07 April 2006

series on paul - looking for good ideas...

we're thinking about doing a series later this year at hpc on the life of paul. we want to connect the life of paul to the need for people to get involved - volunteerism, giving our time and our talents to the work of the local church. originally we were going to do our own version of "living beyond myself" (a la seacoast) but as we've prayed and delved deeper into what we need to communicate, we've turned more to a thought of using paul as a basis for teaching people about being involved in the ministry of the local church.

so - anyone got anything good along those lines to share or point me to?

2 comments:

Kevin Andrew Woolsey said...

What fascinates me about the apostle Paul is his super-intense focus. I think his incredible focus may have come from the fact that "whoever is forgiven much loves much." Imagine running into Paul on the streets of Rome 5 years before his conversion. He probably would have made us puke. He was probably rude, proud, obnoxious and self-absorbed. Maybe when Paul remembered what he used to be like it made him cry. Maybe like John the Baptist he realized he was not worthy (not good enough) to bend down and untie Jesus' sandals. I think what kept Paul so super-focused and serving Christ was his remembering what he used to be like. He remembered how God gave him a brand new life. A life the exact opposite of the one he was living before he ran into Christ on the road to Damascus.

Dave Ohlerking said...

Paul personally tended to the needs of his fellow ship-wreck victims. He gathered wood for the fire. Wonderful message that the viper that was in the kindling he brought to the fire was exposed by the fire and then killed by that same fire. Our God is a consuming fire!