Sermon Study Guide: #ENDURINGCHURCH - CORINTH

#ENDURINGCHURCH - CORINTH

Read Acts 18:1-17

Corinth was one of the largest cities in the Greco-Roman empire with an estimated population of 200,000. Located strategically on an isthmus in Southern Greece, it became one of the ancient world’s most important commercial centers. As such, good and luxuries from all over the world were available in the city. Alongside its reputation as commercial center, Corinth also developed a reputation for being a center of licentiousness and decadence. The Greeks even coined a term, “corinthainize”, as way to describe immoral behavior. This city of comfort and pleasure was a very difficult context for Paul to bring his message of repentance.

When Paul arrived in Corinth, we see similar scene play out. Paul first goes to the synagogue to reason with his fellow Jewish people as well as the God-fearing Greeks who attended the synagogue. Just like in Iconium, Thessalonica, Berea, Paul encountered resistance. This time it got personal. The Jewish people strongly opposed him (this word is used only here in the NT) and reviled him (TNIV, “became abusive”). Paul’s response was intense. In essence, his symbolic actions and pronouncement said, “I’m done with you” (v6). We get the strong sense that Paul was weary, tired and struggling with fear as he faced the challenges enduring in the call God had given him. So, in v9, God meets Paul in a very rare and special way - He speaks to Paul in a vision. What God said to Paul then remains incredibly relevant for our own struggles, fears and challenges today.

“Do not be afraid” This is the most repeated command in the Bible. God knows we all gravitate so easily from faith to fear. He knows the power fear has over us. Instead of rebuking us - “What’s wrong with you!”, “Why is your faith so weak?”, or minimizing our fears - “It isn’t that bad.”, Jesus comforts us by acknowledging our fear. He sees and knows all about it. We don’t have to hide our fear. He comes to us gently as says, “Don’t be afraid”.

“Go on speaking, and don’t be silent” At first this seems like a strange encouragement. Speaking (see I Cor 2:2) was exactly what was causing Paul fear and weariness. What we learn from this is that Jesus is telling Paul (and us), “The way out of your fears is not around them and not away from them, it is in and through them.” Why? It’s moving into our fears that exposes & disarms them. It’s in our fear where we learn that we are not in control and that God can use us and work in us most powerfully in our weakness, fear and trembling (1 Cor. 2:2).

“For I am with you” in large part, the power of our fears is not just about what it is we fear will happen but the greater fear that we will be alone, helpless in hardships and struggle. The four short, simple words, “I am with you” carry enormous power and weight when read in the context of the biblical story.  These are words of unbreakable covenant commitment and loving purpose. “I am with you” means God is for us for our good. He will never abandon us or forsake us. Whatever He calls us to do, He gives us strength to carry out. Wherever he calls us to go, He goes before us. Whatever happens to us is never outside his greater covenantal purpose for us – to work all things for our good.

 “No one will attack you to harm you” Though this statement is not a blanket promise of physical protection (Paul did encounter harm later in Acts), it was a statement of God’s protection of Paul during this season of his ministry. What was at stake here was not just Paul’s emotional health or personal comfort. If he was stuck in his fears, he would have missed the very reason why God had called him to this city. Here we learn an important truth - Dealing with our fears is not just for our personal benefit but for the sake of identifying and fulfilling the calling God has given us to bless and serve the world. Fear turns us inward where God calls us outward. God is telling Paul (and us) here – wherever I call you to go, you can trust me to take care of you.

“For I have many in this city who are my people” It appears that Paul was discouraged because of the big challenges he faced in Corinth. But the vision reminded Paul that God is able to work in the most unexpected places, even in the most broken and sinful places. Jesus is saying, “Despite what you might see as a difficult place with many obstacles/barriers for people embracing Jesus and establishing a healthy church, I am at work here.” What’s fascinating to note is that there is still a church in the city of Corinth today. This church can trace its lineage all the way back to this moment. Jesus saying, “I have a 2000 year plan I'm working on here Paul, this is year one.” Our fears give us an exaggerated sense of our own importance and ability to control things – Jesus assures us He has a larger purpose and He is in control, even when we lose sight of these things.

