Part 1: Believe

FOUNDATIONS: WHAT WE BELIEVE

PART 1

Acts 17:16-34

1.  EVERYONE HAS SOME SORT OF FAITH.  

“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: ‘People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.’” Acts 17:22 (NIV)

“So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, ‘What is this babbler trying to say?’ Others remarked, ‘He seems to be advocating foreign gods.’ They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” Acts 17:17-18 (NIV)

2.  YOU NEED A GOD-SIZED GOD TO BELIEVE IN. 

“For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” Acts 17:23 (NIV)

“And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.  ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’” Acts 17:25-28 (NIV)

“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead. When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject.’” Acts 17:29-32 (NIV)

• How big is your God?

• The Gospel gives you a God-sized hope.

“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” Acts 17:16 (NIV)

• Do you believe?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)

MY NEXT STEP TODAY IS: 

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This Week’s Reading Plan and Blog/Podcast:

• YouVersion® Bible App Reading Plan:
  “God and Our World - 7 Doctrines of the Christian Faith” (7 Days)

• Blog and Podcast:

  “Absolute Truth in a ‘Find Your Own Truth’ World”

  Repost from October 6, 2024