READ: Acts 16:11-40; Galatians 3:28 

28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

REFLECT: Longstanding tradition records the head of a Jewish household would start their day each morning with this prayer: Thank you, God, that I am not a Gentile, a woman, or a slave.  To the devout Jewish man, all three of these groups were suspect, subordinate; second-class. Into that context, Jesus enters the first-century world speaking with, teaching, healing, and even eating with (God forbid!) Gentiles, women, and slaves. His followers eventually came to see these were not one-off isolated events, but rather God’s intention to widely and fully accept all into His kingdom.

In Acts 16, our writer Luke records three conversions. We’re not told explicitly the slave girl comes to faith, but many commentators think she does as Luke sandwiches her story between two other converts-then participants in the Philippian church: wealthy businesswoman Lydia, and a Roman—or Gentile—jailor. Tracing the converts in Acts 16 we have: a woman, a slave, and a Gentile. And yet all three given the same opportunity to enter into new life in Christ.  Paul would later spell this out more clearly to the church in Galatia with his tri-fold rebuke: there is neither Jew nor Greek; slave nor free, male nor female, but we are all one in Christ. The litany of those who come to faith in Acts 16 shows not only the universal appeal of the Gospel—anyone can get in on this—but also the unique unifying power of the Gospel. Can’t you just imagine what those church gatherings in Philippi must have been like?

RESPOND: How are the three converts in Acts 16 different from each other: wealthy immigrant businesswoman Lydia, Greek slave girl and resident of Philippi, and Roman retired soldier-jailor?  What differences would you expect to see in their church gatherings ethnically, socio-economically, and culturally, etc.? What groups of people do you—if you’re honest—think of as suspect or subordinate to you? What would our churches look like if we included those people in our gatherings?  And maybe tomorrow morning, you will want to start your day with the

Prayer: Thank you God, that Gentiles, slaves, women—all people—can come to you and experience true life.  Amen.