Partnership in the Gospel -- A Message for May 10, 2026

  Over the past few weeks, our scriptural focus has been on St. Paul and his missionary journeys. Paul started out as a religious Jewish man who hated Christianity. But, Jesus intervened in Paul’s life and afterwards, he became one of the greatest evangelists and promoters of Christianity the world has ever known. 

Paul’s evangelistic efforts did not make him popular in all circles. He was repeatedly imprisoned for upsetting the religious authorities in the towns where he travelled. This morning, we will read the opening of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. He wrote this letter from prison.

In the years before Paul penned this letter, he travelled to Philippi and met people and inspired them to follow Jesus. Together, they started the church at Philippi. Paul’s letter was written to encourage them to continue practicing their shared faith – at the time, people were starting to become worried that they would end up imprisoned like Paul….or worse!

Listen now as I read the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter one verses one through 18:

Scripture Philippians 1:1-18a

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God every time I remember you. 

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 

because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 

God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 

so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 

As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 

And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 

The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 

The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray…

Message Partnership in the Gospel

I recently read a book written by two Iranian Christian women, Marziyeh Amirzadeh and Maryam Rostampour. The two women wrote about their experiences before they left Iran and became refugees in the United States. Before they left their homeland, the women were imprisoned. In Iran, it is not illegal to be Christian…but it is illegal for people who are Muslim to convert to another religion. The two women were imprisoned and received death sentences as punishment because they were considered “converts” to Christianity….

While the women were in prison, they knew little of what was happening outside the prison….they didn’t know that Christians throughout the world, and groups like Amnesty International, were fighting for their release from prison. The two women thought they would probably be killed because of their faith.

So, they didn’t shut up about it. They thought they were going to die anyway, so they might as well tell the other prisoners, and the guards, and the judicial officials why they chose to believe in Jesus Christ….why they believed in our faith.

They told stories they had read in the Bible. They prayed with people and for people. They reassured other prisoners that God didn’t reject them despite unsavory past histories. They sang hymns and Christian songs. They worked to bring a word of hope to a dark and dreary place.

In the portion of Paul’s letter we read this morning, it sounds like Paul also worked to spread our faith even when he was in prison. He was surprisingly positive about his situation – He said:

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 

As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 

And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

So, not only was Paul talking about his faith to his guards and the others he was imprisoned alongside, they were also becoming believers. And, people who were formerly afraid to proclaim the Good News, were “daring all the more” to share their Christian faith.

There is a quotation attributed to Winston Churchill that says: “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” I agree. The imprisoned Iranian women had a good attitude about their imprisonment – they saw it as an opportunity to share their faith. Paul’s words reflect that he had a positive attitude about his imprisonment – he took advantage of his situation to share his faith.

I hope that none of us find ourselves trapped in an actual prison. But, we all will experience times in our lives when we deal with limitations that we didn’t plan for or expect – illnesses, changed relationships, losing jobs, retirement, moving – all of us will experience times in our lives that we didn’t choose or expect or plan for….And, when these limitations or setbacks arise, it is important for us to work to discover the opportunities that they offer.

Paul was committed to evangelism – he told everyone about our faith. He rejoiced when “ …Christ is preached.” He didn’t let his imprisonment depress him or destroy his will or quiet him down. Paul’s encouraging words to the church at Philippi are still important to us almost 2000 years after they were penned. We may not have control over the things we experience – accidents happen, we age, our bodies don’t always work the way we expect – but, we have control over how we react to those unexpected things. If we work to see the silver-linings in the midst of the clouds that surround us, we are mentally and emotionally better off into the future.

Paul wanted all followers of Jesus to be inspired to share their faith – we shouldn’t let our fear of rejection stop us….we shouldn’t let peer pressure stop us…we shouldn’t let disappointment stop us….we shouldn’t even let persecution stop us. 

Our lives are changed for the better because we believe in our Savior Jesus Christ. Our lives are changed for the better because we know, and believe, God loves us and forgives us. Our lives are changed for the better because we are connected to the community of faithful believers, the church, and we are here to support each other through our lives’ ups and downs, times of joy and times of sorrow. 

Let us work to see each setback as an opportunity…and let us take every opportunity to share the Good News with others. 

Amen.

Paul's Sermon at Athens -- A Message for May 3, 2026

 

Friends, in the season between Easter and Pentecost, we are focusing on St. Paul’s conversion to Christianity and some of the stops of his missionary journeys. 

