From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”
Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years.
After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’
From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.”

–Parallel verses:
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

When I was seven years old, my family went through a big transition when my parents decided to become missionaries with the San Jose Rescue Mission. One of the great things I got to experience was being around people of different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs.

Our family ministry largely focused on Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees who had escaped the horrors of the killing fields. We did not have much in common with them, but we tried to use whatever common interests we had to connect. Meals, a desire to learn English, and community resources seemed to be good places to start.

Then we began to hear stories: their history, their lost family members and friends to the horrible war, and their dreams for their children in the US. And as a young man, my life was forever changed by these stories of hardship and heroism.

As I think about Paul preaching at the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, I find he used a similar approach to establishing a rapport. He started out recounting their shared history of God’s work in their lives — how they saw his hand and how they experienced his grace and mercy.

He then states the truth about Jesus being the Messiah. He does not apologize if it offends anyone; he does not water Jesus’ role or importance down. Instead, he builds common ground through history and states the truth of how God is working in his days.

We can learn a lot from Paul’s approach, in our “lowest-common-denominator”-type, politically correct culture. Paul went with the truth that needed to be told instead of the message that would tickle the most ears, and he left the heart-work to God’s Spirit. He was ready with a pre-thought-out approach to sharing the gospel that was respectful and true.

Lord, teach me to be prepared to be your ambassador in any and every situation. May I place your kingdom work above my earthly ambitions and goals. Help me to win many to salvation!