Midweek Echo
Midweek Echo is a simple reminder of Sunday’s message—something to help you recall what you heard, reflect on what it means, and live it out through the week. It’s a way to stay rooted in God’s Word, remembering that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Romans 10:17 NIV).
Lydia of Thyatira
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Lydia may not be as well-known as Peter or Paul, but her story in Acts 16 stands as one of the most beautiful pictures of how God builds His church through open hearts, open homes, and open hands. When Paul followed God’s call into Macedonia—a moment that shifted the gospel into Europe—he didn’t meet a powerful ruler or a crowd awaiting revival. He met a small group of women praying by a river. And among them was Lydia.
Lydia was a successful businesswoman, a dealer in purple cloth, someone with influence and resources. But Luke tells us something more important than her profession: she was a worshiper of God whose heart the Lord opened. Lydia reminds us that every encounter with God begins with God’s initiative. long before Paul arrived in Philippi, the Spirit was already stirring Lydia’s heart, awakening hunger and preparing her to respond. Faith is never just human effort; it is always divine invitation.
Her response to grace is immediate and tangible. She is baptized along with her entire household, and then her faith blossoms into hospitality: “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house,” she says. With that single act, her home becomes the first gathering place for Christians in Europe. Her table becomes a ministry. Her resources become a launching pad for mission. Her generosity becomes the foundation for the church in Philippi—the very church Paul later thanks for their unwavering partnership in the gospel “from the first day until now.”
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Lydia teaches us that the mission of God rarely begins with grand gestures. It begins with hearts open to God, homes open to community, and hands open in generosity. God used Lydia’s ordinary resources to make an extraordinary impact. And God can use ours too.
Today, may we follow her example: listening for God’s voice, practicing holy hospitality, and offering what we have for His kingdom.
Prayer: Lord, open my heart, my home, and my hands so that Your mission may flourish through my life.
Pastor Greg Reiner, November 19, 2025