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That was also the world Jesus came to when he was born. God promised then, just as he promises now, that when Jesus came, we would see the spirit of God in all he was and all he did. He would be the perfect judge, for he would judge righteously and with compassion on all who needed compassion. God promised that the whole earth would shake with the force of his words, and the wicked would be destroyed. This
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was the hope the world longed for. It is the hope we long for today. We need the we need the perfection only Jesus could be. We are
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desperate for someone to believe in who will never disappoint us. We want someone who is righteous and just and compassionate. And our hopes have all been realized in the baby who was born in Bethlehem.
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We light the advent candle as a reminder that hope was born at Christmas.
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If you saw it at first in the darkness of the stable, but the light of the world had come. Amen.
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Thank you. God, thank you that you have fulfilled our hopes. Amen. Would you all stand up and greet one another? We'll bring you back together with a song.
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We wanna give you thanks. Thank you God for comfort and joy. Thank you God that that is who you are and that's who you what you offer to us and in this season, lord, this is really our true goal and our our prize is is you. So we give you thanks. Wanna continue to worship you.
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Thank you God for being the light of the world who stepped down among us And just how wonderful that is that that that that God became and made his spirit amongst us. Thank you God for loving us that much. Again, Lord, that is our purpose in our life. To come to church, our worship. Thank you, Lord, just as in your silence.
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You're the king of days, so highly exalted voice. Thank you, Lord. You have come humbly to all that you've made, all for love's sake. You, God, for taking our sin on yourself. Great God, with love, full mercy.
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Ask prayer of all for the offering today. God almighty, we come before you humble this morning. I I just had something go through my head. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. And God, I was overwhelmed by that.
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I just get choked up. God, you have greatly. And God, we want to, as an act of worship right now, humbly bow before you, Lord, and say, this is yours to do with as you will, for the advancement of
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your kingdom.
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Would you bless this small portion we bring back to you, lord? Would you bless it and multiply it so that your gospel, your good news would advance on this earth. Through this local church into the ends
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of the earth.
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Lord, thank you for all that you've done. Would you accept this act
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of worship?
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I'm gonna invite Mike to the chairman of the elders
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Thank you and good morning. First of all, it's very exciting to see as many people with the heart to join and have a commitment to the local church here. I'm gonna start with a little scripture reading. This is out of first Corinthians chapter 12. I'm gonna start in verse 12.
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For just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is
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with Christ.
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For in one spirit, the world baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or frees, and all were made
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to drink of one spirit.
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For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say because I am not at hand, I do not belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body. That would not make any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing?
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Whole body were an ear. Where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members of the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts yet one body.
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Being an elder here at the church and being part of the the connect commission, we do what's called the discovery class. We really enjoy that. We get a chance to sit down. Each of these guys people and and just we just talk.
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You know,
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I hear their heart. I hear where they're at. We only have one thing, one stipulation to becoming a member and that is to put your faith and your trust in the word of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ. But this is not a club membership although we call it membership. It's not.
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I don't teach a secret handshake. There's no special clothing. Anything like that that we do. But I would like since this is a big group. If if you guys would introduce your your families and if there's anything you'd like to say, I usually like to give that opportunity as well.
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So, start down here.
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Aaron Lundy and I got a half. Cameron. The
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rest of the the guys in North Carolina is wearing one and one was playing basketball. Yeah. Appreciate it.
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We are Brian Peterson. Fantastic. So, Paul, Christian, Sam, and George. Great to do it.
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Fantastic. If you guys remember too, you were baptized not too long ago as well. So, that was a that was a great great day. That's a great family. Yeah.
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Told Micah wouldn't speak. I know. Here I go. If any of you know me, I'm a school teacher, a coach, I'm a father, I've been very blessed to be kinda given this role of my life to be a comfort in some kids. And as I evaluate, know, constantly try to grow.
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One of the things I found is that, you know, as a closet Christian, you know, I was baptized in 1986. I tried to do this on my part. The part that my life that was stagnant was my relationship with Christ. So, when I became the boys basketball coach a year ago, you know, panic kinda set in. It was empty nested.
