Sermon Summary: Acts Teaching Series — Acts 20

Eden Prairie | Chapel | Chaska, Eagan, Owatonna & Online
July 5, 2026

Opening Prayer

Pastor Troy opened with a prayer of thanksgiving for the 250th anniversary of the United States, acknowledging God’s faithfulness to the nation. Key themes of the prayer included:

• Dependence on God, not government, for freedom and hope
• Unity as a nation under God, bowing to King Jesus
• Gratitude for military men and women
• Rejection of political fracture, hatred, cynicism, division, and ingratitude
• A call for humility, truth, kindness, and hopefulness as a nation

Sermon Series: Acts Teaching Series

Passage: Acts 20

Pastor Troy noted four distinctives of this chapter before diving in:

1. The only sermon Paul preaches directly to the Christian community
2. A dire warning for those who fall asleep during preaching ("Sleeper, beware!")
3. The first New Testament mention of Christian worship on the first day of the week — Sunday
4. A unique, emotional, tear-filled farewell by the Apostle Paul

Part 1: Paul’s Encouragement Tour — Acts 20:1–6

• After the uproar in Ephesus ended, Paul launched what Pastor Troy called his own "encouragement tour"
• Acts 20:1–2 — "After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece."
• Paul’s ministry was never less than preaching but always more than preaching — he also strengthened and built up believers
• He circled back to churches, walked alongside people through hard seasons, and partnered with a diverse array of people (a lengthy list of names is given in Acts 20:4)
• Pastor Troy noted that these specific names, cities, timestamps, and destinations bolster the historical reliability of Scripture — the Bible is full of verifiable details that authenticate it as God’s Word

Part 2: Eutychus — The Most Relatable Man in the Bible — Acts 20:7–12

The First Day of the Week — Sunday Worship

• Acts 20:7 marks the first New Testament reference to Christian worship on Sunday
• The early church shifted from the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) to the Lord’s Day (Sunday) to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ
• While gathered in Troas, they celebrated communion together, remembering the death and resurrection of Christ — then Paul preached

The Long Sermon

• Acts 20:7 — "He prolonged his speech until midnight."
• Acts 20:8 — "There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered."
  • Oil lamps provided both light and heat — the room was hot and stuffy, making it difficult to stay awake

Eutychus Falls

• Acts 20:9 — "A young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead."
• Pastor Troy noted the irony: the name Eutychus means "fortunate" or "lucky" — he was neither in this moment
• He called Eutychus "the most relatable guy in all of the Bible"

Paul Restores Eutychus

• Acts 20:10 — "Paul went down, bent over him, taking him in his arms. He said, ‘Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.’"
• Paul sprinted downstairs, embraced the boy, and restored him to life, then went back upstairs, ate, and resumed his conversation until daybreak
• Acts 20:11–12 — "They took the youth away alive, and they were not a little comforted."

Old Testament Echo

• This scene mirrors 1 Kings 17, where Elijah stretched himself over a dead boy — eyeball to eyeball, nose to nose — and restored him to life

Key Theological Point

"This was not a miracle service interrupted by a word of preaching. This was a preaching service interrupted by a miracle — because the ultimate miracle flows from the power of God’s Word itself to raise spiritually dead men and women back to life."

Part 3: Paul’s Farewell Address to the Ephesian Elders — Acts 20:17–38

Paul summoned the Ephesian elders to Miletus for a final charge. Pastor Troy framed this entire section as:

"We are watching a man who knows his time is short, spending it on what matters most: strengthening believers, preaching the Word, investing in leaders, and reminding everyone how valuable the Church of Jesus Christ actually is."

Paul’s Personal Testimony — Acts 20:17–21

• Acts 20:18–21 — "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia Minor, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears… How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable… testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."
• Paul modeled:
  • Transparency and honesty
  • Humility — a lifestyle that echoed the gospel
  • Faithfulness to the truth — he did not back away from it
  • Preaching that salvation comes through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

Finish the Course — Acts 20:22–24

• Acts 20:22–23 — "I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me."
• Acts 20:24 — "I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."
• Paul was led by the Spirit, not by comfort — he pressed forward into difficulty because he was fixed on finishing the race

A Clean Conscience — Acts 20:25–27

• Acts 20:25–27 — "I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."
• Paul preached the whole Bible — he did not skip hard doctrines, did not avoid sin, wrath, judgment, or hell
• He told the full story

Charge to the Elders — Acts 20:28–30

• Acts 20:28 — "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood."
• Acts 20:29 — "I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock."
• Elders are charged to:
  • Watch yourselves first — you cannot lead others if you cannot lead yourself
  • Watch the flock — remember the flock belongs to God, not to you
  • Expect wolves from outside and distortion from within

