Sept. 21 Virtual Worship
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Worship Team: Sarah Haas, Marc Hayden
Music Ministry Team: Kristin Petty
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Key Notes from the reading & sermon:
Scripture Lesson
Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025
Scripture Reading: Acts 17:19-28
Sermon: Life in the Spirit, New Audiences
Acts 17:19-28
So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new. Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 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 mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all peoples to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps fumble about for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we, too, are his offspring.’.
Key Idea of the Sermon
Paul’s partners in ministry on this second missionary journey. Silas and Timothy, were needed elsewhere (see Acts 17:14). Paul goes on to Athens and waits for them there (see Acts 17:16). While in Athens he looks for opportunities to establish a community of disciples. He finds that opportunity at the Areopagus, which was both a location and a council who listened to and discussed a wide variety of matters. Paul wisely makes an argument for his theology by identifying the Divinity who the Athenians call “an unknown God”, and by drawing connections to creation, as well as to Greek philosophy and literature. Some who listened to Paul scoffed at his ideas, others needed more time to think about his words, and a few followed Paul and became disciples of the Way of Jesus (see Acts 17:32-34). Paul met the Athenians where they were.
Questions for Reflection
• Have you ever talked to someone about religious beliefs? What did you learn from that conversation?
• Paul spoke to many but only a few were convinced to follow the Way of Jesus? How does this align with Jesus’ principle that we are not to force discipleship on anyone (see Matthew 10:14)?
• How do you invite friends or neighbors into discipleship? Do you meet your friends and neighbors where they are? Do you begin by listening and responding to their needs?
A Spiritual Practice to Try
We need to earn the trust of our neighbors and friends before we can invite them into discipleship. This week focus on serving the needs of your neighbors and friends. Pay attention to the way trusting relationships open the door to sharing what really matters.
If you need some guidance or support, you may reach me at pastormarc.friedensucc@outlook.com
