Madison Church

What if God is already at the table you’ve been avoiding? Acts 10 turns the insider–outsider story on its head as we follow a devout Roman centurion named Cornelius and a sincere, reluctant apostle named Peter. We walk through the rooftop vision that rattles Peter’s categories, the front-door threshold that tests his obedience, and the living room moment where the Holy Spirit rushes in before the sermon even lands. No waiting period. No second-class members. Just the unmistakable sign that God is forming one family.We unpack why Cornelius disrupts expectations and why Peter’s “No, Lord” is a heartfelt reflex, not rebellion. From there, we trace how God patiently expands a faithfulness that had become too small for the mission ahead. The real pivot happens when Peter says, “Now I realize,” steps into a Gentile home, and watches heaven validate what earth had fenced off. Then the ripple reaches Jerusalem: leaders question, Peter recounts, and surrender wins out over certainty with the line, “Who was I to stand