Paul Tells His Story to the King
Month 10: Telling the Good News · Bible Story
Today's Scripture
Read together: Acts 26:1-23
1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently. 4 Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from my earliest childhood among my own people, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion. 6 And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers, 7 the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9 So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. 12 In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen: 23 that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Memory Verse
“But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,”— 1 Peter 3:15 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Ecclesiastes 10-12
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Near Day 285 of 365 — Solomon ends his search with "Fear God and keep His commandments.")The Heart of It
Paul is standing in chains before King Agrippa, one of the most powerful men around. He could have argued with fancy words. He could have tried to win a debate. Instead, he simply tells his story. He says, in effect, "I used to hate followers of Jesus and hunt them down. But then I met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, and everything changed." Paul defends the faith not with a memorized speech. He defends it with the true account of what God did in his own life. That is one of the most powerful things any of us can do. A king might argue with your ideas. But he cannot argue you out of what you have lived.
Notice how Paul speaks. He is bold but respectful. He calls the king "King Agrippa." He listens. He answers the questions he is asked. He stays calm even when Festus shouts that he is out of his mind (). Paul is ready. That is exactly what our memory verse this week describes. He gives "a defense" for the hope in him "with gentleness and respect." That means with humility and deep respect for God. You are never too young to tell your own story of Jesus. Has God forgiven you, helped you, and changed you? That is good news worth sharing, even with a king.
Around the Table
Paul told a king all about how Jesus changed his heart. Telling your own Jesus story is a way to share the good news!
Let's do it: Finish this sentence together: "Jesus helped me when I…" Everyone gets a turn.
Paul was bold and polite at the same time. He didn't yell or insult anyone. He just told the truth about Jesus respectfully.
Let's talk: Why is your own story harder for people to argue with than a list of facts?
Paul's "defense" was really a testimony. He told who he was before Christ, how he met Christ, and who he is now. That before-and-after pattern is still one of the strongest ways to share the gospel.
Let's go deeper: Can you tell your own before-and-after story of Jesus in three short sentences? Try it out loud.
💬 Conversation Starter
If you only had thirty seconds to tell someone the best thing Jesus has ever done for you, what would you say?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says "You only believe because your parents do," you can gently answer like Paul. Say, "Maybe I started there. But here is what Jesus has done in my own life." A changed life is hard evidence to dismiss. Remember . Share it "with gentleness and respect," never with a smirk.
For Dad · Go Deeper
Paul, the most brilliant theologian of the early church, chose testimony as his defense before a king. There is a lesson there for fathers who feel they must master every argument before they can speak. Your kids do not primarily need you to be an expert apologist. They need to hear, again and again, the honest story of what God has done in you. Tell them about your conversion, your failures, your forgiveness, and your slow changes. That story is unanswerable to them because they watch you live it. Sit down this week and actually tell them how you came to follow Jesus, including the parts you'd rather skip. A testimony you are willing to speak out loud is worth more than a hundred arguments you keep to yourself.
Draws on: Sean McDowell, So the Next Generation Will Know.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You for changing Paul. And thank You for changing us. Make us bold and kind like Paul. Make us ready to tell our own story of what Jesus has done. In Jesus' name, amen."
Nobody can argue away the story of what Jesus has done in my own life.