Reflections on “Hey, it’s Paul” Acts 9: 1-9; I Corinthins 1: 1-3

This sermon begins our summer preaching series "In the Footsteps of Paul," which grows out of a church trip last fall to Greece and Turkey to follow in the footsteps of Paul.  The sermon was a first-person narrative with Paul dressed like a first-century Jew (or at least as best I could do using Amazon costumes!). 

In the previous churches I served, I probably did more dramatic type sermons, either first-person sermons or scripted sermons with characters.  I have done less of that here at St. Andrew, in part because the sightlines in the sanctuary make it hard for people to see from the back.  The sermon was well-received, though, with people appreciating a different style of sermon.  Paul will visit again in August to conclude the sermon, so the congregation will get another dose of first-person sermons.   

I have often just memorized, or really free-lanced, the first-person sermons, but my confidence in being able to do that is not as great as it once was.  So for this sermon, I used my phone with the script on it.  The phone fit well in the palm of my hand, and it was good to have something to see if needed.  It was a bit interesting to scroll down the phone while talking, trying to guess when to stop scrolling because I had reached the next point!   It was fun for me to bring back this style of preaching that has been an integral part of my preaching through the years.

“Hey, it’s Paul” Acts 9: 1-9; I Corinthins 1: 1-3; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; June 14, 2026; Footsteps of Paul series

Chrissy:  I Corinthians 1: 1-3 

Chrissy:  this morning, we begin our summer preaching series “Footsteps of Paul.”   Each week, we will read about the Apostle Paul’s travels and/or his theological perspective on various issues.  Lisa and Richard may also sprinkle in some stories from the church’s trip last fall when they followed in the footsteps of Paul around Greece and Turkey. 

since i was stuck here while they were off traveling, the sermons I preach will not have stories from the trip.

We may also get a chance to visit with Paul in person.

(knocking from door by pulpit)

(Loudly). Hello, who’s there?

(Paul will enter and take over the sermon) 

Move 1:  Hey, it’s Paul.

Or maybe some of you still think of me as Saul.  

Lots of people I know have had trouble with my new name.

In fact, I’m still getting used to it.

But as Paul, I have a question for you:  have you ever had your life suddenly change?

that’s what happened to me on the road to Damascus.

At that moment, my name was Saul.

I was a Pharisee, a pretty good one if I can say so myself.

I was on the road to Damascus to find those people who said they were followers of Christ.

It wasn’t just that they said they were his followers, 

But they also claimed that he was the Son of God and that he had been resurrected from the dead.

My job, as I understood it then, was to find those followers of Christ and persecute them, just like they had stoned Stephen.  

I had to keep from telling this crazy story about the empty tomb.

I even volunteered to go to Damascus to deal with anyone who was a follower of Christ.

But suddenly, I was on the ground, as if thrown down by the lights from heaven that flashed before my very eyes.

I could not see a thing, 

blindness had overcome me,

but I could hear,

yes, I could I hear.

In that moment, I heard a voice from heaven.

The voice asked me: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

I asked, “Who are you?”

But I knew.  

In that moment, I knew whose voice I heard.

It was the voice of the resurrected Christ.

Now I had never heard him speak when he was alive,  

But I knew the sound of his voice as it came down from heaven for me.

There I was  - blind, 

on my knees, 

and i realized - I had it wrong.

I had it so wrong.

Move 2: You know  I never met  Jesus of Nazareth.

Maybe you are like me, and you never knew him personally either. 

I have heard lots of stories about him, but I never saw him teach,

or preach,

or cast out demons,

or walk on water

on argue with the authorities

I suppose most of you never have either.

But somehow I knew that voice.

So what do you do when you suddenly realize that God has chosen you,

that God’s grace has reached down from the heavens and snatched you away from your previous life 

What is Christ calling you to follow?

I don’t know what you would do, but I  did what he asked.

I got up off my knees and went to Damascus to wait for instruction.

And now my life is changed.  

I guess I’m still a Pharisee, but instead of focusing on following rules and making sure everyone else follows the rules, I am listening for the voice of the risen Christ.

I am changing my life and giving it over to following Christ.

Being a disciple of the risen Christ calls me to step out in faith in ways I would have never imagined.

But, I have heard the call of the risen Christ, so what else can I do?

