His Spirit Was Provoked Within Him

In one paragraph

The pastor walked through Acts 17:16-34, the account of Paul in Athens, and pressed the question of what it looks like to bring the gospel into a culture that worships everything except the living God. He traced Paul's method from the marketplace to the Areopagus, showing how Paul engaged people where they were without either softening the message or treating his listeners with contempt. When Paul...

Read together

1. Ephesians 3:20-21 Quoted by Pamela Constant as the prayer for her church in France: 'now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work in us, to him be the glory in the church and in Jesus Christ throughout all generations forever and ever'
2. Acts 17:16-34 The primary passage preached through, covering Paul in Athens at the Areopagus
3. Psalm 19 Referenced as teaching that creation pours forth speech and the message can be heard everywhere, making all people responsible before God
4. Romans 1 Referenced as teaching that suppressing the truth makes people culpable before God through creation alone
5. Genesis 1 Alluded to when Paul says 'the God who made the world and everything in it, in the beginning God'
6. Isaiah Referenced regarding the foolishness of paying a craftsman to make an idol from wood or stone, covering it with gold, and then propping it up so it does not topple

Talk about it

1. Pastor Chris mentioned that you cannot be both grateful and anxious at the same time. Where have you found that to be true or hard to believe in your own life?
2. Pastor Chris said that when something fills up our heart, that is what comes out of our mouths, pointing to how Paul talked about Jesus everywhere he went. What does what comes out of your mouth most often tell you about what is filling your heart right now?
3. Looking at the two philosophies on Mars Hill, Epicureanism and Stoicism, Pastor Chris said pretty much everybody you know leans toward one or the other. Which one do you think pulls at you most, and where does it fall short without Christ?
4. Paul was provoked in his spirit by the idols in Athens, but when he stood before the Athenians he was respectful and winsome rather than angry or dismissive. How do you hold those two things together when you are talking with someone whose beliefs provoke you?
5. Some people on Mars Hill scoffed at the resurrection, some said they would hear Paul again, and a few believed that day. Pastor Chris said any soul that comes in is a great thing. How does that shape the way you measure whether a gospel conversation went well?