And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead.  

Acts 13:28-30

Paul proclaimed Christ’s resurrection from the dead. In this first record of his preaching, he includes the fact that God raised Christ from the dead. This was key to Paul’s message. Because he was speaking to Jews, he laid the historical groundwork by weaving together their history with the ancient prophecies of the Messiah. Having laid the groundwork in his introduction, he begins to make his most important points. One of these primary points is that Christ has risen from the dead. This was such an important fact that it pervaded Paul’s writing, preaching, and teaching throughout the rest of the New Testament. Much of the conflict he had with the Jewish religious authorities centered around his assertion that Christ had risen from the dead. Therefore, it is entirely understandable that in this first recorded message we observe him speaking of Christ’s resurrection. We have learned from Paul’s example. We also believe Christ has risen from the dead. It is one of the most well-attested facts in history. All the Apostles saw Christ after He had arisen, and testified of it. We reiterate what they have told us. When we speak of Him, we speak of Him as the Risen Christ. He is no longer on the cross, or in the tomb. He is risen from the dead. This was Paul’s message and is ours.  

Our Glorious, Living Christ, 
we rejoice that You are alive from the dead. 
We praise You that because You live,  
we shall live also. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will. From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior, Jesus. 

Acts 13:21-23 

What was important to Paul to declare to those who heard him? Acts 13 gives us the first recorded message of Paul on his first missionary journey. While he had been preaching for quite some time, this is the first record we have of what he said. How does he communicate his message? A reading of the whole of the sermon reveals he recounted the history of Israel to his audience. This is logical considering he was in a synagogue and the majority of his hearers would be Jewish. He recounted the exodus; their occupation of Canaan; the rulership of the judges; the kingship of Saul; then the ascension of David. From David, as the progenitor, he presents Jesus. Why does this matter to us? It matters because here is perhaps the most important missionary and theologian of the New Testament, preaching the first message recorded for our benefit, and his preeminent message is Christ. As we see where he begins and how he proceeds, we observe what is most important for us to communicate to others. As soon as possible, Paul introduced Christ. There is no better recipe for preaching than that. Whatever else we discuss, let it be a means of introducing Christ to any audience we have.  

Our Great God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have given us the privilege 
of declaring You to all the world. 
We praise You that wherever we go, 
You are the most worthy subject 
of our conversation.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning