Ephesus is a city of economic, cultural, political and religious power. In what is the culmination of Paul’s public ministry we see how the gospel causes disruption as it challenges these entrenched powers. How might the gospel challenge the powers at work in our culture today?
Jesus sent the church into the world to be his witnesses and the Spirit empowered and directed them across cultural, religious and geographical boundaries. In the latter half of Acts, we follow the Apostle Paul on his journeys across the Mediterranean world, giving witness to Jesus in synagogues, markets, and halls of power. He and his companions experience resistance from economic, political and religious opponents, as well as hardships like prison and shipwreck. He makes disciples, recruits companions and plants churches in a wide variety of cultural settings.
Like Paul, we are all called to be witnesses of Jesus where God has sent us. Living out of the same story and filled with the same Spirit, we are to proclaim the good news with joy and power. We will experience resistance and hardship along the way, but we can trust God with our lives and with the results of our witness.
