Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Yesterday we wrapped up Paul's letter to the church at Rome, and today we jump back into Luke's account of the early church in the Book of Acts, which covers a lot of Paul's actions that take place in between and behind the scenes of the letters he's writing. The last time we were

in Acts, Paul and the others narrowly escaped a riot started by a local silversmith who was upset

that their ministry resulted in people buying fewer idols. Today he leaves Ephesus and he and a

handful of other disciples, including Luke, pop around Europe

and Asia on route to deliver the financial support to Jerusalem. Luke tells us a story about what

happens one Sunday when the church at Troas is gathered to eat and hear Paul preach. There's a young

man named Eutychus in the crowd. He's probably in his late teens or early 20s. At some point, he's

sitting in a window, maybe he wants to get some fresh air because

they've been listening to Paul talk all day and it's nearly midnight and they finished off the last

of the coffee at 8 p.m. But the fresh air doesn't cut it. Eudacus sends Paul a clear message that it's

time to wrap it up by falling asleep and plummeting three stories to his death. But Paul is like, nice try, buddy, I've still got two points left in my

sermon, you're not going anywhere, and he raises him from the dead. Then they all go back upstairs,

and Paul talks until the sun comes up, and they eat some breakfast before they leave on the next

few legs of their journey. By the way, if visual aids are helpful for you, check out the map of

Paul's third missionary journey that we've linked to in the show notes. While they're in Ephesus, Paul tells the people that in every single city where

they stop, the Holy Spirit reminds him that imprisonment and affliction await him. He's on his way to

deliver the support to Jerusalem, where the persecution is far more intense than in a lot of other

cities he's visited. But God is the one who gave him this

ministry, so he'll continue to receive this gift and calling even though it comes with persecution

and trials. He expects to die soon, so he tells them he'll never see them again, but that

honestly he doesn't really need to because he's already preached the fullness of the gospel to them.

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