Financial Integrity — Acts 20:35

• Acts 20:35 — "By working hard in this way, we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"

The Tearful Farewell — Acts 20:36–38

• Acts 20:36–38 — "He knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word that he had spoken, that they would not see his face again."
• Pastor Troy’s observation: what they loved most about Paul was that he preached the truth and explained the Scriptures to them
• They would miss that as much as they would miss him
• They accompanied him to the ship and said their goodbyes

Application: What Faithful Christian Living Looks Like

Pastor Troy drew three numbered applications from Paul’s example:

1. Live With a Finished Vision in Mind

• Paul did not view his life as a random collection of days — he viewed it as a completed course with a specific finish line
• He considered the ministry Jesus gave him more important than his own life — that singularity of purpose produced incredible intentionality
• Acts 20:24 — "If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to preach the gospel of God’s grace."
• Pastor Troy’s challenge:
  • A faithful Christian life is not measured by duration, but by completion
  • Not measured by comfort, length, or applause — but by finishing the course God designed
  • You are not an autonomous individual doing your own thing — you are an ambassador carrying out a mandate
  • God has a race mapped out for every believer, using your specific talents, gifts, time, resources, and suffering

"Stop seeing life as a random bunch of days. Zero in with laser focus on the race set before you and run your race."

2. Live With Incredible Deference to the Bible

• Paul did not pick and choose comfortable parts of Scripture — he proclaimed the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27)
• Pastor Troy warned against selective truth, showing how imbalanced doctrine creates spiritual vulnerability:

Imbalance	Consequence
Sovereignty without responsibility	Fatalism, passivity, lack of urgency
Responsibility without sovereignty	Legalism, despair when life falls apart
Love without justice	Cheapened grace; the cross becomes a "massive overreaction"
Justice without love	Cold, legalistic dogmatism that repels people from the gospel

• The phrase "shrink back" in Acts 20:27 is a military term meaning to retreat — theological retreat means losing biblical ground
• Pastor Troy cited three reasons people shrink back from the full counsel of God’s Word:
  1. Fear of rejection — cherry-picking verses so as not to offend
  2. Complexity — difficult doctrines feel too hard to hold in tension
  3. Pragmatism — swapping truth for strategy; filling seats over fidelity to Scripture

Spurgeon quote:

"A true Christian knows that he is not at liberty to pick and choose. You’ve got to take the whole Word as you find it and preach the whole Word as it is."

Pastor Troy’s application:

• "The Bible is not a smorgasbord or a salad bar — you don’t get to pick and choose."
• "It’s all or none — not some you like and some you don’t."

3. Live With an Incredible Love for the Church

• Acts 20:28 — "To care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood."
• Jesus Christ purchased the church with His own blood — this is the measure of how much He loves it
• The church belongs to God, not to pastors, elders, donors, or influencers
• Pastor Troy directly challenged the trend of "churchless Christianity," calling it:
  • Not New Testament
  • A violation of Scripture
  • A rejection of what Christ loves and died for
  • An avoidance of real accountability and discipleship
  • Something that produces no spiritual fruit and weakens the gospel witness

"You cannot be an obedient, thriving Christian in isolation."

Spurgeon quote:

"The church is not perfect, but woe to the man who finds pleasure in pointing out her imperfections."

Pastor Troy’s challenge:

"Jump in, get involved, make it better, and stop all the sniping from the cheap seats."

Closing Summary

Pastor Troy concluded by noting what Paul did and did not talk about in his farewell:

• Did not mention: buildings, budgets, platforms, or personal achievements
• Did mention: the gospel, the grace of God, the whole counsel of God, the church of God, and the danger of wolves

"Paul was leaving — but God wasn’t. Paul’s voice would be gone, but the Word of God would remain. Paul couldn’t protect them forever, but the Chief Shepherd could."

God’s Three Calls to His Church

1. Run your race faithfully — life is not a random collection of days; there is a finish line
2. Believe His Word fully — all of it, not just the comfortable parts
3. Love Christ’s Church passionately — participate in it, invest in it, make it better

Closing Prayer

"Help us to run faithfully. Life is not just a random collection of days — it’s a race, and there is a path in front of all of us. Help us to believe Your Word fully, not just parts of it — all of it. And help us, Lord, to love the Church passionately, knowing that Christ bled and died to found this movement. Help us to love it passionately, participate in it fully, and make it a better place. In Jesus’ name, Amen."

Scripture References: Acts 20:1–2, Acts 20:4, Acts 20:7–12, Acts 20:17–21, Acts 20:22–24, Acts 20:25–27, Acts 20:28–30, Acts 20:35, Acts 20:36–38, 1 Kings 17