Setting Sail: Paul
Welcome to our new sermon series as we Set Sail with Paul. Let’s explore…
Go Deeper: Resources
Our intention is to create or share resources to help people explore these topics in further depth. Here are a few resources you might find meaningful during this sermon series.
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Sermon Audio Files
Antioch
What if the deepest work of God among us at Lake Ridge is not something we have to manufacture?
What if, even now, the Spirit is gathering us, a mix of people of all backgrounds, calling us to Jesus, stirring in us a yearning, teaching us to listen, and opening our hearts to an invitation none of us could imagine, an invitation that is so close to the heart of Jesus that we could do nothing but respond with joy?
This was not Paul’s church, this is not Preston’s church, it is Jesus’ church.
Paphos
But here’s what they’re about to find. If Jesus is Lord, then Jesus is about to displace anything and everything that seeks to take God’s place. Jesus does not seek to share a seat in your heart, he takes up full residency in those who call Jesus Lord. This means some tremendous friction as powers, people, and rulers have to choose: me and my own throne and my own gods, or Jesus, my all in all.
Philippi
Look at what is expanding here, what Paul sees, what his magnanimous Jesus-full heart can see: Lydia, a slave girl, and a jailer. Maybe a large soul, like that growing in Paul, is simply a soul with enough room for God to surprise it. Paul was willing to let these three people in, to see them as Jesus does, and believe that Jesus can fit in their hearts too.
Malta
The world of Roman shipping was not like a cruise ship. There were, criss-crossing the Mediterranean Sea hundreds of commercial vessels moving cargo. If you wanted to move, you got on one of these cargo ships, negotiated a price for passage, brought your own food, and moved at the speed of wind and weather.