me just add to that. What about that brother-in-law who whenever the family gets together, there's always a story. Or that neighbor as I said who's a hellion on wheels and one day by a miracle, they give their hearts to Christ. What do you say then? What do you think then?”

38s

#GodLovesTheWorld

“What would Jesus do in those circumstances? Would he rejoice that they're now in the kingdom of God and they've turned their life around or look at him, he's not gonna last. He's gonna go backwards. You see whether you are an up and out or a down and out, God loves you. For God so loved the world. He didn't exclude a particular racial group. He didn't exclude a particular ethnic group. For God so loved the world.”

39s

#OneFaithTwoHearts

“When they had a church dinner there and there were Jews and Gentiles all mixed together, eating together and it was an integrated congregation in Antioch. They were having a fellowship meal and Simon Peter was there eating with the others. That is until some other folks came from Jerusalem, came from James. And so Peter picks up his plate and his glass of iced tea and he goes and sits with the Jews. One faith, two hearts.”

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14 June 2026 - Peter van Breda - Two Faiths, One Heart (Pentimento)

Devotional

Day 1: Layers of Faith Beneath the Surface

Day 2: The Storm That Exposes Dual Faiths

Day 3: Table Manners and Tribal Lines

Day 4: Hindering the Unlikely Believers

Day 5: Light for the Labels We Discard

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

14 June 2026 - Peter van Breda - Two Faiths, One Heart (Pentimento)

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