Theme Sunday

Deep & Wide Year 2

Scripture

Acts 16:16-34

¹⁶ As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

¹⁹ But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. ²⁰ And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. ²¹ They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” ²² The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. ²⁴ Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴ Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Sermon Recap

This week, Pastor Pete continued our Deep & Wide vision with a teaching from Acts 16 on how the power of God meets us in the deepest and darkest places of life. As Paul and Silas went to the place of prayer, they encountered spiritual opposition through a slave girl bound by a spirit of divination. Though her words seemed affirming, her bondage revealed the spiritual battle beneath the surface. When Paul commanded the spirit to leave in the name of Jesus, she was set free—but this act of liberation provoked anger from those who profited from her slavery. Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, and thrown into the inner prison, showing us that a life of faithful ministry often comes with real cost.

Yet in the darkest place, Paul and Silas responded with prayer and worship. Rather than being determined by their emotions, they lived out of their convictions. At midnight, as they sang hymns, God shook the foundations of the prison, opened doors, and unfastened chains. What could have been a place of despair was transformed into a sanctuary of God’s presence. The freedom they experienced was not just physical but spiritual, overflowing to others. The jailer, who was ready to end his life, instead encountered the hope of Christ and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” That night he and his whole household believed, were baptized, and rejoiced in the new life they had received.

This passage reminds us that our deepest witness often flows from our deepest worship. The “inner prisons” of shame, fear, or anxiety are not beyond the reach of God’s power. When we turn to Him in prayer and song, even in our darkest places, His love proves deeper still. As a church, we are being invited to go deeper with God through worship and prayer, trusting that the wider our walk with Christ, the wider our witness will be to a watching world.

Discussion
Questions

Connecting

What’s one small win or highlight from your week so far?
What’s a simple thing that usually brings you joy—like a meal, activity, or place?
Who is someone that encouraged you recently, even in a small way?

Considering

What do these stories of Paul and Silas teach us about the power of worship and prayer in the “inner prisons” of life?
How does the passage show both the cost of following Jesus (persecution) and the privilege of following Jesus (freedom, salvation, joy)?

Confessing

What “inner prison” (fear, shame, guilt, inadequacy, anxiety) do you feel God might be inviting you to bring into the light this year?
How do you tend to respond when life feels unfair or overwhelming—do you turn toward God, or away from Him?

Committing

What is one way you can intentionally bring worship and prayer into a deeper or hidden place of your life this week?
Who in your circle might be “listening” to your witness right now, and how can you live and speak in a way that points them to Christ?