preaching in context

Good afternoon friends,
Yesterday we read about Paul exploring in Athens and starting to share his faith. After being invited to a major spot for philosophical and religious discussion, Paul begins his message. Notice how he approaches things differently with an audience that won't know the basics of his religion. We have to know who we're sharing with if we're going to tell the story in a way that means something to them.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 17:22-34

22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. ²³For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, ²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.

²⁶From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, ²⁷so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we too are his offspring.”

²⁹Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. ³⁰While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’

32 When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’ ³³At that point Paul left them. ³⁴But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

a new audience

Good afternoon friends,
I hope you have a chance to enjoy this lovely day. Our reading today begins an interesting episode in Paul's ministry. Most of the time we see Paul begin his ministry in a new place by going to the synagogue. That makes sense because he could expect to find people there who were interested in spiritual things. In today's story he is in Athens, and in some ways the spiritual center of Athens was philosophy and the market, so that's where Paul starts.

We'll notice that Paul explains himself differently because his audience doesn't share his Jewish background. We too need to pay attention to our audience when we proclaim the gospel. Other people we meet might not know the story of Jesus. They might never have grown up in a church, or, more difficult, they might have had bad experiences in church that make tradition a block to faith. When we want to share our faith, we need to consider who we are speaking with so our message will make sense to them.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 17:16-21

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the market-place every day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.’ (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)

^{19So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.’ 21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.}

preaching to philosophers

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today we see Paul preaching at a meeting place for people interested in philosophy. Since he's not talking to people who know or care about Jewish tradition or scripture, he doesn't spend time quoting scripture. Instead, he works with their understanding of God, which is the temples in the city. He connects their worship with the true God, but then tells them they can come to know God better than they do now.

The Psalm for this morning is a real statement of trust in the midst of trouble. The psalmist sees God's hand even in the hardship s/he has faced. When s/he looks back, the psalmist can see that God has been there all along. We may see the same thing if we look at our lives in the light of prayer.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 17:22-31

22Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.


26From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we too are his offspring.’

29Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 30While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”



*Sunday

Psalm 66:8-20

8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows,
14 those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
17 I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

preaching to pagans

Good morning friends,
I've been unable to post these for a few days due to a problem with blogger. Hopefully we're back on track now. We're jumping around a bit here in the Book of Acts. We were last hearing about how Saul approved of Stephen's death and began persecuting the church. Not long after that Jesus appears to Saul and Saul becomes Paul, the great evangelist. From the fifteenth chapter on, Acts tells the story of Paul's travels to spread the word. We pick up the story with Paul in Athens, the center of philosophy. He's distressed with that city's idolatry but uses not only the synagogue, but also the marketplace to share the good news of God's love in Jesus. Tomorrow we'll read how he preaches to pagans with a philosophical mindset. One thing I appreciate is that even though the gospel is always the same, different settings suggest different ways of presenting the story.

Weekend blessings,
Sam

Acts 17:15-21

15Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left him. 16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.


18Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.” (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) 19So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.” 21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.