Join What God is Doing

Paul discovers a group of women praying by the river outside of Philippi on the Sabbath. One of those women, Lydia, had her heart opened and she received the Gospel. She became the first person in Europe whose conversion the Bible records. In this message from our Through the Waters series, we look at three things Lydia’s story teaches us:

Join God where he’s already working. Paul didn’t start something new at the river. He found people who were already praying. God is always ahead of us, already at work in the lives of the people around us.

God redeems what we do. Lydia sold purple cloth, which was the color of royalty, and at the river she met the true King. God didn’t erase her work; he used her wealth, knowledge, and skills for his kingdom.

An open home signals an open heart. Right after her baptism, Lydia opened her door, and her home became the first church in Philippi. Baptism doesn’t just bring us into the water. It brings us into a family.