He was the most dangerous man in the early church, and not in a good way. Saul of Tarsus spent three years hunting down followers of Jesus, dragging men and women out of their homes, throwing them in prison, and casting his vote when they were executed. He wasn't a fringe character. He was educated, well-connected, and absolutely convinced he was doing God's work. He was also the last person anyone expected Jesus to recruit.

In part seven of Acts: To the Ends of the Earth, Lead Pastor Jon Stoe traces the conversion and life of the Apostle Paul from that blinding encounter on the road to Damascus all the way to a Roman prison cell, where Paul is chained like a criminal, writing letters that would eventually become half the New Testament. Jon uses Paul's story to surface something the modern church has quietly lost: the awe and wonder of what the gospel actually is. Paul never lost it. He called himself the worst of sinners and spent the rest of his life staggered by the fact that Jesus would forgive someone like him. Jon's question for the rest of us is simple and a little uncomfortable: when did we stop being staggered by that?

Litchfield Church of the Nazarene is a welcoming, bilingual community of faith in Litchfield, MN, whose mission is to produce fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ. We gather every Sunday at 10:45 AM. New messages drop on the podcast each week. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app. Learn more at litchfieldnaz.com.