Keep On Telling Your Story

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark walked through the final stretch of Paul's trial narrative, covering Acts 25:13 through 26:32. The passage puts Paul before King Agrippa the second and his sister Bernice, with the Roman governor Festus looking for something to write to Caesar about a man he has already found innocent. The through-line of the message was simple: keep telling your story. Before getting into the text,...

Read together

1. Acts 25:13 - 26:32 the main passage read and preached through in full
2. Acts 12 referenced to describe Herod Agrippa the first's death and his arrest of Peter and killing of James
3. Matthew 10 quoted regarding Jesus sending disciples as sheep among wolves and being brought before governors and kings
4. Acts 1:8 referenced as Paul recounting his witness from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the uttermost parts

Talk about it

1. The pastor spent time on the Herod family tree before getting to the first verse. Why do you think the background of who Agrippa and Bernice were matters for understanding what Paul is doing in this scene?
2. Festus could not figure out what the charges against Paul really were, and told Agrippa the whole dispute came down to whether Jesus was dead or alive. How do you respond to the idea that the resurrection is the central question underneath every disagreement about Christianity?
3. Paul told Agrippa he considered himself fortunate to get to tell his story again, even in chains before a Roman governor. What is your reaction to that attitude, and what does it say about how Paul understood his circumstances?
4. When Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, he said it was hard to kick against the goads, meaning Paul already had everything he needed to recognize the truth and was walking against it. Have you ever been in a season where you were kicking against something you already knew was true?
5. At the end of the sermon, the point was made to keep telling your story, that different audiences may call for different versions of it. What makes it hard to tell your own story, and what would it look like to be more ready to share it?