When Jesus interrupted Paul’s life and called upon Paul to become his follower, Jesus told Ananias that “This man (Paul)  is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”

Soon after his conversion, Paul began to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He travelled throughout the Roman world on three major missionary journeys….many to places that were largely populated by Gentiles.

Today, we turn to Paul’s time in the city of Athens – the intellectual and spiritual capital of the ancient Greek civilization and one of the most prominent cities of the Roman Empire.

Listen now to the word of God as it is found in the Acts of the Apostles’ Chapter 17, verses sixteen through thirty-four:

Scripture Acts 17:16-31

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 

So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 

Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 

You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 

(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 

For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 

And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.

 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 

 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 

At that, Paul left the Council. 

Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. 

Amen.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray…..

Message Paul’s Sermon at Athens

 

In the first century, the city of Athens was an intellectual powerhouse – imagine Harvard and Oxford and Yale all in one city. Intellectuals everywhere – and people who loved discussing and debating big ideas. 

Athens is named after the Ancient Greek Goddess Athena – the goddess of wisdom, warfare and handicraft.  The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to Athena. The city’s population was very religious – in addition to worshipping Athena, they also worshipped many of the Greek gods and goddesses and their Roman equivalents. The people believed the world belonged to the gods, and people are essentially trespassing on the gods' planet. They needed to leave offerings and gifts for the gods in appreciation for them allowing the people to dwell on the earth and live our lives. And, they believed if we don’t give gifts to the gods, they will punish the people.

The people of Athens wanted to cover all of their bases, so there were shrines set up for all of the gods they knew about and they left open the possibility there were other gods to discover….hence the shrine to the “unknown” god. The shrine was for gods they didn’t know, and also for when they weren’t sure which of the known gods they needed to leave an offering for – again, they wanted to cover all of their bases.

The governing council of Athens was called the Areopagus. The council was named after the Hill of Ares – the hill where they met which is on the side of the hill the Parthenon sits upon. Ares was the Greek god of war….you may have heard about Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill – Mars is the Roman equivalent of Ares. Paul delivered his sermon to the council of Athens – the Aeropagus.

Paul’s sermon is a wonderful example of meeting people “where they were at.” He referenced how religious the people of Athens were. He quoted Greek philosophers they would have known. He was very positive in his remarks about the people of Athens.

Then, Paul suggested the unknown god they already had shrines for was our God. And he explained Jesus was God’s son—the messiah– who came to earth to redeem all people. He told them Jesus resurrected from the dead. And, then Paul invited the people of Athens to become followers of Jesus and embrace Christianity.

The people who heard Paul’s sermon, and heard about Jesus’ resurrection, had three different types of responses to his words. One group of people dismissed Paul – they didn’t believe him and they thought Jesus’ resurrection was a ridiculous idea. One group of people were curious – they wanted Paul to tell them more about Christianity and our beliefs and philosophy. And, the third group of people became Christians – they began to believe in Jesus and became part of the growing Christian church in Athens.

Paul could see, as he walked around Athens, that people were seeking connection to God – they were spiritual searchers. They wanted to feel a closeness to the divine. But, Paul realized they were searching in all the wrong places – they put their trust in the Greek or Roman pantheon of gods instead of connecting to the real God. 

We also live in a place and a time in which people are seeking a connection with the divine.  But, other people may put their trust in the things of this world instead of God….we personally know people who have almost a religious devotion to the stock-market or technology or their preferred political party – we know people who are fascinated with the British royal family or influencers or their favorite movie stars. We can walk around like Paul walked around Athens and see people are searching in all the wrong places.

We can take inspiration from Paul’s approach. We must work to meet people where they are at – appreciate the positive things they are doing – take a sincere interest in what they care about – and then offer them a relatable explanation of why we believe in God. People want to hear why we know our relationship with Jesus makes a difference in our lives. They want to hear that we have been helped and supported through our life’s challenges and joys by both our God and the church. People want to know that our faith makes a positive difference in our lives.

People need to hear from Christians the reasons why we feel our faith helps us. They need to hear from us.

And, we hope that people will be curious and want to hear more. We pray they will also take on this faith for themselves – the world is full of people who are searching in all the wrong places, and having a relationship with God will make all of the difference for them.

Let us be brave – let’s meet people where they are at and tell them the Good News of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Paul & Silas -- Jumping to Conclusions -- A Message for April 26, 2026

 

       Friends, last week, our message was focused on Saul’s conversion to Christianity. When we first read about Saul in our scriptures, he was a pious Pharisee who was full of hatred for Christianity. He devoted his life to persecuting and arresting Christians. Then, when was on the road walking to Damascus, he had an encounter with Jesus – Jesus told Saul to stop persecuting him and his people. After this moment, Saul devoted the rest of his life to Christ and preached the Good News.

He did a 180-degree turn.

As Saul’s Christian ministry grew, and he traveled away from Israel and into the Gentile world, he began to use his Roman name, Paul. 

Today, we encounter Paul, and his co-worker Silas, in the Roman city of Philippi in Macedonia. There, they met a wealthy woman named Lydia and she and her household converted to Christianity. The city did not have a synagogue, so the followers of Christianity met to pray on the shores of a river. One day, when the Christ-followers were headed to the river to pray, they ran into a problem. 

Let’s enter the story in the book of the Acts of the Apostles Chapter sixteen verses sixteen through thirty-four:

Scripture Acts 16:16-34

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 

She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 

She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 

They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 

by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 

After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 

When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 

Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 

The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 

But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 

He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 

At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 

The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 

The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 

They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 

After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.

Amen.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen

Let us pray….

Message Paul and Silas – Jumping to Conclusions

We are situated about a mile away from a maximum security prison – SCI Phoenix. Skippack has been neighbors with a prison for almost a hundred years – since 1929. I have heard colorful stories from long-time church members about prisoner escapes in the past and when the prisoners farmed the fields next to the old Skippack Elementary School. But, in this day and age, SCI Phoenix would not be the first place we would go to recruit new members for our church.

Likewise, in the first century, if you were looking for the next person to join your church, you probably wouldn’t have looked in a high-security Roman prison. And, you certainly wouldn’t have picked a cynical jailer who was ready to end all.

 Yet, God often uses the most chaotic, messy, and 'earth-shaking' moments of our lives to get our attention. Today, we look at how an earthquake broke the chains of a prison, and how God picks unlikely people to become God’s followers.  

This morning, our scripture describes several strange events that unfolded while Paul and Silias were in Philippi. While they were doing their missionary activities, they began to be followed by a girl – persistently followed by a shouting girl. The girl was a slave and she was possessed by a Spirit who allowed her to predict the future. The girl's owners used her fortune-telling abilities to enrich themselves.  

The spirit or demon that possessed the girl recognized Paul and Silas as representatives of God. The girl followed the men around and shouted: “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 

After she followed them for days, shouting, Paul grew frustrated. As a reaction to his frustration, he told the demon to leave the girl….and it did. We would think this is good news, and maybe it was for the girl, but her owners lost their income source when the girl couldn’t predict the future.

They were angry.

They caused a scene.

The owners of the girl dragged Paul and Silas before local magistrates and accused them of causing an uproar and taking away the girl’s powers.  The people in the crowd and the magistrates were locals – they were the citizens of Philippi….they were Romans….and Paul and Silias were outsiders – foreigners – aliens. It was easy for the crowd to turn against Paul and Silas.  

In response to the accusers and the angry crowd, the magistrates had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into jail….they didn’t have a trial….they weren’t represented by attorneys. They were just beaten and thrown into jail.

Paul and Silias were thrown into the deepest, darkest part of the prison and were placed in stocks. Thrown into the dark and immobilized. They must have seemed very dangerous to the authorities.  While they were there, they sang hymns and religious songs. They took every opportunity to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their positive attitude surprised the other prisoners who listened to the Christians songs and stories of hope…. Paul and Silas sang cheerful songs in a very cheer-less place.

In the middle of the night, an earthquake struck. The prison was rattled and the doors were flung open.  All of the prisoners had the opportunity to escape.

When the jailor saw the doors were open, he was so upset that he decided to kill himself on the spot…..i guess dying by suicide was preferable to being killed by the Romans for derelection of duty.

Paul realized the jailor was about to kill himself, so Paul called out to him and told him to not do it. Despite the prisoners having the opportunity to escape, no one left the prison. 