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You know, I have one son graduating. My son is a senior in high school. And I realized that as as much as I tried to lead by example, you know, being try trying to grow my relationship with Christ on what's not enough. So, you know, I picked up a fellowship, Christian Athletes Bible, and it gave me kind of some day day to day scripture, a little guidance there. It still wasn't enough.
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And so, you know, over the years, it's not what haven't I tried. It's I've tried everything as far as trying to, you know, go to different churches and I talk to my kids every day as as some players that their little eyes upon you watching me at night and you know, there's kids watching you every day. So as I come to church, pretty much last nine months. You know, see the missions people have gone on and everything else but I just want to remind you guys that that there's old eyes upon you as well watching every day at night and it's the energy that I've recept receptiveness, you know, the growth. It's it's this group of people that been, like, First Baptist Church is what I wanted to be here.
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I felt like I needed to thank you guys for being a real mom. So thank you.
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Thanks, Sean. So Sean said he wasn't gonna say anything, and I told him if he didn't say anything, was gonna talk about him. So I did come prepared to Sean and I grew up together here in Jackson. We're one of the few few people that's been around here a long time. But in the second grade, you know, you'll probably remember this, we're on the playground and Sean decided that, we ought to be blood brothers.
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And so, he brought a pocket knife to school the next day. Nowadays, you'd be considered a terrorist, I think. But, so Sean and I and I went out to the monkey bars and cut ourselves in the hands and became blood brothers. But with that, I am very proud to be up here, Sean, as a brother in Christ, and that's that's even better.
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Hi,
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I'm Rob Miller. I'm live
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for Lucid Riley Elliott. Very excited to
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be part of the first time.
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Okay, on to the covenant part. I think we'll we'll answer this group as an I will if you
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if you believe in
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what I'm saying here. Lord Kermit. Do you affirm before this congregation that Jesus Christ is your savior and lord? We do instead of I will. Do you believe that God is adding you to this body of believers?
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Will you open your life to allow this congregation to minister to you as we serve Christ together? Now to the congregation, from the response of these new members, do you believe that God is adding these people to this church? If so, please signify by saying we do. Will each of you personally open your lives to these people to allow God to work through you to help them to become all that he has purposed them to be. If so, please signify by saying we will.
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I'm actually going change things up too. I'd like to invite the elders to come up
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with this group. This is a
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group that's getting baptized and on fire for Christ and I'd like the the elders to come up this time. As they do, I'm going read a little bit more. That is some scripture. This is out of Romans 12. Turning to verse four.
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For as in one body, we have many members and the members do not all have the same function. So, we, though many, are one body in Christ. And individually, members, one of another. For that, let's pray. Dear heavenly father, I just as we put hands on these people, Lord, I just wanna thank you.
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I wanna thank this church, this church body, the willingness to forward your kingdom, Lord. The desire in the heart of these people. May we as a church body come around them. May we fan that slaint that they have right now. Lord, we thank you so much and we love you in Jesus name.
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Amen.
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Amen. I, we've started months ago. We started a study on Acts. I know that because I talked to an aunt and uncle that got here in late May. They came Memorial Day weekend, I think.
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They were here for the first showing of the of the Varjay. So, I know it was Memorial Day weekend and I said, yeah, I'm preaching through the series in Acts and she'd say, it's still. We were there for Acts two and we're up to Acts 17 now. Acts 17, it's one of my favorite passages in in the whole Bible. And the reason is because of this.
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I noticed that you are very religious in every way. Paul says to the Athenians. At the beginning of the study, I kind of promised myself. I've mentioned it a couple of times. I'm not going to skip any of any of it.
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It's a it's a sneaky pastor trick to be going along and just skip that verse and go, oh, I don't know what to do with that. That would go against my own personal theology. I'll skip that part. And then next week, we'll just pick up on the other side of it. We skip this little island.
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So, promised myself we would skip any of it. Now that I have seventeen minutes, I want to talk about these two prevailing contemporary philosophies and I put contemporary in quotes, contemporary, contemporary with the times. Two philosophies that are with the times. Right now, the two prevailing ones are modern and post modern. Modern being, there is nothing outside of that which can be proved by our five senses.