CONVERSATION

1.      What about the sermon stood out to you or impacted you most? Do you have any follow up questions about the sermon?

2.     In what ways do you need to hear “do not be afraid”? Are you facing weariness or challenges in life? What are you afraid of? How is your fear affecting you?

3.     How do you handle times when things are going well outwardly but inwardly you aren’t doing well? How does God help you press on and give you fresh vision? What role does community play in your life in times like this?

4.     How are you avoiding the question “What am I afraid of?” when it comes to fulfilling your calling (vocation) from God? (This could be in your job, family – marriage or parenting, area of ministry, etc).

5.     How do you regain perspective of the bigger picture when you are discouraged and fearful? How does the perfect love of God in the gospel for you drive out your fears (I Jn 4:8)? How does knowing that Jesus was forsaken so we would never be reframe even our greatest fears?

ACTION Fresh Vision to Endure. Where are you struggling to endure? Use the five phrases from God’s vision to Paul as a framework for prayer. Write each phrase down. Underneath each phrase write how it specifically can encourage you or provide new perspective.

Community Group Questions - Through the Eyes of a Blind Man (John 9:1-15, 24-41)

“The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then you will be accepted’. But the Gospel is, ‘if you are absolutely accepted, and sure you’re accepted, only then will you ever begin to obey’. Those are two utterly different things. Every page of the Bible shows the difference.”                  – Tim Keller

1. Think of something you are very good at, a specific skill you have obtained, or a subject area you know very well. This could be related to your profession or perhaps your emphasis of study in college/university. Once you have identified at least one skill or area of knowledge imagine someone challenging your skill or knowledge in front of your co-workers or peers. Describe how you would feel emotionally and how you might react.
    
2. By the end of John chapter 9, this is the situation the Pharisees faced—being informed that because they claim to see, they are in fact still in their sin (9:40-41). Read John 9:13-17. In this first interaction between the blind man and the Pharisees what fault did they find with what Jesus did? What kind of objection is this and was it legitimate?
    
3. Read John 9:18-23. Why do the Pharisees bring in the blind man’s parents? What were they hoping to discover? And finally, did they find what they were looking for and would it even matter?
    
4. Read John 9:24-34. In this final moment of questioning do the Pharisees discover any new information about the healing? Does the content of the Pharisees’ questions reveal anything about how they understand their relationship with God? What about the blind man—does he reveal anything about his understanding of God?
    
5. Read John 9:35-41. Throughout the entire passage there has been an explicit contrast between seeing and failing to see. In the end, who really sees, and more importantly, how has this sight come about?
    
6. Read the Tim Keller quote above. Of course the contrast between “religion” and the “gospel” in the quotation corresponds to the contrast between blindness and seeing in the passage. Most of us would likely say we believe the “gospel”—but how do you actually live? Discuss what occupies the functional trust of your heart; that is, whether on a daily basis you are trusting in God’s grace in the gospel or something else. 

Sermon Study Guide: #ENGAGINGCHURCH - ATHENS

#ENGAGINGCHURCH - ATHENS

Read Acts 17:16-34

Athens was the intellectual capital of the Greco-Roman world. It was known throughout the empire as the heart of Greek philosophy. The city was a diverse hodgepodge of worldviews and constant conversation about the life’s big questions. The Areopagus (v19, 22) was an official city council of leading thinkers that evaluated new ideas.

Luke preserved Paul’s remarkable speech to the Areopagus as a model for us to learn from as we engage both skeptical and curious people with the gospel message. In our day, people rarely change their core belief systems in one conversation or in one fell swoop of Christian persuasion. Conversion is a massive reconstruction of reality as they understand it. Most often engaging skeptical or curious people requires many steps from unbelief to faith.  Here’s are three ways Paul’s speech shows us how we are to engage others with the gospel:

Where to Bring Our Faith | The speeches interspersed throughout the book of Acts provide us with models of how to talk about the Christian faith in different contexts. It’s important to note that the unchanging gospel message is presented in different ways depending on the changing audience. Here we find Paul, for the first time, making a case for the Christian faith in the marketplace of Athens - the center for the exchange of ideas as well as commerce and communication. What Luke means for us see here is that Christians are to bring our faith into the marketplaces of our culture - into public life.