The jailor saw this as a miracle. And, he believed it was caused by Paul and Silias’ faith in God and Jesus. He was so impressed he took Paul and Silias into his home, cleaned them up, fed them a meal, and he and his whole family were baptised and became Christians.

The magistrates discovered they had imprisoned Roman citizens, Paul and Silias, without a trial in violation to Roman law. They asked Paul and Silas not to make a fuss and to leave their city. 

And, Paul and Silas did indeed leave Philippi, but their visit resulted in many conversions and Philippi becoming one of the early centers of Christianity.

When we talked about this story at our Lunch Bunch Bible Study this week, Ned pointed out that within this story there  were several examples of people “jumping to conclusions” before knowing all the facts. The owners of the slave girl jumped to the conclusion they were going to lose money when the demon was cast out of her. The Magistrates jumped to an incorrect conclusion when they thought they could beat and imprison Paul and Silas without a trial – not realizing they were citizens of Rome. The jailer jumped to the conclusion the prisoners had escaped without checking to see if they were still in the jail even though the doors were opened…he nearly took his own life before he discovered they stayed in the jail. 

One of our “take-aways” from  this story is a reminder that instead of jumping to conclusions, it is important to gather as much information as possible before we make major decisions. 

But, on the other hand, our faith is one of those things that may quickly take hold of us – and once we become followers of Jesus, we will spend the rest of our lives gathering information to support our faith.

When Paul and Silas were brought to the prison, they were perceived by the jailer as dangerous foreigners – they were of a different religion than him, they were from far away, they were a different ethnicity (Jewish instead of Greek), and they had caused a commotion and an upset in their town. The jailer locked them up in the inner-most, darkest, dankest part of the prison and also trapped their feet in stocks so they were completely restricted. 

  He may have heard them while they were under-arrest – Paul and Silas sang songs of their faith. This would have seemed unusual and drawn attention to them.

But, after the earthquake, when the jailer thought he had lost control of the prisoners and almost killed himself, Paul was the one who shouted for him to preserve his life. Paul had a word of Grace in the midst of a big upset.

The jailer immediately rushed into the cell where Paul and Silas were held, fell at their feet, and asked what he needed to do to convert to their faith.

And, in reply, Paul and Silas told him: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” With that, the jailer took them to his home, cleaned and bandaged their wounds, had his whole household baptised, and fed them a meal. He believed, and his whole household was saved.

This didn’t take a lot of contemplation. The jailer didn’t study for years like Crystal has been studying to prepare for her confirmation. His family members possibly didn’t know anything about this new-to-them faith until they were brought into the room to be baptised. But, God’s grace came to them, they believed, and they became children of God and members of the Christian faith.

Belief can come in a moment…Salvation comes in an instant…but it is our work as believers to expand our knowledge of our faith – to pray – to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit – to worship – to read our scriptures – to go to Bible studies – to learn about topics in Christianity – to practice applying our faith to our lives – to put our faith into action.  We believe, and then we learn, and then we apply our faith.

The jailer maybe wasn’t who Paul and Silas went to Philippi to convert. He was probably not their target audience. But, this story reminds us that even though we may not recognize that others need to hear the message of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is working to reach all people. We must do our part to share a message of God’s love with everyone we encounter, by our words, by our actions, by our kindness, and by our love. 

May we do so today and all days. Amen.

Paul's Conversion -- A Message for April 19, 2026

   Friends, we are going to jump ahead in the Christian story for our scripture this week. Last week, and on Easter Sunday, we focused on Jesus’ resurrection appearances. He told his followers that even after he wasn’t with them in-person, he would make sure God’s Holy Spirit was with them….and they would never be alone. 

After Jesus ascended to heaven, that is what happened – the Holy Spirit rushed into the place where Jesus’ disciples had gathered and filled them all with the breath of God. They had the extra help they needed to spread the Good News of Jesus, preach, teach, heal and start the Christian church. The Disciples were transformed from students into Apostles – messengers sent forth by God.

But, they were not without their detractors. This morning, we will focus on the u-turn taken by one of the early church’s greatest enemies – the man who would become St. Paul.

