Just as You Testified Here, So Also in Rome

In one paragraph

This message picked up where Pastor Van had left off, following Paul from Caesarea into Jerusalem and through a series of confrontations that landed him before a mob, a Roman commander, and finally the Sanhedrin. The thread running through all of it was Paul's willingness to stay in the conversation, to speak in the language of whoever was in front of him, and to hold on even when the situation...

Read together

1. Acts 20 Paul says he is bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem but does not know what will happen there
2. Acts 21:15 after these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem
3. Acts 15 the letter sent to Gentile believers about abstaining from meat sacrificed to idols, blood, things strangled, and sexual immorality
4. Romans 9 Paul expresses that he would give his life for his countrymen to come to know God
5. Exodus 22:28 you shall not curse a ruler of your people, cited when Paul apologizes for speaking against the high priest
6. Romans 15:13 closing benediction: the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan raised the question of whether Paul was rushing God's timeline by going to Jerusalem despite repeated warnings from believers and the prophet Agabus. How do you tell the difference between Spirit-led determination and pushing ahead of God's schedule in your own life?
2. When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers received him gladly but then immediately described the tensions his reputation had created among Jewish believers who were zealous for the law. Have you ever had your reputation arrive somewhere ahead of you in a distorted form, and how did you handle it?
3. Pastor Nathan pointed out the irony that Paul was dragged out of the temple while he was literally in the middle of a purification ritual meant to show his respect for the law. Where have you seen people condemn someone based on assumption rather than what was actually happening?
4. When Paul stood on the stairs and addressed the crowd in Aramaic, Pastor Nathan noted how winsome and polite his approach was even in an extremely dangerous moment. What does it look like practically to defend your faith in a way that is both courageous and genuinely respectful toward people who are hostile?
5. Paul told the council he was on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead, and that declaration immediately split the room along existing fault lines. Pastor Nathan closed by praying that we would recognize the biases we bring in from our various backgrounds into the body of Christ. What is one presupposition you have brought into your faith from your background that you sense God nudging you to examine more honestly?