FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotion -- "Alien Cultures"

Supplies: Bible; slips of paper with these words: sin, Son of God, crucifixion, salvation, the Gospel story

TRY

Let’s play “Alien Charades!”  Your family has just finished dinner when a blindingly bright light appears in your backyard.  You all run out to see two aliens emerging from a spaceship.   They walk up to you holding a picture of Jesus.  While it’s obvious they want to know who this man is, it’s equally obvious they don’t “speak the language.”  Either individually or in teams, have your family take turns acting out the words on the slips of paper.  Remember, these are aliens.  They only have a basic understanding of Earth life from their observations.  How are you going to communicate with them about Jesus?  If you have very young children, ask them to explain what those words mean, or variations of the words.  This is a great opportunity to see how much your child knows about these ideas.

READ

Read Acts 17:16, 19-31.

THINK 

While the scenario from above may seem absurd, Paul found himself in a situation kind of like this. He walked into an “alien” culture not at all like the world he’d grown up in.  These people had never heard of anything like a “one true God.”  To them, “one” and “god” were oxymorons—exact opposites.  But Paul knew they still needed to know about Jesus so they could eventually know Jesus.  It was that passion he had to help these strange Athenians that sparked the creativity he needed to explain Jesus in a meaningful way.

We are surrounded by “alien” cultures.  Everyone has their own background, their own set of values, their own thoughts and ideas on how the world works, and their own opinions about spirituality.  The woman in the office next to yours went to church as a child because her parents wanted some free time.  She thinks Jesus and church are a convenient service, not something that will change her life.  The elderly man across the street went to church until his wife died suddenly in a car accident.  Now he thinks God is mean and punishes people randomly.  Then there’s the guy that sits next to you in math class who has never even heard of Jesus.  His family is from a different country; they’ve never even stepped foot in a church.   With so many different points of view, it can be hard to share the real Jesus in ways that make sense to everybody around us.  But the other option is not to share Him at all…and that’s really not an option.

APPLY

Take some time and talk as a family about the different points of view you come across.  How do your neighbors talk about Jesus?  What about your coworkers?  Your friends at school?  Who do they think He is?  What confuses them about Him?  Now brainstorm ways you can explain or share Jesus that would address these needs.  If one of those individuals showed up in your backyard with a picture of Jesus and a lot of questions, what would you say?  Share your approach with the rest of your family.  Imagine the difference you might be able to make by translating Jesus’ message of love and forgiveness into the “alien” languages around you! 

PRAY

Jesus, we thank You for Your gift of grace and we praise You knowing that this gift is for everyone.  Jesus, would You help us share about You and Your love with the people around us.  Give us the right approach, the right words to speak in ways our friends and neighbors will understand.  Use us, Jesus, to draw people closer to You.  In Your holy name we pray, Amen.

REPLY

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EXPLORE IT - Acts 17

The New Testament book of Acts has been given many names during the first and second centuries.  Titles include some we are familiar with like “The Acts of the Apostles” to unfamiliar titles like “Luke the evangelist’s Acts of the Holy Apostles” and “testimony of Luke regarding the apostles.”  With many of these titles attributing the content to Luke, (the same author of the third Gospel) we can be sure he also penned the book of Acts.  Many scholars designate the book of Acts as a sequel to the Gospel of Luke and recommend reading them back-to-back.

As one of the longest books in the New Testament, Acts focuses on God – how he empowers, guides, safeguards, and directs His Church.  We experience the coming of the Holy Spirit, the conversion of Paul, and the multiplying growth of the Church in its early days.  The story begins in Jerusalem as Peter gathers this new community of faith.  Others begin to move outside of Jerusalem, sharing the Gospel message in Samaria and then on to the Gentiles at Caesarea.  We then transition to Antioch and the launching of Paul’s missionary travels.

Tradition has Paul and several companions completing three journeys.  Our passage, Acts 17, falls within Paul’s second journey.  Paul’s preaching in Thessalonica is met with success and persecution, a pattern that forms throughout the book of Acts.  Paul then moves on to Beroea, where he receives a positive welcome, but is followed there by those he upset in Thessalonica.  They stir up the locals and Paul has to move on once again. 

