We Must Run Aground on a Certain Island

In one paragraph

Acts 27 is the story of Paul's voyage to Rome as a prisoner, and Pastor Ray worked through it section by section on a rainy Sunday morning. The chapter follows a ship battered by a nor'easter across the Mediterranean for fourteen days, with cargo thrown overboard, the lifeboat lost, and all hope of survival abandoned. The thread running through it all is that God's purposes move forward even when...

Read together

1. Psalm 34:8 worship song 'Taste and See' identified as coming from this psalm
2. Acts 27 main passage preached through, the voyage and shipwreck of Paul
3. Luke 1 referenced as Luke writing an accurate account for Theophilus
4. John 3 mentioned as the passage being studied in the men's lunch group
5. Matthew 6:10 Lord's Prayer sung at the opening, 'on earth as it is in heaven'
6. 2 Corinthians 13:14 spoken as the benediction closing the service
7. Luke 24:30-31 referenced in connection with communion, Jesus breaking bread on the road to Emmaus
8. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 quoted during the Lord's Supper distribution, the words of institution

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray opened the sermon by pointing out that Paul had no say in the decision to sail for Italy, and then drew a parallel to moments when things are simply out of our hands. When have you felt that way, and how did you respond to not being in control?
2. Paul warned the sailors and soldiers that setting out was a bad idea, and they ignored him. Have you ever had good counsel ignored, or ignored good counsel yourself, and what came of it?
3. Luke writes that after many days of storm, all hope of being saved was abandoned, and he includes himself in that. Can you describe a time when you reached that kind of desperation, and what, if anything, brought you back from it?
4. In the middle of the storm, Paul stood up and told everyone to eat, gave thanks to God, broke bread, and the whole company of 276 people was encouraged. Who in your life has been that kind of persistent encourager when things looked darkest, and what did their encouragement actually look like?
5. Pastor Ray asked whether there is anything weighing you down that you just need to cut loose, comparing it to the sailors cutting the anchor lines and letting them sink. Is there something you are still anchored to that is keeping you from moving toward where God wants you?