2026.07.05 | Lydia
“Faces of Our Faith: Lydia”
Acts 16:11-15, 40
Preached by
Rev. Dr. Marvin Lance Wiser
Eden United Church of Christ
Cherryland, CA
05 July 2026
This morning we continue our summer worship series, Faces of Our Faith: Bold and Untold Stories, with a woman named Lydia.
Lydia’s story appears only briefly in the book of Acts, but her importance is much larger than the number of verses she receives.
Acts tells us that Paul and his companions had crossed the Aegean Sea into Macedonia, in what we now call northern Greece. They arrived in Philippi. On the Sabbath, Paul went looking for a place of prayer. But instead of finding a synagogue, he found a group of women gathered beside a river. Among them was Lydia.
Lydia was originally from what is now Turkey. She was a dealer in purple cloth, which likely means she worked in a valuable trade. Purple goods were associated with wealth, status, and influence in the Roman world.
The text presents her as a person of agency. She speaks for herself. She responds to Paul’s message. She and her household are baptized. And then she invites Paul and his companions to stay in her home. That detail matters.
In the earliest years of the church, homes were central to Christian life. Before there were church buildings, Christians gathered in houses for prayer, teaching, meals, fellowship, and song. So when Lydia opens her home, she is not simply being polite. She is creating space for the church to take root in Philippi.
Esta mañana continuamos nuestra serie Rostros de Nuestra Fe con la historia de Lidia. Aunque su historia ocupa pocos versículos, su importancia en la iglesia primitiva fue enorme.
Lidia era una comerciante de telas de púrpura, un producto asociado con la riqueza y el poder. Cuando Pablo llegó a Filipos, la encontró junto a un grupo de mujeres reunidas para orar a la orilla de un río. Lidia escuchó su mensaje, abrió su corazón y fue bautizada junto con su familia.
Después, abrió también las puertas de su casa. En una época sin templos cristianos, los hogares eran lugares de oración, comida, canto y comunidad. La hospitalidad de Lidia ayudó a crear un espacio donde la iglesia en Filipos pudo echar raíces. Su fe se expresó en hospitalidad, liderazgo y generosidad.
Desde sus comienzos, la Iglesia también fue una comunidad que cantaba su fe y esperanza. Y esa tradición continúa en nuestra herencia congregacional: el primer libro publicado en lo que hoy es Estados Unidos fue un libro de salmos preparado por iglesias congregacionales en el año 1640. La historia de Lidia, nuestros himnos y nuestra herencia nos recuerdan una misma verdad: la fe no es pasiva; se vive y se practica en comunidad.
By the end of the chapter, after Paul and Silas are released from prison, they return to Lydia’s house. And there they find the believers gathered together. Lydia’s home has become a gathering place for the Christian community.
That makes Lydia one of the first known Christian converts in Europe and matron of one the first churches. Her faith is expressed through listening, hospitality, leadership, and the generous use of her resources for the sake of the Gospel.
That also connects beautifully with today’s Hymn Sing. From the beginning, the church was a singing community. Songs helped early Christians remember the story of Jesus, teach the faith, encourage one another, and hold onto hope in difficult times. Just a few verses after Lydia’s story, Paul and Silas are in prison at midnight, praying and singing hymns to God. Indeed, one of the oldest Christian hymns we have is preserved in Paul’s letter to the Philippians–probably, thanks in great part to Lydia’s generosity and hospitality. Singing was one of the ways the Church became the Church.
And that tradition of a gathered people finding their voice together is deeply woven into our own Congregationalist heritage. The first book printed in what is now the U.S. was the Bay Psalm Book, published by Congregationalists in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1640.
And so, on this semiquincentennial July 4th weekend, it is worth remembering that our Congregationalist tradition also helped shape some of the democratic habits that became part of this country’s founding. Congregational churches were organized around covenant, shared discernment, local leadership, and the gathered voice of the people. That did not make the early United States perfect—far from it—but these communities helped nurture practices of participation, responsibility, and self-government.
In that sense, Lydia’s story, our hymn singing, and our Congregationalist heritage all point us toward a similar truth: faith is not meant to be passive. It is practiced in community. It’s how we keep being and becoming Church.