Paul arrives in Athens, the capital of ancient Attica and instead of preaching to mostly Jewish people with a few Gentiles, he is preaching to a solely Gentile crowd.  This is the best account of how Paul handles this kind of audience.  Paul is deeply disturbed by the vast array of idols he sees in Athens.  The word translated in the NIV as “greatly distressed” (paroxu,nw  paraxyno) is better translated as “despise” or “revile.”  In other words, “greatly distressed” doesn’t do justice to how upset Paul truly was. 

Paul meets with Epicureans and Stoics, two of the most famous philosophical schools of this time.  Some see his as “a babbler” or someone who gathers pieces of information here and there and shares this “knowledge” with others as if he knows what he is talking about.  Others see him as a teacher of foreign gods.  Paul is then brought to speak to the Areopagus, a powerful council that tried crimes, regulated education as well as public morality, and controlled which foreign gods would be allowed into their community. 

Paul did well in his preaching until verse 32 and the mention of the resurrection.  Greeks had no context to understand resurrection, dead people remained dead people.  The concepts Paul spoke of were foreign to those in Athens.  Some made fun of him, some had questions and wanted to know more, and some believed.  We too live in a day where concepts of Christianity are foreign to many of those around us.  Even though we may “despise” or “revile” their lifestyles, we need to follow in Paul’s footsteps and share the gospel message with them with generous, honest spirits.  We must be gracious to those who are unfamiliar with Christianity, but we can’t water down the Gospel message.  Some will make fun of us, others will have questions, but there will be some who believe.  That is well worth the effort.

Blessings,
Pastor Amy

READ IT! - Monday Reading - Acts 17

Yesterday, the sermon included the following scripture.  

Let's review it together today.

Acts 17

New Living Translation (NLT)

Paul Preaches in Thessalonica

17 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 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. 3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” 4 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.

5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. 6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. 7 And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”
8 The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. 9 So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

Paul and Silas in Berea

10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.11 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. 12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

13 But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. 14 The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.15 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.

Paul Preaches in Athens

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. 17 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.

18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
19 Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said. 20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.” 21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)
22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
24 “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, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
30 “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. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them, 34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

PREPARE FOR IT! - Saturday Reading - Acts 17

Tomorrow's sermon will include the following scripture.  

Let's read it together today to prepare our hearts.

Acts 17

New Living Translation (NLT)

Paul Preaches in Thessalonica

17 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 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. 3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” 4 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.

5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. 6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. 7 And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”
8 The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. 9 So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

Paul and Silas in Berea

10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.11 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. 12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

13 But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. 14 The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.15 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.

Paul Preaches in Athens

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. 17 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.

18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
19 Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said. 20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.” 21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)
22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
24 “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, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
30 “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. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them, 34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Living On Mission with Jeremiah and the Exiles

The prophet Jeremiah was given a message from God to His people.  “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.  Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  (Jeremiah 29:4-7)

Exiles are outside of their home country, not by choice. Often exiles have been banished from their home country as a means of punishment. Notice in the passage above that God said HE carried the people into exile. (A result of sin.) As Christians, we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. It could be said that we are living as exiles because we are not living in our spiritual home country. That perspective makes this passage very relevant to our lives today.  God wants us to engage in life and community where He has placed us; it’s a call to live incarnationally—among the people, and to ask God for good things for them.

God also gives this incredibly comforting word for those who are living as exiles; He will listen to our prayers and He will be found when we seek Him. “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14)

In the passage above we also find that this God-induced stint in exile also came with a promise to bring them back home. Sound familiar? Jesus promised that He would return and take us to be with Him forever. In a very real sense, we will be living in exile until Jesus returns and we finally experience the full Kingdom of God. Meanwhile, what should we do? Pray for the cities where God has placed us. Know that He hears our prayers and desires for us to seek and find Him. Look for the day of His return and pray, “Your Kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven.”

Let’s practice living on mission and get caught RedHanded – LovingOurCity.

Pastor Angela