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And there are a lot of people that are stuck in that. That philosophy says, science is the way. Science will show us everything as it is and that can be trusted. I trust the scientists. Modern.
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Then, there's postmodern. Postmodern has gotten past thinking that everything can be proved. That souls actually do exist. That there is something of a spirit to the spiritual realm but it's so ephemeral and out there. Words don't really mean anything.
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So, post modern thought is a philosophy where it's just kinda out there. Do you think that you see those two types here in Jackson? Texas? Oh my goodness. Modern and postmodern are all over us.
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It's laughable to the modern that we are here today celebrating something. Oh, Christmas is fine because in all ways, people are very religious. We just are. That's the way that it is. Primitive religions, every culture has some form of religion.
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They're reaching out for, they're grasping for the knowledge of the holy as AW Tozer says. Modern or postmodern, even postmodern say it's found an experience, man. The human experience theater is a little theater in Columbus, Georgia where it's all it's kind of hippie. It really is. It's like everything's about how you feel.
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You have to kind of go for it. Those are the two. Since I said I wouldn't skip anything, we're gonna read this pretty quick because I feel like these two, Paul preaching in Thessalonica is very important and there's plenty to be gleaned here. I put some of it in highlighted text and I'll mention it as I go through but I'm just going to read it to you. Paul preaching in Thessalonica first.
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He goes to Berea next but the main part of the sermon is going to be in Athens. So, this is Proligomena. Just lead in. Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue. Now, we know that in Philippi, he had to meet outside of town at a little ladies prayer meeting because there was no synagogue.
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There were not even 10 Jewish men to form a synagogue but in Thessalonica, there was a Jewish synagogue. As was Paul's custom, he went to the synagogue service and for three Sabbaths in a row, he used the scriptures to reason with the people. That is Paul's custom. He knew the Old Testament and when Christ revealed to him that he was the Messiah, why are you persecuting me, Saul? And changed him.
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He knew what those scriptures meant. So, he was reasoning with the people, explained the prophecies, and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. All of those things in the Targums that those rabbis could not explain, Paul was explaining. Jesus answers these questions. This Jesus I'm telling you about is the Messiah.
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Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul. And Silas along with many God fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women. So, some who listen were persuaded, Jews, God fearing Greek men, and a few prominent women but some of the Jews were jealous. Doesn't that happen? It's happened over and over and over again.
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We've seen an act. Some of the Jews were jealous so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. That kind of follows him everywhere he goes. Riot is a is more than riot there. It's a big big deal.
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It's a it's a sticky word. They attacked the home of Jason searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers. They were guilty by association. Instead, and took them before the city council, Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world, they shouted, and now they're here disturbing our city too, Thessalonica, and Jason has welcomed them into his home.
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They are all guilty of treason against Caesar for they profess allegiance to another king named Jesus. And the people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them. So they did recognize that Jason was not super super guilty of what's going on, but they did make him force bond. It was one of those, we'll give you this.
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Paul and Silas then go to Berea. Next five verses. That very night, the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue and the people of Berea were more open minded than those in Thessalonica and they listened eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
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They searched the scriptures. They were seekers. They were seeking where they should have been seeking in the Bible. This was at the synagogue. It was the assembly.
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They knew the old testament and they were studying in this new light that Paul and Silas were shining. As a result, many Jews believe, not just some, but many, as did many of the prominent Greek men and women, women and men. But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, so it's the Jews from the last town, learned that he's teaching it in the next town. They went there and they stirred up trouble. The believers acted at once.
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The believers acted at once. They were trying to protect Paul because he was carrying the message and he was really good at it. So sending Paul onto the coast while Silas and Timothy remained behind. They didn't have the notoriety that Paul had, probably didn't cause quite as much trouble for the local authorities. So Paul Silas and Timothy remained behind.
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Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens. Then, they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him. The apostle Paul in Athens. This is my favorite part. This is what I'm talking about.
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Acts seventeen sixteen through 34. The reason it's so important I think is because it speaks to those two contemporary philosophies I was talking about. It speaks to the modern and it speaks to the post modern. There are four verbs. I want you to be looking for all the answers to these questions.
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There are four verbs. What did Paul see? What did he feel? What did he do? And what did he say?
