Third Sunday of Easter

Sermon Text: Acts 9:1-19a

Other Readings: Revelation 5:11-14 and John 21:1-14

 

  1. You probably better know Saul by another name. Read Acts 13:2, 3, and 9 to discover that name.

 

 

  1. Whom did Jesus say that Paul was persecuting? What comfort is there in that?

 

 

  1. Apostle comes from a Greek word which simply means, “one sent out.” But when we say that Paul and the Twelve are “apostles,” we mean something very specific about their apostleship. What did Paul have in common with Jesus’ twelve disciples? Confer Acts 1:21-22 and Acts 9:3, 5, 6, and 15.

 

 

  1. What did Ananias do for Paul?

 

 

  1. Who are some brothers and sisters in Christ who have been a kind of Ananias to your Saul? That is, who has encouraged you with God’s Word when God has placed sudden and severe changes in your life?

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Saul’s name later changed to Paul. This is the same Paul who wrote thirteen letters that are found in the New Testament.

 

  1. Paul was persecuting Jesus himself. You cannot persecute a dead person, so it’s comforting to know that Jesus indeed is alive! It’s also comforting to know that Jesus so dearly loves those who trust in him that if someone attacks us, that person attacks the Lord. Jesus knows when we are persecuted.

 

  1. Both Paul and all the Twelve a) had physically seen Jesus after his resurrection and b) were sent out for public gospel ministry. By contrast, all Christians are apostles in the general sense: we all have been sent out to share the gospel with people we meet.

 

  1. Ananias was used by God to give Paul his sight back. More importantly, Ananias encouraged Paul with the risen Lord’s message and baptized Saul. Though baptism, Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit and marked as a child of the triune God.

 

  1. Answers will vary. Thank God for these people and, if you can, get a hold of them and thank them personally for being a brother or sister in Christ!