A Mature Mission

A season of fruitful ministry in Ephesus eventually came to an end as Paul desired to visit the churches of Macedonia and Greece before returning to Antioch and then Jerusalem. However, on the way to Macedonia Paul stopped at Troas to plant a church. The season of ministry there was brief but Paul left a thriving congregation behind.  After visiting the rest of the churches he returned to Troas and Luke presents us with a picture of how mature it had become. Three qualities are highlighted: Sabbath keeping, means of grace oriented, and attentiveness to the preached word.