Innocent of the Blood of All People

In one paragraph

On July 20, 2025, Pastor Ray walked First Baptist Jackson through Acts 20, the chapter where Paul says his goodbyes to the people he loves most and presses on toward Jerusalem anyway. The sermon stayed close to the text, moving through the travelogue of Paul's third missionary journey and landing on the farewell speech Paul gave to the elders of the church at Ephesus on the beach at Miletus. The...

Read together

1. Psalm 147:7 quoted at the opening to call the congregation to worship
2. Acts 20 the main passage preached through in its entirety
3. Luke 9:51 cited as the parallel verse where Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem, compared to Paul's resolve
4. Ephesians 2:8-10 quoted to show salvation by grace through faith and that believers are created for good works
5. Ezekiel 34 referenced as a warning to bad shepherds, connected to Paul's charge to the Ephesian elders

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray mentioned that the miracles in Acts authenticate the message, and pointed to the resurrection of Eutychus as an example of God showing up in a horrible situation. Where have you seen or experienced something that felt like God showing up in a moment that seemed hopeless?
2. Paul told the Ephesian elders he was innocent of the blood of all people because he had not shrunk back from declaring everything that was beneficial to them. What does it look like in your own life to take that kind of responsibility seriously toward the people around you?
3. Paul said he was bound by the Spirit toward Jerusalem, knowing chains and afflictions were waiting, but that he did not consider his life dear to himself. What does genuine surrender to God's will look like for you, and where do you find it hardest to hold loosely to your own plans?
4. Pastor Ray read Paul's warning to the elders to guard themselves and the flock, and connected it to Ezekiel 34 and the idea of bad shepherds. What do you think it looks like in a local church, or in a small group like this one, to actually guard and care for one another well?
5. The sermon closed with the image of the Ephesian elders weeping on the beach because they knew they would not see Paul's face again, and Pastor Ray said grief is hard and that not seeing someone again leaves an ache. How has the hope of resurrection shaped the way you have walked through grief, your own or someone else's?