Worship June 21, 2026- Traditional Service

Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 is one of the most personal moments in the entire book. He was saying goodbye to people he loved, entrusting them with a mission he will no longer be able to carry himself. At the heart of his charge is a claim that the only thing that matters is finishing the task Jesus gave him: testifying to the good news of God's grace. Paul was not an extraordinary man. He was a persecutor of the church who was transformed by an extraordinary encounter with Jesus and spent the rest of his life passing that transformation on to others. That is the pattern of the gospel: ordinary people, changed by Jesus, entrusting the mission to the next generation of ordinary people. Someone passed it to you. Now it is yours to pass on. Today's sermon is "Your Turn" and comes from Acts 20:17-24, 32-38. Points from today's sermon: 1) For Paul, the Gospel came first. Everything else followed. 2) The Gospel spreads through ordinary people, one person at a time. 3) Someone shared the Gospel with you so you could share it with someone else. *Today's bulletin can be found at FirstChurchNewark.org *Sign up for serving, donating and more at firstchurchnewark.org/signup *Submit your pastoral needs and willingness to serve at firstchurchnewark.org/connection-card *Support the mission and ministry of First Church with your giving: https://first-united-methodist-church...