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What did he see, feel, do, and say? I probably won't mention those again. Those are the those are the points but I probably won't mention that particularly till the end. But be looking for him. What he see, feel, do, and say.
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While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by the all the idols that he saw everywhere in the city. He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there. He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and stoic philosophers. Actually, right there. Can you see what he saw?
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He saw idols everywhere. When he walked into town, actually, literally, when he walked on the street through the gates of the town, there were idols right on both sides of the road welcoming him coming into Athens. And what did he feel? He was deeply troubled What did he do? He went to the synagogue as was his custom to reason with the Jews and God fearing Gentiles and he spoke.
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So, what did he do? He spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there. Now, the public square, the Agora, I mentioned a few weeks ago, it was everything. It was the marketplace of life but it was also the court system was held in the public square. So, what did he see idols?
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What did he feel deeply troubled? And the word for that is completely thrown off, completely out of kilter because he was he moved with emotion. The other time that this verb is used, it's when Jesus is looking down on the city of Jerusalem and he had compassion on him. He was deeply troubled. By all the idols he saw everywhere.
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So, he went to the synagogue to reason and to speak daily in the public square. That's what he did. But what did he say? He had a debate with some of the epicurean and stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, that's what he said.
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He didn't say, I have figured this out. I have studied everything and this is what I have come to by my own reason. He said, it is about Jesus and his resurrection. He centered it on the life, death, burial, and resurrection. And they said, what's this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas that he's picked up?
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And others said, he seems to be preaching about some foreign gods. Now, there's two different things there. What's he trying to say? And it seems like he's doing preaching about some other foreign gods. There were two different groups of people there that we know of, Epicureans and Stoics.
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Epicureans were people Stoics you've heard of a lot, you probably haven't heard quite Well, I don't know, maybe we've heard of both of them. Epicureans were people that felt that the whole universe was made up of atoms. That's where we get our word for atoms. The whole universe was made up of these atoms, and the random conflagration of these atoms as they moved about is what led to life as we know it. Evolution.
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They felt that there was nothing outside of what could be seen, and so there was no judgment, there was no resurrection, there was no age to come. They felt like you should enjoy what you have while you're here. Eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die. Epicureans came up with the riddle or the problem of evil. If God's all knowing and all powerful, then how can evil exist?
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They came up with that. They stated it first at least. Stoics. Stoics felt later on especially they felt that there probably was a god. They wouldn't say that for certain but probably was a god but the stoics felt that the things that happened to us were either within our control and we should control them or they were out of our control and we should deal with them.
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The serenity prayer. Have you all heard that? God grant me. Do you all know what? The serenity to accept the change, accept the things I cannot change.
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I can't do it right now. There's serenity prayer. And the wisdom to know the difference to The courage of things I can't to change the things I can. Say it again, Mike. The serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
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The Stoics were the ones that wrote that, basically. They didn't write exactly that, but it's really really really close. They said that the main question is to decide between the things you can and the things that you cannot change. If you look at the two different ones, Epicureans and the Stoics, and then you see, What's this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he's picked up? That's the Epicureans saying that.
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And he seems to be preaching about some foreign gods, because atheism was still illegal where they were. In Athens, atheism was illegal, so they had to at least pretend that they believed. Babbler in this context is from that word in Greek, which means seed picker. Seed picker. They're saying that it sounds like Paul is picking the best from the stoic philosophy and the best from the epicurean philosophy and putting things together and he must really not understand.
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He is a babbler. So then they took him to the high council. Now, he was having a debate with those two different schools of thought. Then they took him to the high council of the city, come and tell us about this new teaching, they said. You're saying some rather strange things and we want to know what it's all about.
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Now, these were not Jews, these were Greeks. It
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should
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be explained that in all all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas. It was a cosmopolitan city and they were caught up in the now. When I said at the beginning, the contemporary philosophies, we feel like these things are new. Modern is totally epicurean. Postmodern is totally stoic.
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Not totally. Pretty close though. So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows. Men of Athens, I noticed that you are very religious in every way. And are we?
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I'm not bashing this, but does everybody put up Christmas trees? Pretty much. This time of year. It's pretty common. If they're not, they're practicing another religion at this time of year.
