Key Sermons
Antioch (Pisidian) — Acts 13:16-41
Paul’s first recorded sermon, delivered in a synagogue. He retraces Israel’s history — from Egypt to David — to show that Jesus is the promised descendant of David who brings forgiveness that the law could not provide. It’s a model of preaching to a biblically literate audience: start where they already stand, then show them where the story leads.
Lystra — Acts 14:15-17
A short, urgent sermon to a Gentile crowd who mistook Paul and Barnabas for gods after a healing. With no shared Scripture to appeal to, Paul points instead to creation itself — the rain, the harvests, the seasons — as evidence of a living God distinct from the idols they know. It’s a model for addressing an audience with no religious common ground.
Athens (the Areopagus) — Acts 17:22-31
Perhaps Paul’s most quoted sermon. Facing Greek philosophers, he opens by noting their altar “to an unknown god” and uses it as a bridge to the true God. He quotes their own poets (“we are his offspring”) and argues from natural theology before pivoting to the resurrection — the point where many of his listeners scoff, but some believe. It shows Paul meeting an educated, skeptical audience on its own intellectual terms without abandoning the core claim.
Miletus (to the Ephesian elders) — Acts 20:17-35
Not evangelistic in the traditional sense, but foundational for the theme of follow-up. Paul reminds these church leaders how he served among them “with tears,” warns of coming false teachers, and urges them to guard the flock — a portrait of Paul’s pastoral, not just proclamational, side.
Hope 