Sermon Notes; a Daily Devotional

Acts 22:3&4 "3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. 4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." We are studying how God calls His followers. We began with a reluctant Moses at the burning bush, then saw Queen Esther fully surrender and risk everything to save her people. Yesterday Ezekiel showed us God’s radical intervention: giving His people a new heart and a new spirit, responsive, able to love and obey Him. Today we turn to God’s call of Saul of Tarsus. Saul once had a heart of stone, so hard, so determined to crush Jesus’ followers. In these verses, the Apostle Paul stands before an angry Jewish mob in Jerusalem and defends himself by recounting his background and former life as a persecutor. Paul establishe...

Acts 22:4 "And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." We continue Epic Fails—God Prevails. Last week: Peter's denial of Jesus—an epic failure. Post-resurrection, Jesus showed how His suffering, death, and resurrection fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit ignited Peter's faith; he preached, and thousands believed. Peter established the Church and bravely endured torture and crucifixion under Roman authority. We learn from faith heroes and seek to join God's plan. With Jesus' love in us, we're empowered to stand for Him. This week: Saul of Tarsus's Damascus road conversion. It starts differently—Saul saw himself as a success. Born ~AD 5 in Tarsus, Cilicia, to a Jewish family; Roman citizen with rare privileges. Circumcised on the eighth day; from the tribe of Benjamin; a "Hebrew of Hebrews." Trained in Jerusalem under Rabbi Gamaliel (Sanhedrin member), masterin...