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Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Ramadan changes, but these things. I noticed that you are very religious in every way. Even baseball fans. Have you all seen the Bud Light commercials? Everybody watches football.
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The ones that says only strange if it doesn't work, the guy's going to the bathroom. He says, every time I've gone to the bathroom and scored a touchdown. But for the team, he sneaks off to go to the bathroom so that his team will score a touchdown. That's religion. That's primitive religion.
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If I do this, it equals that and it's very sticky. Rally caps, lucky underwear, fishermen. My goodness. They are very religious in every way. I get a call every once in a while and say, hey, pastor Ray.
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I'm needing a little divine intervention. We're on the way to the lake. I noticed that you're very religious in every way. For as I was walking along, I saw your many shrines and one of your altars had this inscription on it. Two, an unknown God.
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This God whom you worship without knowing is the one I'm telling you about. Amen. This is the point of contact. This is why I like this scripture so much because it speaks to society. It speaks to philosophy.
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It speaks to them as they are. The acknowledgement that we do not know it all and cannot know it all of the stoics. The acknowledgement of the Epicureans to an unknown God, just in case. We haven't discovered him yet. We haven't gotten down to atoms and then quarks and then strings.
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Every time we get to the end of everything, there's a whole universe left to an unknown God. This God whom you worship without knowing is the one I'm telling you about. He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man made temples, and human hands can't serve his needs for he has no needs. Praise God.
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He has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man, he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand that they should rise and fall, when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. The Epicureans, if there is a god, he is the absentee landlord.
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He created, maybe, and he left. Have you heard that theory before? The theist. Thomas Jefferson is a great guy, wrote a wonderful constitution. He was a theist.
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He cut out all supernatural parts of the Bible. He believed God started things and then stepped back. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. What is an altar to the unknown God but a groping for just in case. Just in case we'd miss somebody out there.
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Yeah. That's a groping for. It's a feeling after. Feeling their way toward him and find him. Though he's not far from anyone of us.
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Praise God. That's true. For in him, we live and move and exist. That sounds like Colossians, right? Colossians, in him we live and breathe and have our being.
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That's actually a quote from about three or four centuries before. Now, who is Paul speaking to? Greeks. This is a Greek quote from three or four centuries before. Three, depending on who you listen to.
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He's quoting a pagan poet because he's meeting that society where they are. Now, he washes it clean of any connection with Zeus by saying, as some of your own prophets or poets have said, we are his offspring and since this is true, we shouldn't think of God as an idol. Now, he says, since this is true and that's a pagan guy who said that we're his offspring. How can he do that? Well, he's acknowledging where they are.
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Are other religions right in so much as they agree with Christianity? Yeah. Because all truth is God's truth. Right?
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Did I
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just say that all religions are right and lead to the same place? No. That is not true. But anywhere where other religions coincide with Christianity, then it is necessarily true. We are his offspring and since this is true, Paul's saying, okay, I'll give you that.
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Since that's true, we shouldn't think of God as an idol designed by craftsman from gold or silver or stone. Can you imagine thinking and the old testament is full of these examples. One of the, I mean, the commandments. No other gods before me. I'm number one.
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Number two, thou shalt have no other gods before me. No engraving images. Don't make these things up. It's not good for you. It's not gonna do it do you any good.
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Does it make any sense to cut down a tree and use half of it to warm yourself by the fire and the other half of it to make an idol that won't topple over? No. Isaiah talks about that quite a bit. Even gold or silver, Doesn't matter. The most noble thing that they can think of on earth and the most scarce.
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If you can fashion something out of it, you still fashioned it. You still made it. It makes no sense to then bow down to it. Here's the old quote that God created man in his image and man has been returning the favor ever since. God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times.
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Now imagine, this is Paul speaking at the Areopagus, this Mars Hill, he's up on the top with the city council, some people say he's defending himself. And he stands up and while he's standing up he says, God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now, he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed and has proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead. He brings it back to the resurrection. That's where he goes back to.
