Sunday 3rd June 2018
Text
for the Week: The God who made the world
and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in
shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he
needed anything, since he himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.
Acts 17:24-25
Welcome
to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the
first time. It’s a big, bustling modern city on the verge of being overwhelmed
by air pollution. But Athens is also a wonderful ancient city opening up a
window on to the world of the New Testament. Long ago I visited in the company
of a good friend who went by the name of Paul. We made for a hill overlooking
the Acropolis: was it somewhere nearby that another Paul had long ago debated
with the philosophers and thinkers of that great ancient city? Now it’s in
ruins: then it was in its splendour a wonderful temple to the goddess that gave
the city her name, Athene. A remarkable feat of engineering, a remarkable
design, it remains a wonder of the world. And yet it is nothing compared to the
breath-taking views of sea and mountains that Paul and his travelling
companion, Luke, must have enjoyed. The God of creation cannot be contained in
buildings made from stone, for God is Lord of all and gives to all people life
and breath and all things. Paul looks not just to the God of creation but to
the God who in Jesus Christ comes alongside us and stays with us wherever the
journey leads us.
Welcome
and Call to Worship
182
Now thank we all our God
Prayer
and the Lord’s Prayer
Paul’s
Story
Reading:
Acts 20:7-12
A
Hy-Spirit Song
Activities
for all over 3
A
Focus on Jesus
How
do you come to be here?
And
I don’t mean, how did you get here?
Where
did your journey of faith start?
Is
it something that’s just grown, is it something that’s always been there, is it
something that had a moment when it began?
Share
with someone near you …
A
time to share
And
then a time to share with the rest of us too … if anyone wants to.
We
first meet him under the name of Saul in Acts 8 looking after the cloaks of
those who are stoning Stephen to death and he is approving of that brutal
execution. The next we know something has happened to change him. And it’s not
long before we know him as Paul. He’s had a new start.
There
was an encounter
He
saw in a new way
He
had a new strength within
And
he had a message.
And
at the heart of it all was Jesus. He thought of it as a meeting with the risen
Christ.
And
it happened at that very moment when he was bent on pursuing the followers of
Jesus and eliminating them from Damascus as he had endeavoured to eliminate
them from Jerusalem.
It
was life-changing.
It
wasn’t just a flash of light he saw or a voice he heard it was the one he met
that make a difference. IT was nothing less than the risen Christ.
It
wasn’t just a healing he experienced – it was as if he had a whole new way of
seeing things. And it came about not just through the faithfulness of Ananias
but through that time of prayer Ananias was devoted to.
And
then he had a strength from beyond himself in the Holy Spirit that filled him –
and standing up he was baptized.
He
stayed with the believers and went to the synagogues and he had something he
did.
He
has a message to share – for Gentiles and kings and the people of God
He
began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God.
The
focus was on Jesus. And it was to make a difference.
This
was a message for Gentiles – and for Kings – this is a message for the Roman
world – with the heart of the region in Damascus and the Roman province of
Syria. It’s for Gentiles – who is son of god in that Gentile world but the
Roman emperor – Tiberius has given way to Caligula and then to Claudius – but
no Jesus is the one to look to. Straightaway a message that is to the powers
that be.
But
it is also for the people of Israel – who looked to their kings as sons of God
to. But Jesus is the one to look for who demands our allegiance.
Look
to Jesus – it’s the start – but it sets the scene for the rest of his life. He
takes time out maybe as long as 14 years but then he begins – and he journeys a
little way into Asia minor, Eastern Turkey today, then further afield and over
into what we think of as Europe. And then Athens and Corinth – makes a
collection to go to Jerusalem and finds himself arrested – on trial he tells
his story twice more. Until finally, the shipwreck in Malta over, he makes it
to Rome albeit under arrest. And Acts finishes with that wonderful statement.
He
lived there for two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to
him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ
with all boldness and without hindrance.
And
it all finds its focus on Jesus
No
matter what our story, no matter what it is that brings us here – it is to
Jesus we turn and to Jesus we look.
A
Hy-Spirit song – focusing on Jesus
Common
Ground
What
Paul does is interesting – we find him there preaching of Jesus the Son of God.
The words are interesting – he proclaims – it’s the proclamation of a herald –
Jesus -the son of God we look to.
Paul
teaches, he declares the good news, he preaches. But there’s one more thing we
find Paul doing.
He
argues, is one way of putting it. The word is the word we get dialogue from –
he enters into dialogue. He does that in the synagogue with those who are
Jewish and he draws on the Hebrew Scriptures – again he is influenced by the
way of reading the Hebrew Scriptures the very first followers of Jesus have
been directed to – they have at their heart, Jesus. He is the fulfilment of all
those Scriptures.
The
Hebrew Scriptures are the common ground he has.
But
when he finds himself with people who do not have the Scriptures as their
sacred text he seeks common ground. And again he enters into dialogue, he
enters into discussions with them.
6While Paul was
waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he was greatly upset when he noticed
how full of idols the city was. 17So he held discussions in the synagogue with
the Jews and with the Gentiles who worshipped God, and also in the public
square every day with the people who happened to pass by. 18Certain Epicurean
and Stoic teachers also debated with him. Some of them asked, “What is this
ignorant show-off trying to say?”
So
it is that he gives an account of himself.
He
moves from discussion to declare the good news
Others answered,
“He seems to be talking about foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was
preaching about Jesus and the resurrection. 19So they took Paul, brought him
before the city council, the Areopagus, and said, “We would like to know what
this new teaching is that you are talking about. 20Some of the things we hear
you say sound strange to us, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21(For
all the citizens of Athens and the foreigners who lived there liked to spend
all their time telling and hearing the latest new thing.)
And
he finds common ground with the people he is engaging with.
aul
stood up in front of the city council and said,
“I see that in
every way you Athenians are very religious. 23For as I walked through your city
and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is
written, ‘To an Unknown God’. That which you worship, then, even though you do
not know it, is what I now proclaim to you.
He
starts where they are … and leads them to new ground.
24 God, who made the world and everything in
it, is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human
hands. 25Nor does he need anything that we can supply by working for him, since
it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone.
26From one human being he created all races on earth and made them live
throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the
limits of the places where they would live.
A
wonderful sense of the awe and majesty of the God of creation. A sense of
seeking – maybe a common strand in so many people.
27He did
this so that they would look for him, and perhaps find him as they felt about
for him. Yet God is actually not far from any one of us; 28as someone has said,
‘In him we live
and move and exist.’
It is as some of
your poets have said,
‘We too are his
children.’
Paul
finds the common ground – he quotes now from the works his audience are
reading.
29Since we are
God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image
of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill. 30God has overlooked
the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them
everywhere to turn away from their evil ways. 31For he has fixed a day in which
he will judge the whole world with justice by means of a man he has chosen. He
has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!”
And
now he turns to Jesus – and again the focus is on Jesus. The one who opens up a
window on to God and discloses God to be the God of love.
32When they heard
Paul speak about a raising from death, some of them made fun of him, but others
said, “We want to hear you speak about this again.” 33And so Paul left the
meeting. 34Some men joined him and believed, among whom was Dionysius, a member
of the council; there was also a woman named Damaris, and some other people.
Among
all the people named is one woman – named Damaris – the inspiration for an
initiative that has used film as a starting point for discussion – maybe an
area of common ground to explore further.
Common
Ground
Reading:
Acts 17:22-31
470
Jesus shall reign
Prayers
of Concern
604
Holy wisdom, lamp of learning
Words
of Blessing
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