We also see that Paul “reasoned” with them in a way that they were familiar with (this word implies the dialogical method of Socrates, the famous Athenian philosopher). This shows us that we are to engage in a way that is gracious, understandable & meets people in our culture where they are.

In our pluralistic and post Christian culture, Christians have often failed to graciously bring their faith into the public square. Instead, we often respond by 1) avoiding the culture out of fear of contamination 2) attacking the culture in order to regain what we see as our place of prominence/respect or 3) assimilating into culture out of fear of others reaction to our faith. Paul models for us a different option – we are to bring our faith wherever we go and learn to talk about our beliefs with sensitivity and respect.

How to Have Conversations about Faith | Paul’s speech to the Aeropagus (the “town council” of Athens) also shows us how we are to have meaningful and effective conversations about faith. In his speech we find three steps to effective communication in the public square.

1) Understand Other People’s Points of View – Paul “passed along” throughout the city observing what was important to the people of Athens and what they believed. He knew the philosophies of the Epicureans and Stoics well. He quoted from their own poets and thinkers. Francis Schaeffer was once asked what he would share if he had 1 hour to speak with someone about the Christian faith. He said he would listen for 55 minutes and then, in the last 5 minutes, he would have something to say. Paul shows us that we should begin by listening.

2) Look for Points of Contact – When Paul saw the altar to the unknown God and read what the Greek poets had to say about their idea of God, he saw points of contact with the truth of the gospel. Instead of starting with places of disagreement/difference, he saw signs of the truth in their own belief systems & culture and he began by affirming these. If we are looking, we’ll find all kinds of points of contact in our culture’s books, movies, music and art.

3) Graciously Challenge Pressure Points - In every culture there are points of contact with truth, but there are also pressure points where the gospel challenges the unresolved tensions in the beliefs of the culture. Paul challenged the Athenians by saying 1) God can be known, not by our imagination/reason, but by revelation 2) He is a personal & transcendent God and 3) There is a coming day of judgment/resurrection. These ideas stirre

Why to Have Conversations about Faith | Paul’s engagement with intellectually skeptical and curious began when “his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols” (v16). It’s the word used to describe God’s reaction to Israel’s idolatry in the Old Testament. It’s a word that describes a jealous lover provoked into action. Our idolatry (false worship) provoked God to engage us – not to pour out the wrath of his jealously on us but to come to win us back by taking it upon Himself.

The right motivation for engaging in faith conversations is our jealously – for God to be known, worship as he deserves AND for our friends to direct their worship, love and lives to the only One who can satisfy their hunger for love & joy.

CONVERSATION

1.      What about the sermon stood out to you or impacted you most? Do you have any follow up questions about the sermon?  

2.     There were 3 common Christian “postures” to culture shared in the sermon: Avoid, Attack, Assimilate. Why do we react in these ways? Which do you most tend toward? Why? Where do you most struggle in having a “public” faith.

3.     What are some of our culture’s points of contact with the gospel? List these as a group. Where do we see evidence for these assumptions in music, movies or literature?

4.     Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is. (Pascal) How does first affirming people’s beliefs (before challenging) help us to show Christianity is reasonable, worthy of respect and attractive? What are some of the most important points of contact we need to affirm today?

5.     Why is it so hard to have conversations about faith? How does the motivation of “jealous love” help us to move past fear & awkwardness?

Sermon Study Guide: #DISRUPTIVECHURCH - THESSALONICA

#DISTRUPTIVECHURCH - THESSALONICA

Read Acts 17:1-9

Thessalonica was a leading city in Macedonia three days distance from Philippi down the Via Egnatia. In focusing on Thessalonica, Paul and his team continued their strategy of brining the gospel to major cultural centers of the Greco-Roman world. Though Paul only stayed a short time in this city – we see that the whole city was disrupted by the introduction of the gospel message and the small community of people who responded to it. Whenever the gospel comes to your city, your church or life - expect disruption. Not just a little - the kind that turns your world upside down.

