05/26/2026
Reorientation
Sunday, May 24, 2026 • Preached by Kyle Pipes
Summary: Back before we had things like Maps on our phones, I got on the right road but in the wrong direction on a trip home. After a few exits, something didn’t feel right, so I got off and looked at a map. Once I was able to reorient myself, I realized what I did and headed back in the right direction. We all need reorientation in our lives–in our relationships, our goals, our culture, just to name a few. When Saul encounters the risen Christ, his life is radically reoriented, reminding us that God reorients our purpose, vision, and passion, too.
God reorients our purpose. Saul believed his purpose was to stop the expansion of the early church. After his encounter with Christ, his purpose became to lead the expansion of the early church. Through God’s grace, the church’s enemy became the church’s friend! Our experience of Christ reshapes our purpose. We don’t necessarily become worldwide leaders of the church like Paul, but we each become reflectors of God’s grace. That’s our new purpose. This is done by loving our neighbors and enemies, building relationships, organizations, and communities on the vision of resurrection, and embracing the good and beauty in the world because it is what God will rescue and restore. How has God reshaped your purpose?
God reorients our vision to see through the lens of the resurrection. This is what happened to Saul, and he forevermore saw everything through the lens of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. As he writes in Ephesians 1:9-10, “he[God] has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” I like to look at NASA’s photo of the day because it reminds me that the lens we look through dramatically changes what we see. When we see through the lens of the resurrection, we are reoriented in the way we see ourselves, others, the past, the future, and the world. When you look through the lens of the resurrection, what do you see now?
Misplaced passion misshapes life. Saul was passionate about protecting Judaism. This put him at odds with the God of the universe, not where you want to be. Saul becomes Paul, and his passion is reoriented to building the church, not destroying it. Our faith reorients our passion. Our passion becomes to be agents of hope, faith, and love in the midst of our everyday lives. What are you passionate about?
Passage for Reflection: Acts 9:1-18
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength
