The different preaching styles of Peter and Paul and why it matters for Easter follow-up

UPDATE NOTE: This was written in the days of church services where everyone met together and this was designed to be printed as a bulletin insert or handout. However, with the challenges of Covid19 many Easter services are done in a variety of ways, you can use this same free Template to create a postcard to send to people or as an email or social media piece to send out to people who attended your virtual service. Our service format may vary but the questions of people who aren't familiar with the good news of Jesus hasn't. Here is a way to reach out to them.

When people come to your church at Easter for some of them it may be the first time they hear that Jesus died on the cross so they could be forgiven of their sins and be at peace with God. This is not an easy message to understand if you have not grown up in the church. That's why using these bulletin inserts (now postcards or social media) that encourage them to continue an exploration of the Christian faith is so important.

The Apostle Paul preached to an audience with much in common with many of the people who will come to your church this Easter. They were part of a world that held many religious beliefs; they may have even heard of Jesus. But again and again you find the same pattern in the book of Acts—Paul would preach a sermon, but then he followed it with extensive discussions as Acts 18: 4 tells us: "every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks." He didn't just preach and leave, he reasoned, he taught, he got into arguments and debates.

Unlike the Jewish audience where Peter could preach one sermon and because his audience knew who he was talking about and were expecting the Messiah, many would respond immediately as they did at Pentecost when Paul preached it was often to an audience totally unfamiliar with the Old Testament and God's plan of salvation. A positive response took time as this passage in Acts 17 illustrates:

So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

As the passage says, he took time; once again, he reasoned with and debated the people he was preaching to. We don't know how long he did this, but we know he realized one sermon alone would not convince them of the truth of the resurrection of Jesus.

It won't for a first-time visitor to your Easter service either.

Don't take a lack of immediate response at Easter as an insult, but as an opening to a discussion about and further exploration of Jesus and the Christian faith. These bulletin inserts can help you do that. Below are a choice of designs and following that some ideas for what to put on the back to encourage people to continue in their exploration of Jesus. Below them is a ZIP file of ready-to-print PDFs and editable MS Publisher Files.

To download the ZIP file of the bulletin inserts/flyers above click the following link: Still have questions

What to put on the back of the handouts to encourage further engagement and exploration of the Christian faith

• An announcement of a sermon series on the historical reality of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
• An invitation to a Bible study or discussion about the life of Jesus
• Websites listing the historical evidence for the resurrection
• Denominational websites that have material for those seeking information about the Christian faith.
• Email addresses of pastors or people in your church who would be willing to discuss spiritual issues or answer questions.
• Whatever else might be appropriate for your targeted audience or age group

If you'd like to create your own materials, here is the text for the insert

Copy and paste the text below or modify it to create your own insert or website or card or whatever you choose to encourage people to explore the Christian faith after Easter.

Still have questions?
Many people do.

You’ve just heard the story of Jesus rising from the dead but after you leave the church, when brunch is over and you’ve had your fill of chocolate you might wonder—Is it just a story?

Or did it really happen?

And if it did, what does it mean to
me?

If you’ve got those questions, we’ve got options for you—on the back of this sheet we hope you’ll check out the websites and events we’ve got to help you in your research.

Take all the time you want.

The issues are worth it.

It's also worth it for you to take the time to create bulletin inserts like these

You have an incredible opportunity to interact with unchurched people who come to your church at Easter—please make the most of it for the sake of their eternal destiny.