Week beginning Sunday 25th May
Lectionary Reading: Acts 16:9-15
SESSION THEME:
Lydia: The Heart That Opens the Way
Welcome and Settling
(2-3 minutes)
Gather the group and create a welcoming space—perhaps with a candle, a deep breath, or a short silence.
Say together or hear these words:
“We gather to listen—to scripture, to one another, and to our own hearts.
We take a moment of quiet, asking God to open us to whatever the Spirit wants to show us today.”
Reading the Passage
(3-5 minutes)
Read Acts 16:9-15 slowly, allowing pauses.
Consider reading it twice in different voices or translations.
Wondering Questions
(15-20 minutes) choose the questions that feel right for your group
Allow silence after each question to give space for reflection and sharing.
- I wonder how it felt for Paul to change his travel plans after the vision.
- I wonder why the women gathered outside the city by the river to pray.
- I wonder what words or actions opened Lydia’s heart to God.
- I wonder how it felt to offer hospitality to strangers in her home.
- I wonder how this story speaks to us or our church today.
Narrative form for reading with the group
(optional )
if you believe your group would benefit from some background notes:
Connecting with Life
(20 minutes)
Prompt reflection with these questions:
- Have you ever had an unexpected nudge or invitation that changed your plans?
- Where are the “riverside” spaces in our neighbourhood—places of quiet gathering or spiritual seeking?
- Who might be the “Lydias” among us—people with influence, hospitality, or a spiritual openness?
- What does it mean for us to have open hearts—and open homes—in today’s world?
Listening for the Heartbeat
(3-5 minutes)
Invite the group into quiet reflection:
“We pause in silence, holding what we’ve heard.
What is the heartbeat of God in this story—for us, for our church, for our community?”
Practical Sharing for the Trellis
(15 minutes) the group makes own suggestions
- Photo suggestion: what photo might you suggest to share that would highlight something that lies at the heart of this reading for you? : from within your community!
(A picture of an open door, a meal table set for guests, or a local river or outdoor meeting space).
Music suggestions:what songs and hymns might bring this text to life?
- ( Will You Come and Follow Me (Iona),
- Come Down O Love Divine, The Summons,
- Make Room by Casting Crowns (contemporary)
Poem/Reading Example: Is there a poem or reading or reference to a film that might people to appreciate the theme of the bible reading.
- “The Guest House” by Rumi – a reflection on welcoming the unexpected into our lives.
Practical Example: what could your community in your community to live this out ?
Or can you highlight something that you are already doing individually or as a community?
( Organising a community meal or coffee morning that invites people to share stories across boundaries of age, background, or belief.)
Prayer
(2-3 minutes)
Invite people to name aloud people, places, or situations that came to mind. Close with this prayer:
Prayer
God of open hearts and new beginnings,
You call us to cross boundaries and meet you in unexpected places.
Open our hearts like Lydia’s,
That we may welcome strangers as friends,
And make space for your Spirit to build community through us.
Help us to be people of invitation,
Living out your love in word and action.
Amen.
Sending
(1 minute)
“As we go, may our hearts remain open to the Spirit’s surprising invitations. May we carry God’s heartbeat into every place we go this week. Go in peace.”
Background Notes:
Acts 16:9-15 – Lydia: The Heart That Opens the Way Places and Journey
- Macedonia: A Roman province in northern Greece; this marks the first recorded mission to Europe.
- Troas, Samothrace, Neapolis: Key stopping points as Paul travels from Asia Minor (modern Turkey) into Europe.
- Philippi: A Roman colony with privileged status; Paul’s first European community.
- Thyatira: Lydia’s hometown, known for its purple dye trade.
Key People
- Paul: Early Christian missionary, following a vision to Macedonia.
- The Man in the Vision: Represents Macedonia’s need for spiritual help.
- Lydia: A businesswoman dealing in luxury purple cloth, a worshipper of God who becomes the first recorded European convert. Her trade in making luxury purple cloth made her “ unclean” as it used urine. She was not a Jew
Themes to Notice
- Crossing Boundaries: The gospel moves from Asia to Europe, showing God’s mission pushing outward.
- Unexpected Encounters: Paul’s vision features a man, but the first encounter is with a woman—Lydia—showing that God’s work often begins in surprising places.
- Open Hearts and Hospitality: Lydia’s open heart leads to her home becoming a place of welcome and community, marking the start of the church in Philippi.
Reflection for Today
- God’s mission often begins where we least expect—on the margins, in the small gatherings, with the “Lydias” around us.
- We are invited to cross barriers of geography, status, and expectation to meet Christ in the other.
- The story challenges us to make space—for listening, hospitality, and the building of community.
Narrative form for reading with the group
Story Behind the Story:
Paul, Lydia, and the Beginning of a New Community
It started with a dream—Paul, the travelling missionary, saw a man from Macedonia pleading, “Come over and help us.”
For Paul, this was a clear call to go somewhere completely new. He had been travelling through familiar territory in Asia Minor—modern-day Turkey—but now the vision pointed him west, across the sea, into Europe. This moment would mark the beginning of the Christian movement spreading into a whole new continent.
Packing up, Paul and his companions set sail from the port city of Troas. Their journey took them across the Aegean Sea, stopping overnight on the island of Samothrace, before landing at the busy port of Neapolis in northern Greece. From there, they travelled inland to Philippi, a Roman colony with special privileges and Roman identity—proud of its status, proud of its power.
But Paul didn’t start by preaching in the city square or addressing crowds in official places. Instead, he wandered to the edge of the city, beyond the city gate, down to a riverbank where a group of women had gathered to pray. This quiet, informal gathering was not where you’d expect to launch a major mission.
Among these women was Lydia. She was from Thyatira, back in Asia Minor, and made her living in the luxury trade— selling purple cloth, a product reserved for the rich, royal, and powerful. The irony was that producing this rich purple dye involved messy, smelly work—using fermented urine as part of the process. It was dirty work, and according to religious purity laws, it made her “unclean.” Lydia wasn’t Jewish, but she was described as a “worshipper of God”— someone searching, open, seeking.
And it was Lydia—not a powerful Macedonian man, but a businesswoman at the edge of the city—whose heart God opened. She listened, she believed, she was baptised, and then she did something powerful: she invited Paul and his friends to stay at her home. That home became the first Christian community in Europe—a church not built with stone, but with hospitality, courage, and faith.
This moment teaches us that God’s mission often starts in the most unexpected places: not in grand halls or powerful circles, but in the hidden gatherings, among those who live on the edges—people like Lydia, who bring their whole selves, business and all, to God’s work.
It also reminds us that crossing boundaries—whether they’re cultural, geographical, or personal—is part of what it means to follow Christ. We are called to notice the “riverside” spaces in our own communities: the quiet corners, the unexpected people, the hidden gatherings where God is already at work.
And just like Lydia, we are invited to open our hearts and our homes, making space for new community to grow.
The invitation is still the same today.
Where might God be calling you to cross a boundary?
Who are the Lydias in your life, waiting to hear they belong?
