The Life of Paul Week 1

This sermon opens a new series on the life of the Apostle Paul, beginning with his background and the events leading up to his dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Pastor Jordan traces Paul's origins as a Jew born in Tarsus, raised in Jerusalem, and trained under the prestigious rabbi Gamaliel. This education made Paul a Pharisee among Pharisees, deeply zealous for the traditions of his fathers. That same zeal, however, blinded him to Jesus as the Messiah and drove Him to violently persecute the early church, approving of Stephen's stoning and hunting down believers as far as Damascus. The sermon highlights two major themes. First, it warns against allowing inherited traditions and personal preferences to become the lens through which we judge other believers, noting that this is the same Spirit that drove Paul to persecute the church. Second, it celebrates the grace of God displayed in Paul's conversion. When Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, He was not focused on Paul's past but on Paul's purpose. Pastor Jordan challenges the congregation to stop believing the lie that their past disqualifies them from being used by God, and to take one step of obedience at a time, just as Paul did when He got up and walked into Damascus, blind and uncertain, but willing.