Sensitive, Humble, and Obedient

In one paragraph

On Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer in Jackson Hole, Pastor Tanya walked First Baptist Jackson through Acts 16 and three brief personal stories embedded in Paul's second missionary journey. The through line was a simple claim: God is in the business of saving and changing lives, and He carries that business out through people who are sensitive, humble, and obedient to His...

Read together

1. Psalm 147:1 opening call to worship: how good to sing praises to our God, how delightful and how fitting
2. Matthew 7:24-25 wise man who built his house on the rock, used as a prayer that the church would build its foundation on God
3. Acts 16 the main passage for the sermon, covering Paul and Silas in Philippi including Lydia, the slave girl, and the Philippian jailer
4. 2 Corinthians 11 Paul lists being beaten with rods among his sufferings
5. 2 Peter 3:9 benediction: the Lord is not slow about his promise but patient, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance

Talk about it

1. Pastor Tanya and he nearly went to Spain and Morocco before ending up here in Jackson. Have you ever been blocked from a plan you felt sure about, and how did that redirection turn out?
2. The text says Paul and his companions were 'sensitive, humble, and obedient' to the Holy Spirit's leading rather than forcing their way into Asia or Bithynia. What does that kind of sensitivity look like in a practical, day-to-day way for someone living in Jackson Hole right now?
3. All three people in the Philippians vignettes responded to belief by taking an immediate action: Lydia opened her home, the slave girl was set free, and the jailer washed wounds and fed his guests. What do you think it says about genuine faith that action followed so quickly in each case?
4. Paul waited many days before commanding the spirit to leave the slave girl, apparently not wanting to cause a stir, but then refused to slip quietly out of town after the earthquake. What do you make of those two different responses, and what might they tell us about when to avoid conflict and when to stand firm?
5. The sermon closed with the idea that people who show up in Jackson Hole, whether they know it or not, have restless souls looking for God. What does it look like for someone in this congregation to be the kind of person who is ready to meet that in a gas station line or on a trail?