The Cause – the gospel is a disruptive message

In Thessalonica, Luke highlights Paul’s approach to sharing the disruptive message of the gospel. He used four words to describe his delivery – reasoned, explaining, proving, proclaim.  Taken together, we see that Paul was very careful not to be disruptive in his approach to talking to other people about the message of Jesus. Paul knew the normal process of coming to faith in Jesus involved reason, reflection, questions and time.  

Though Paul was very careful in how he shared the message; it was what he shared that ignited an uproar in the city. Verse 3 says Paul’s main focus was on how it “was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead” (also see Luke 24:25-27)

This message is so disruptive because it completely turns upside down most people’s understanding of the message of Christianity. Most people think the message of Christianity is, “In order for you to be approved and accepted by God and be a Christian … here is what’s necessary for you to do”.  But Paul was saying the whole bible is not about what we need to do; it’s about our need & what God has done in Jesus to meet that need. The necessity of a suffering and dying Savior means we are so broken and sinful we can’t save ourselves. 
This message disrupts everyone – whether religious or irreligious. Both religious moralists and irreligious skeptics approach Christianity as a system of self-salvation based on moral performance. But the necessity of a suffering Savior means our sin and brokenness are so deep and so serious that are only hope is to have substitute stand in our place.  

The Effect – the gospel disrupts the status quo

The picture of this new church in Thessalonica also shows us that no one was neutral to this disruptive message. Some were persuaded; others rejected the message and stirred up a mob - but no one was indifferent.  

The Jewish leaders who rejected the message did not reason or dialogue with Paul. Instead they become “jealous”. This new community formed of Jews, Greeks and leading women was a threat to their religious/social status quo. Likewise, the Greeks who rejected the message didn’t give a fair hearing or trial to the Christians accused of disrupting the city. They were concerned this new movement was a threat to their social/political status quo.

On the other hand, those who were persuaded (v4) joined a new community that immediately turned their world upside down. Jason (host of the new church) and the others were willing to let go of their previous status quo life to follow this new King Jesus no matter what the cost.
This shows us two things 1) Christianity is most difficult for those who have the most to gain for keeping their status quo intact 2) Spiritual growth always involves a disruption to our status quo. A Christian should regularly ask: What is keeping me from fully following Jesus in life and mission? Could it be that I am too comfortable it in my status quo? 

The Benefit – the gospel turns us and the world right side up

Why does the gospel disrupt our lives? Verses 6-7 give us the answer – it’s in order that God might turn our lives upside down as we learn to follow Jesus as king. Disruption is how Jesus “right sides up” the world and us. 

Disruption reveals what we are hoping in for change– Luke wants us to see that the charges made against Paul and the church were, in one sense, complete false. They had no interest in opposing or replacing Caesar. Christianity’s hope for change (for right side upping the world) is not in politics. Luke wants us to see that Paul and the church were not attempting a political revolution because Jesus’ kingdom is independent of and not dependent upon any political system, emperor, nation or President.

Disruption is how God turns us right side up - If following Jesus as King means He will turn our worlds upside down, the most disruptive times in our life are the times we have the greatest opportunity to grow. From small disruptions, to bigger life disruptions, we should listen and look for how God might be at work in the chaos, difficulties and dead ends of life.

CONVERSATION

1. What about the sermon stood out to you or impacted you most? Do you have any follow up questions about the sermon? 

2. How do you read the bible upside down? In other words, how to you approach the people looking for what you need to do rather than the story of what God needed to do for you? How have you learned to read the bible “right side up”? Are you still learning? What difference does it make whether we read the bible from the

3. If the gospel isn’t regularly disrupting us, then we have to ask ourselves if we are missing the message.” Do you agree with this statement? Why is the message so disruptive? How has the message of Jesus disrupted you?

4. Is there area of your life where you feel like you are settling for the status quo instead of following Jesus? What would it look like for the gospel to disrupt you in this?

5. Why is it important to see that Jesus kingdom is independent of and not dependent upon any earthly nation, ruler or system of government? 

6. “The most disruptive times in our life are the times we have the greatest opportunity to grow” Is this true for you? Are you in the middle of a disruptive time? How might God be turning your “life right side up”?