Acts 8:1-8; 26-38

• I. Introduction: The Great Pivot
  • a. The Acts 1:8 pivot: Jerusalem & Judea to Samaria and the uttermost parts
  • b. A surprise: Phillip—non-apostle, Greek-speaking, a consecrated lay person
• II. A Pivot from Jerusalem to Samaria
  • a. Background: Persecution had scattered the church
  • b. Samaria: A despised people
    • i. Moved holy sites; changed holy books, polluted the holy line.
    • ii. God’s cascading love
• III. A Pivot from Samaria to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8)
  • a. Philip: the leading candidate for senior pastor in Samaria
    • i. “Rise and go.” The desert road to Gaza
    • ii. “And he rose and went.”
  • b. The Eunuch: What we don’t know about eunuchs.
    • i. Outsider to power structures
    • ii. Outsider to God’s people
  • c. Isaiah 53
    • i. “In my place” gospel: “He was wounded for our transgressions.”
    • ii. “Jesus suffers with me as a voiceless victim” gospel.
• IV. Conclusion: Jesus pursues oppressed people through his people