What Did You See, Feel, Do, and Say?

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray preached through Acts 17, following Paul from Thessalonica to Berea to Athens. The sermon traced how Paul read his surrounding culture, felt its weight, and then engaged it directly with the message of Christ's resurrection. The membership covenant service and Advent candle lighting framed the morning on either side. Pastor Ray opened by naming two philosophies he sees all around...

Read together

1. 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 read by Mike the elder chairman during the new member ceremony, about the body having many members
2. Romans 12:4-5 read by Mike the elder chairman during the prayer over new members, about many members in one body in Christ
3. Acts 17:1-34 the main sermon text, Paul preaching in Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens
4. John 3:16 paraphrased when Pastor Ray says Jesus said if you believe in me you will not perish but have everlasting life

Talk about it

1. Paul found a point of contact with the Athenians in the altar to an unknown God. Where do you see people around you reaching for something beyond themselves, even if they would not call it religion?
2. Pastor Ray described Paul as being 'deeply troubled' by the idols he saw everywhere in Athens, and connected that reaction to the same word used when Jesus looked over Jerusalem with compassion. When you look at what surrounds you in Jackson, what do you feel, and why?
3. Paul reasoned in the synagogue and then spoke daily in the public square to whoever happened to be there. What does that pattern suggest about how and where we should be having conversations about faith?
4. Pastor Ray described modern philosophy as essentially Epicurean and postmodern philosophy as essentially Stoic. Do you agree? How do you see those two ways of thinking show up in conversations you have with people outside the church?
5. When Paul mentioned the resurrection, some laughed in contempt, some wanted to hear more later, and some believed that same day. Have you experienced that same range of responses when faith comes up? What did you do next?