Maybe you know what it’s like to give your life over to following Christ.

Move 3:   For me, I have now committed to traveling,

going to wherever God sends me to tell people about the risen Christ and what it means to follow him,

to help people learn what it means to be in community with others who believe that Christ has been raised from the dead.

Now, here’s my plan - every town I go to, I’m going to start in the synagogue.

I will start with the Jews.  People like me.

Because I am a Pharisee, they will welcome me. 

I will share with the synagogue officials why I have come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the messiah we had been looking for, and how God resurrected him from the dead.

As a Pharisee, I’ve always been good at developing my arguments and winning debates, so I am planning on doing the same thing to convince them about who Jesus is. 

But if that doesn’t work, I’ll go out in the town and talk to anyone who will listen to me.

I know it will be hard to convince people, but what else can I do.

Now that I know that Jesus is the Son of god and was raised from the dead, all I can do is tell others what I now know to be true.

Do you know what it is like to believe that Jesus is the Son of god and was raised from the dead?

I bet you do.

And it changes you, doesn’t it?

Move 4:   I’m also going to continue my work as a tentmaker.

Every town I go to I’m going to set up my shop to make things out of leather and goat’s hair.  

I know it’s dirty and smelly work, but I can take my tools and do it anywhere.

Every town needs someone who can work with leather and make tents.

and it will put me in contact with all sorts of people.  

I will not only share at the synagogues, but I’ll share about the risen Christ with people who need me to make things out of leather for them.

and it will give me an income.

I don’t want anyone saying to me that I am living off of them, that somehow I am taking from them.

and I don’t want to worry that if someone disagrees with my message about the resurrected Christ, they won’t take care of me anymore.

I will make my own money, 

I will take care of what I need,

and I will freely preach about the risen Christ.

Don’t misunderstand me.

I am looking forward to meeting different people and developing relationships.

But I will work as a tentmaker so that I will not be beholden to anyone but the Risen Christ.

And I will trust that God will send people into my life to provide me with the help that I need.

Move 5:  I am going to find people who want to join me in my work.

I know, given my reputation among the Jewish community now, it may be hard to get anyone to join with me.

When I arrived in Damascus, blind after having met the Risen Christ on the road, no followers of Christ wanted to have anything to do with me!

Thank God, literally, that God sent Ananias to meet me and help me begin my work.

I don’t think Ananias was happy about it.

Certainly, the other followers of Christ stayed as far away from me as they could.

not that I blame them.  Why should they believe that I did not want to persecute them since that’s what I had announced I was going to do?

But, the job of telling people about the resurrection of Jesus Christ is more than I can do alone.

I intend to find people in every place I go to join with me.

And every time I leave a place, I want there to be people who stay behind who are willing to continue to tell others about the risen Christ.

People with all sorts of different skills and gifts to keep the new community of believers going. 

My plan is to stay a few days, or a few months, or even a year or more in some places, but eventually I will move to the next place, and the people in those places will have to continue to preach and teach about the resurrected Christ without me being present.

Maybe you know what it is like to be one of the leaders who shows others how to share their faith in the resurrected Christ and how to show God’s love in the world around them.

Move 5:  I am also going to write letters to the places where I have visited.

Not that writing and reading letters is better than being there in person and discussing issues together,

but the letters can help me share my thoughts about what God might be doing 

and the people can send questions they might have about what it means to follow the resurrected Christ.

I hope that communities of faith will develop in all the places I travel.  

and as they develop, well, I’m sure there will be lots of questions.

They might even have disagreements about things and need my advice.  

I have heard that Jesus told his disciples that wherever two or more of his followers gather, God is with them,

but my experience as a Pharisee is that wherever two or more people gather there will be disagreements about what to believe and how they should act.

maybe you’ve experienced that yourself in your own communities.

I will use my letters to help these new followers of the risen Christ learn to live in community together,

and learn what is important to their faith.

My prayer is that my letters will allow me to stay in relationship with all the communities I visit and help build them up.

Conclusion:  Well, I need to go, time to get started on my way to Thessaloniki,

but maybe we can visit again the next time I am in your community.

Until then, may you know the Risen Christ in your midst and may you give your life over to following him.

Acts 9: 1-9

 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing;[a] so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.