September 9, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, September
“And now for the rest of the story”. If you’re of a certain age, that phrase will remind you of the radio personality Paul Harvey. He was one of the most famous and prolific broadcasters of the 20th century. From 1951 till 2008, Harvey’s news shows were listened to by over 24 million people a week, on over 1200 stations. His distinctive voice and casual style gave the listener the feeling that they were getting the news from a friend. And each week, he would close his program with that famous phrase. After a brief description of a news event or moment in history, Paul would go on to share little-known information about that story.
There was another man named Paul who gave us the rest of the gospel story. The Apostle Paul was born about the same time as Christ but never met him. After Jesus returned to the Father, and the young church began to take its first steps, Saul (his Hebrew name) became one of the chief persecutors of Christians. And then one day, as he travelled to Damascus to arrest believers, Paul (his Roman citizen name) saw Christ in a blinding vision, and was forever changed. He went on to serve as a missionary, a church planter, and a teacher. His legacy to us today is his writings. The New Testament has 27 books, and Paul is considered the author of 14 of them. His impact on scripture is immense.
Today, when we hear a sermon or sing a hymn, we’re connecting, most often, with doctrines that come from the Pauline Epistles. His letter to the church in Rome is a prime example. Martin Luther said, “This epistle is the chief part of the New Testament and truly the purest gospel”. John Calvin believed, “when one understands Romans, he can understand the whole of scripture “. You can read through the Book of Romans in about the time it takes to watch a TV program. Time well spent. Time to discover “the rest of the story”.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