Listen now to our scripture reading as we read the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9, verses one through 19:

Scripture Acts 9:1-19a

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 

and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 

“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 

Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 

For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 

In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 

And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 

I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 

and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray…

Message Paul’s Conversion

I love watching home makeover shows … they are one of my favorite forms of escapism. When I was little, I remember watching “This Old House” on PBS and seeing old homes be updated with modern features. Then, we started having shows like “Trading Spaces” where people renovated rooms in their neighbor’s homes – it was fun to see how surprised people were when their renovations were revealed. Then the whole HGTV channel exploded – we could watch people transforming crumbling Detroit mansions into dream homes and out-dated suburban homes into modern farmhouse-esque abodes. 

We all love a good renovation story – a dump turned into a palace.

The scripture we read today is about Saul’s transformation–his biography is also a story of a dump being turned into a palace. 

We first hear about Saul in chapter seven of the Book of Acts. He was a pious Pharisee living in Jerusalem after the death of Jesus. He was part of the crowd who stoned Stephen – the first Christian martyr. Saul didn’t throw any rocks – he was on the sidelines and the rock throwers laid their cloaks at his feet. 

After Saul witnessed Steven’s death, though, he was inspired to persecute Christians himself. Chapter 8 of Acts says: “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” He was on a vendetta against all of Christ’s followers.

The chapter we read this morning said that Saul developed a new strategy to persecute Christians. He got the high priest in Jerusalem to write letters saying Saul had his permission to go to Damascus and arrest Christ-followers there. Damascus was about 120 miles from Jerusalem. After Saul arrested Christians, he could drag them back to Jerusalem to be put in prison. Saul was on the war-path against followers of Christ.

But, then he was stopped. While he was walking to Damascus, on his way to arrest more Christians, a bright light flashed out of the sky…Saul was blinded. Then, the voice of Jesus told him to stop persecuting Christians. The people with Saul on his journey could hear Jesus’ voice but they couldn’t see Jesus. After the light and Jesus’ voice dissipated, Saul stood up and continued to Damascus. There, he grappled with this sudden blindness–for three days he couldn’t see…he couldn’t eat….he couldn’t drink. He was in shock. He was horrified. 

Saul had been openly, actively, violently persecuting followers of Jesus – and now Jesus appeared to him and told him to stop…Jesus was real, and everyone Saul had been persecuting was practicing a true-faith. Saul had been wrong all along. 

Saul’s life changed after his encounter with Jesus. Saul not only changed, but he made a U-turn. The biggest threat to Christianity became the biggest champion of Christianity. Jesus told Ananias to go to where Saul was staying and heal his vision – Jesus was going to use Saul to bring the Gospel to Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel.   

When Jesus approached Ananias, and commanded him to go to Saul, Ananias was worried – he had heard about Saul’s persecution of Jesus’ followers. But, Ananias trusted Jesus, so he stifled his doubts and went and healed Saul. And, as soon as Saul could see again, he had Ananias baptise him. Saul had work to do….he spent the rest of his life preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ – he became a preacher, an evangelist, and an encourager and advocate for the growing Christian community. Saul, transformed into Paul, served the Lord until the end of his life.

Both Ananias and Saul responded to Jesus – Ananias trusted Jesus and agreed to approach Saul and offer him healing and baptism. After Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Saul also trusted Jesus. His life completely changed after he met Jesus on that Damascus road.

We come to church because we have experienced the life-changing God….Jesus has changed our own lives as well. We come to worship God and to show our appreciation for the ways God has changed our lives for the better.

Our lives have not been simple–many of us have had u-turns like Saul.  We have all believed things that we later learned were wrong. We have done things that have hurt other people. We have all misjudged people. We have all followed false leaders, or gotten into relationships with the wrong people, or trusted people who later proved to be untrustworthy. We have all had u-turns like Saul.

Since we have been wrong in the past, it is important that we forgive ourselves….I am the queen of laying in bed in the middle of the night regretting words I have said or things I have done or choices that I have made. Just as God forgave Saul, let us forgive ourselves.

And, let us also forgive each other. We often struggle with this part – it is hard for us to let go of our grudges, and our pain, and our judgements. God forgives us, let us forgive one another. 

We are here because we have experienced the life-changing God. Other people need to know that God loves them, God forgives them, and God welcomes them with all of their imperfections. The story of redemption and forgiveness that we have experienced is the story we need to tell people who are hurting, who blame themselves, who worry that God will never accept them.

Let us tell people the Good News – there is nothing we have done that is unforgivable for God. Let us free ourselves from our regret and let us do all we can to help others people know God’s welcome, love, and acceptance.

May we do so today and all days. Amen.