Passage: Acts 20:1-21:14 Speaker: Pastor Jon Kopp Series: The Book of Acts: Neighbors & Nations
Speaker: Jon Kopp - In Acts 20–21, we find several narratives of Paul’s travels, complete with lists of various names and places. Nestled within these accounts is a lengthy and heartfelt message from Paul to a group of elders whom he deeply loves. It seems to be a randomly assembled collection of Paul’s activities and teachings as he finishes his third missionary journey. But, our text today is far from random. One activity ties it all together. From the beginning of our text and all the way through, Paul is gathering Christians to minister to them. This is a unique turn in the Book of Acts. Up to this point, the predominant focus hasn’t been on Christians. It has been on telling those who aren’t Christians about Jesus. Paul has been in synagogues with Jews and in public places with Gentiles proclaiming the gospel. He has had great success, and he has suffered. But, the primary focus of the accounts has been on his evangelism. But now as we come to Acts 20, Paul’s focus has changed. And as it does, a theme starts to emerge: the life of the Christian. As we watch Paul minister and hear him teach, he is showing Christians what life should be about.