The Vicissitudes of Life

In one paragraph

The August 3 message came from Acts 21, following Paul's journey toward Jerusalem as the third missionary journey drew to a close. The theme running through the text was what the preacher called the vicissitudes of life, the unwelcome changes and hard turns that come even when a believer is doing exactly what God has called them to do. A pastoral transition here at First B gave the passage an...

Read together

1. Acts 21 the passage being preached through, picking up where the series left off
2. Acts 20 Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders on the beach at Miletus, referenced as the prior stopping point
3. Luke 9:51 Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem, used to parallel Paul's resolve to go to Jerusalem
4. Matthew 15:21-28 the Syrophoenician woman at Tyre and Sidon, used as background history for the city of Tyre
5. Acts 20:22-24 Paul says he is bound by the spirit to go to Jerusalem and does not count his life dear to himself
6. Romans Paul says if it were possible he would give his life for his countrymen the Jews, referenced loosely without a verse number

Talk about it

1. Pastor Mark described the disciples in Tyre telling Paul through the Spirit not to go to Jerusalem, while Paul was convinced the Spirit had told him to go. Have you ever felt that kind of tension between what you believed God was calling you to do and what the people around you were urging? How did you work through it?
2. Pastor Mark pointed to Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman in Matthew 15 as a teaching moment about the disciples' own attitude toward outsiders. What does that passage stir up in you, and where do you see that same attitude showing up today?
3. Paul told the people weeping over him that they were breaking his heart, and said he was ready not only to be bound but to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. What do you think made Paul that resolute, and what would it take for any of us to get to that place?
4. When Paul would not be persuaded, the group stopped urging him and said, 'The will of the Lord be done.' Pastor Mark called that a statement of humility and trust. How hard is it to get to that point when someone you care about is heading into something dangerous or difficult, and what helps you get there?
5. Pastor Mark applied this passage directly to where First B is right now, seeking a successor and navigating a season of change. He said we should be sure that when we are urging one another, we are saying what the Spirit is saying and not just what we are thinking. How do you personally try to tell the difference between the Spirit's leading and your own opinion?