Changed Lives in Philippi (Acts 16:11-40)

Bible Passage: Acts 16:11-40

Here we have the start of the second missionary journey for Paul and his colleagues. This time, Paul is travelling with Silas and Timothy and they went west to share the gospel and plant churches. This starts in the city of Philippi.

Opportunistic Mission: The chapter tells the stories of some of the people who Paul and his team led to Christ in Philippi. First there was Lydia, and this came about through an encounter by the river on the sabbath (a space where god-fearing people went to pray). The second was an unnamed slave who had a spirit of divination and had been following the team around. Her conversion happened through a work of power as Paul cast out the demon from her. The third was an unnamed jailer along with his family, and this came about when Paul stayed behind during a jailbreak to prevent the jailer being killing himself. These stories are very different and show different aspects of evangelism. It is important for us to think strategically (like Paul going to the river), to pray powerfully (like Paul did for the servant girl), to seize opportunities presented to us (like Paul did with the jailer) and to share with those close to us (like the jailer did with his household).

A Diverse Church: It is striking to note how different the people who formed the core of this church are from each other. Lydia (who was the host and likely one of the leaders) was a person of-means. She had a house large enough to serve as a base of operations for the church and ran a business. The fact that she is called a head of household makes it likely she was widowed and so was probably middle-aged or older. The slave girl was at the opposite end of the social scale, and was young and vulnerable. The jailer was a man in a working class profession, better off than the slave girl but less well-off than Lydia. Because the households of Lydia and the jailer were also saved this would have brought in others, including children and more servants. This community brought together people of all different backgrounds who had little else in common, and displayed a range of gender, age and social class – just as the church should.

Potential Applications:

• Spend some time listening together to the Holy Spirit. Are there places he is putting on your heart to share your faith?
• Challenge people to think about their own evangelism. Are there elements of what we see in this passage that they are confident in? What areas do you feel prompted to grow in?
• Reflect on the challenges of diversity in the church. How much of this do you see in your church, and what can be done to strengthen the unity of people from different walks of life?