To The Unknown God

Acts 17

WHAT AN IMPRESSIVE CHAPTER!!!

 Through the entire 17th chapter of Acts Luke is chronicling the exploits of Paul as he moves from place to place preaching the word and reasoning with the giants of critical thinking at that time. As I was studying this chapter one thing kept sticking out to me through every section I read, every time I read it… Every where Paul went he did the same thing, taught Christ and Him crucified! What a testament of how we as Christians are supposed to be acting, we are called to be doing the same thing. Every where we go, everyone we come across, we should leave people knowing more about our Lord. Even through persecution Paul left a lasting impression on every location that he visited, in verse 6 the Jews accused Paul and the Christians of the early church of being “these who have turned the world upside down”. Are we leaving a godly impression on those we come in contact with? This is a question that should be crossing your mind every minute of everyday, however the main point I want to examine today is the mistake that the thinkers Athens were making.

Ancient Athens was a place of staggering amounts of religion and philosophy. The people of Athens were always interested to hear the newest point of view on the world, they wanted to understand it all, and when Paul showed up they were more then willing to listen to what he had to say. Starting in verse 22 Paul begins to explain to the people of Athens who the “UNKNOWN GOD” is. The people of Athens were simply trying to cover all their bases, not leave any loose ends so none of the gods were mad at them, Paul saw this opportunity and seized it. What the people of Athens were doing could be translated to tolerance, this word is used frequently in modern society… to much if you ask me. As Christians we are not called to be tolerant, we are called to stand firm for what we believe that is that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). My challenge to you and myself alike is, are we being tolerant? Jesus calls us to lead those around us to His thrown in love, meaning, in a loving way we can inform people of what is not right and what they need to do to make it right. The most important part of this is that we need to examine ourselves and clean out the areas of our lives that we have allowed compromise to creep in. This weekend I urge you to examine yourself of excessive tolerance and compromise and walk according to the example Jesus set for us(2Corinthians 13:5).

Maranatha!!!

By Luke Sanders

Acts 16

Preaching Through Obstacles

If one word could be used to mention your entire life in a nutshell, what would it be? Pretty? Handsome? Outgoing? Popular? Godly? What would your life say about who you truly are?

In Acts 16, we are given this picture of the Apostle Paul who, throughout the beginning of his life was a learned man, he knew the law, sat under jewish rabbi’s and was taught the in’s and out’s of the jewish life. All of this mattered to Paul at one point in his life because he made an effort to thwart this way of life, to condemn and persecute those who practiced such things.

Paul made it a point to persecute and kill the ‘Christians’ that practiced these things because it was a motive of his in life, to practice persecution. Paul had one plan, and God had another. We know the story of Paul, once named Saul, persecutor ofGod, to now being Paul, preacher of God.

If there is one word to describe the life of Paul it would be, gracious. Paul was completely transformed into being someone he had no intention of becoming. At the moment of conversion in his life, Paul studied more, this man Jesus, His ministry on earth and what He accomplished on the cross and in the resurrection.

After having learned again, the truth of God, he could not help himself in preaching the good news. That’s what he did. He preached. And that’s all he did. There was nothing more dear to his heart than to know Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Back now to Acts 16, Paul meets up with a few fellow believers in the Lord and does ministry with them. He circumcised Timothy to show how devoted he was to the gospel (Acts 16:3-5).

Paul did not care what kind of scene he made, as long as the gospel was being preached, he was satisfied because he knew it was for God.

In verses 16-40, we have this interaction of Paul and Silas in prison. The reason? Because Paul became annoyed with a girl who had a spirit of fortune-telling, a demon. And he was so frustrated with her that he cast out this spirit from her, the parents became angry because they no longer had hope of fortune, so they were thrown in prison.

Do you think they thought by putting them in prison that they would stop preaching?! Absolutely, NOT! It made it even more of an effort to preach to the prison guards because they too needed Christ in their life. So while Paul and Silas are prison, what are they doing? They’re singing! They are in prison, bound in chains, praising God! What is this? In prison, I would not be praising God, that is not what I would do by nature, I’d be complaining and crying to get me out, but Paul and Silas saw it as a divine appointment to preach the gospel, even in prison!

