I Heard It Through the Grapevine
SCRIPTURE: Acts 19:23-20:1 
Read the passage
BIO: My name is Jonathan Christian and I am the Director of Student Ministries at FPCO and have been working at the church for almost five years now. I love anything that has to do with athletics or competition and in my free time I love spending quality time with my wife, Courtney. Courtney and I were married about four months ago.
KEY VERSE: Acts 19:23-24 "About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way. It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis."
CENTRAL TRUTH: This passage begs the question, "what are the man-made gods in my life?" but don’t overlook what started all of the trouble in Ephesus: rumors and gossip.
DEVOTIONAL: Concerned with how Paul’s teachings regarding the one true God was affecting his profit margin in the idol making business, Demetrius resorts to a very powerful tool: the rumor mill. He calls together his fellow idol makers and twists the truth to convince them that Paul’s gospel message was actually a harmful threat to the Ephesians. Chapter 19:28-29 tells us that Demetrius gets them stirred up to the point that they all became furious and that soon the whole city was in an uproar. Verse 32 goes on to say that most of the people in the middle of the uproar did not even know why they were there! Of course, all of this led to Paul having to leave town over it.
At first glance, it appears to me that I have nothing in common with Demetrius, but if I am honest, I have to ask myself, “do the words and/or information that I share with others, about others, ever stir things up? even a little bit?”
Whether it is intentional or not, whenever we choose to share words/information with others, about others, we run the risk of stirring things up into a big and harmful ordeal. You can call it gossip, hear say or spreading rumors… whatever you call it, it never leads to any place good or of God.
First, it can really hurt others. Look at how it affected Paul and his followers.
Second, it can destroy our credibility when it comes to how much others trust us with anything. I doubt Demetrius’s plan helped his credibility amongst the Christians following Paul’s teachings.
Third, it is also a subtle way we judge others, which really isn’t our job. God is in charge of judging people. Not Demetrius and not us.
Finally, it is also a sign that we are not really as active in our faith and in our own lives as we should be. Getting others stirred up with gossip, hear say and rumors is usually bred out of too much time on our hands and not enough time with God.
QUESTION 1: Do the words and/or information that you share with others, about others, ever stir things up?
NOTE: It may not stir things up to the level we read about in this passage, but we should always be careful with our words, choosing them wisely, even if we are only speaking to one person.
QUESTION 2: It’s time to take inventory. When it comes to gossip, hear say and rumors:
What subject matters/topics are you most likely to talk about?
Who are you most likely to do it with?
When are you most tempted when it engaged in it?
Why are you doing it?
QUESTION 3: What are some ways that you can resist the temptation to gossip and/or spread rumors?
Remember the Golden Rule: if you don’t want others to stir things up about you, then don’t do it to them either.
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