Acts 20:28-37

Acts 20:28-37
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  In this day and age, I think this is a helpful passage.  We are reminded that Christianity has never been, and is not intended to be, easy.  The church of God was obtained through the blood of Christ.  Here, the listeners are warned of fierce wolves that will attack the flock, and others will come to deceive the flock.  There is much danger that abounds, and there is still danger for the church.  While in the West, we may not face the physical threats that many in the early church did, there is still much that threatens to pull us away from the church, forces that vie for our attention and our hearts, and if we are not careful we will fall away from the Gospel and seek other, lessor gods.
  So Paul notes this danger, but he doesn't linger on it or use it as motivation.  He tells them to be alert, but no more.  It is a danger and it is real, but let it not keep us from doing the work of the church.
  It is to this that Paul turns with his final words.  We are charged to work hard and remember the weak, to give rather than build up.
  There are many threats, and there always will be.  The church will persist.  At some points, it may appear as though the future of the church is in jeopardy.  It is not.  When time concludes and the universe is folded up, only the church will remain.  So let us not be a people defined by fear, but rather by hope, by hard work and by service, that others may be invited in to the joy and boldness of the Gospel.