How are we, when we come to a place like that in our life? When we get beat down and mocked at because of the gospel, do we give up or do we see it as an opportunity to preach even more bold?

These 2 guys were in prison, yet still praising God, and because of that, the prisoner was then converted and is now in Heaven because of the great example of these 2 men. Question, “What impact does your life have for gospel of Jesus Christ?” What have you done to promote Him as God, as Lord and Savior? When you’re ‘down in the dumps,” do you see that as an opportunity to preach the gospel even more confidently.

Our objective in life is to be an example of the gospel, to not just simply “play” Christian, but to actually live it. To not just simply speak, that you love God, but to live your life as you truly love Him.

Let us not be people who come in, day in and day out at church, who come and sit to listen to the message of the gospel, but to be people who live out the truth of God’s word.

Don’t Oppose the Word – Acts 13

Paul is known often for his caring letters to churches, which comprise a great part of the New Testament, but he also showed a righteously angry side when God’s word was warped. In this chapter, Paul and Barnabas are set apart by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel in certain Jewish synagogues, and at the end, they decide to preach the Gospel also to the Gentiles (people who are not Jewish). However, a magician named Elymas spoke against the word of God. Look at the reaction of Paul!

But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” (Acts 13:9-10)

Adamantly direct and bitingly convicting, Paul finished speaking, and Elymas was literally struck blind. What was his crime? He opposed the preaching of God’s word. From the amount people oppose God’s word today, it seems like it really isn’t that big of a deal. Well, to God, it is. Look at this passage from Revelation:

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18)

If this is the cost of consequence only the book of Revelation, consider the penalty for the rest of the Bible! God is extremely careful about his word. As Paul exclaimed, the enemies of God’s word inhibit God’s righteousness, as it also says in Romans 1:18. When we don’t want to hear what we’re doing is wrong, we basically suppress God’s word. That’s a big problem.

In fact, when Paul confronted Peter in Galatians 2:11-16, it was about doctrine: that is, the teachings of the word of God. The early church could not thrive without the truth of God’s word: it was crucial. It should have the same impact on our lives.

How can we treat God’s word with respect?

1. Study it. It’s more than reading. (2 Timothy 2:15)

2. Share it. People should know the truth. (2 Timothy 4:1-3)

3. Defend it. Look at Apollos’s example. (Acts 18:28)

By Jared Saavedra

December Calendar

Acts 8

Are You Serious?

Acts 8:3 “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

In the first 3 verses we get a brief snapshot of a man named Saul who was going after the church. The church had not been around very long and the Jewish leaders of the time hated it. Saul was one of those Jewish leaders. He was the son of a Pharisee. He studied the law under a very famous and respected teacher. He was considered blameless according to the Law. And, he was one of the most promising young Pharisees in Jerusalem.

In his passion for the Jewish religion and traditions Saul would literally hunt down Christians and put them in prison and some would be killed for their faith in Jesus. He did this thinking that he was doing God’s work and that it was good. He was mad against Christians and was violent towards them. This is the same Saul that watched over the coats of the men who stoned Stephen in the previous chapter. And this is the same Saul who’s name was changed by God to Paul in Acts 9. The same Paul that went on the write a bulk of the New Testament. The same Paul who brought the Gospel to many parts of the world that had not heard it yet. God changed him.

If God can change a heart like Saul’s from a Christian hunter to a Gospel preacher, I believe that God is capable of changing anyone’s heart. Do you know someone who seems to bad for God to forgive? Do you ever feel like you have been to bad for God to forgive you? God loves you no matter what you have done. He wants you to stop sinning but there is nothing that can take us out of the love of God. Rest in that. Don’t believe it when you think you have messed up to bad to pray, read your Bible, or go to church. It’s a lie. When you mess up, go to God. God can change even the blackest of hearts.

Acts 7

Stephen: The First Martyr