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The cross of Christ and the resurrection. I wanna look at this and highlight the whole thing. God overlooked people's ignorance. I want you to take people right there and if you are a people, a person, consider that God has overlooked your ignorance about these things in the past. We saw in chapter five Ananias and Sapphira who were believers and just did not give as they should have and lied about it.
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Actually, just lied about it. The giving as they should have, it was a free will offering, they could give whatever they want to, but they lied about it. And God struck them dead, so he didn't overlook that. What Paul is saying, in times past God has overlooked people's ignorance. He's overlooked your ignorance in the past Athenians, about these things in earlier times but now, now that Christ has come.
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Now that you are hearing about him and you're hearing about his resurrection and you have been exposed to the good news that God loves you and wants to redeem you. He commands you, everyone everywhere. He commands you to repent and me of the sins and turn to him and then he says, why is that important? Because he has set a day for judging the world. So, the Epicureans are going, well, if God's all powerful and all knowing and evil exist, then he is not God.
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He's impotent to do anything about it. He cannot be all powerful if he's all knowing and evil exist but what Paul is saying to the Epicureans is, no. There's coming a day when he will judge that and he's told us about it. This scripture all points to it. He's told us about it.
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He set a day for judging the world with justice by the man, capital m, Jesus, who he has appointed and he proved everyone who this is by raising him from the dead. You don't believe in resurrection but you should because Jesus did it. God pointed to him and he is the one who is going to judge. If you put your trust and your faith in him, Jesus said, if you believe in me, you will not perish but have everlasting life. Everyone, everywhere includes stoics, epicureans, moderns, postmoderns, left handed, right handed, short, fat, tall, whatever.
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Everyone, everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. Paul is speaking a message of grace. You don't deserve it. You've got gods everywhere. It's disturbing my heart because I know God's number one.
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There should be no gods before him and you've got em littering the street but what Paul says is, doesn't matter. God's still saying, come on. Turn to him. Repent. When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt.
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Can you imagine when you speak about resurrection to people today, what do some of them do? They laugh in contempt. I can see three or four heads bobbing right now that you've done it within the last month, and you've seen people laugh in contempt. Some of you had somebody write you a letter and said, I don't really feel it's appropriate to discuss those sort of things. Do that at church.
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But others said, we want to hear more about this later. That ended Paul's discussion with them, but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, Luke. I love Luke. Great historian, he's gonna name him.
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Go ask Dionysius, a member of the council or go ask a woman named Damaris Damaris Damaris Damaris in Spanish and others with them. He's given a little evidence there at the end. That ended Paul's discussion with him. What Paul is saying, up until this point you've been allowed by the mercy of God not to get that which you deserve. By the mercy of God, he has not destroyed you already.
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He's extending a message of grace so that you can turn to him and he will accept you. So, for those of us who are here in church this morning, if you are not a believer, I have exactly the same message as Paul had is that I'm going to point you to the resurrection. God proved by the resurrection that Christ was his appointed man. Judgment is still coming but the judgment of God is also accompanied by the grace of God for those who believe. So, if you are not a believer this morning, you just happened in here.
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You didn't just happen in here. In him, we live and move and have our being. God has you here for a purpose. If you are a Christian, if you're here, what do you see around you? Do you see idols everywhere?
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Oh my goodness. Everywhere. What do you feel? Does it disturb you? Are we so pluralistic in our minds and in our society that whatever they believe is fine?
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Who am I to say that? Well, if you have the truth, you're a messenger for that truth. What do you feel? Does it disturb you to see what you see? And what do you do?
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Let your light shine before men so that others may see your good deeds and give glory to God who's in heaven. And what do you say? We should center our message on the grace and good news that God is gracious and loving and he wants to bring you in. I think that's it. That's it.
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So Carl, would y'all come up and if the things that you see disturb you and you love people, you will do something. You will engage them where they are. Use Led Zeppelin albums. Use whatever it is that they're stuck on. Okay?
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Use whatever it is. If you can find an element of truth, there are two paths you can go by. Yeah, there are two paths you can go by. But in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on. Nope.
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Can't agree with that. Now is the hour of salvation. So, go tell it on the mount. Would you stand with us and join? Alright.
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Thank you very much. God bless you and may his face shine upon
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you and give you peace. Amen.
