Bill Acton :: Acts 20 - Heading Home

Sermon Outline for Acts 20

Heading Home

1. The Witness in Macedonia and Greece – Act 20:1-24
   1. Revisiting the churches
   2. The traveling seminary
   3. The experience of Eutychus – Act 20:7-12
      1. Christians were meeting on the first day of the week
      2. Paul preached till midnight
      3. Eutychus fell and died
      4. He was miraculously restored
      5. The communion service lasted till daybreak
2. The Witness at Miletus – Act 20:17-38
   1. The elders from Ephesus join Paul
   2. Paul reviews his ministry – Act 20:18-21
      1. Consistent - “I lived among you”
      2. Humble - “Serving the Lord with all humility”
      3. Earnest – “With tears”
      4. Dangerous – “With triaIs and plots”
      5. Fearless - “I shrank not”
      6. Tireless - “Publicly and from house to house”
      7. Redemptive - “Repentance and faith”
   3. Paul states his commitment to serve – Act 20:22-24
      1. The trouble awaiting him
      2. His attitudes and convictions
         1. The danger does not affect him
         2. He does not count his life as precious to himself – Phl 3:7-10
            1. He wants nothing for himself
            2. He lives only for God’s glory
         3. His goal is to accomplish God’s purpose – Jhn 4:31
            1. He had received his ministry from the Lord Jesus – Act 9:15
            2. He was to testify to the Gospel of the Grace of God
3. A Gospel Worth Dying For
   1. It was the Gospel of the grace of God
      1. The Gospel news
         1. God will pardon transgression
         2. God will take away sin
         3. God will justify the ungodly
         4. God will cover the sinner with righteousness
         5. God will accept the sinner into His favor
         6. God does it out of pure grace – Rom 9:16
            1. No goodness can bring us in
            2. No badness can shut us out
      2. How God removes sin
         1. God gave His Son
         2. The Son gave His life
         3. The blood is a just payment
      3. The message to us
         1. Do not look within
         2. Do not search for personal merit
         3. Do not look for strength or ability
         4. The command of God is to believe
            1. God calls for faith
            2. God supplies the faith
   2. It was Paul's life cause to testify to the Gospel of the Grace of God
      1. A graceless Gospel is not worth dying for
      2. The Gospel of Grace is the greatest need of the world
         1. It glorifies God
         2. It saves the sinner
4. Application
   1. What are you living “for”?
      1. A purpose
      2. A cause
      3. Fulfillment
      4. Sense of contribution
   2. What does a Christian do with self?
      1. Living for self is destructive
      2. We must have a greater purpose
   3. Paul valued the Gospel as greater than his own life