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December 2 - Acts 17 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Monday, it's the 2nd of
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  December. That's right, we have entered
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  the last month of the year. But as if you need me to tell
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  you that, I hope you're going well.
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  I hope that as you're listening, you are not dreading the week
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  ahead too much. I hope there's some good stuff
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  in there, probably some challenging things, probably
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  some juggling of a number of competing priorities.
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  But that is life, right? That's how we roll.
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  And it's not just us. But today we're going to
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  continue reading through the book of Acts, where we will see
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  Paul continuing to travel and to preach.
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  And there'll be some who think this is a great idea and some
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  who think you are a twit and we want nothing to do with you.
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  And the complexity of his journey is apparent.
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  So let us dive back into the story right where we left off
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  last week as we continue reading Acts Chapter 17.
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  Paul and Silas then travelled through the towns of Amphipolis
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  and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a
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  Jewish synagogue. As was Paul's custom, he went to
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  the synagogue service and for three Sabbaths in a row he used
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  the scriptures to reason with the people.
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  He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must
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  suffer and rise from the dead. He said this Jesus I'm telling
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  you about is the Messiah. Some of the Jews who listened
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  were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God
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  fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.
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  But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some
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  troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and
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  start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason,
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  searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the
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  crowd. Not finding them there, they
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  dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and
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  took them before the City Council.
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  Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world.
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  They shouted and now they are here disturbing our city too,
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  and Jason has welcomed them into his home.
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  They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess
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  allegiance to another king named Jesus.
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  The people of the city as well as the City Council were thrown
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  into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason
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  and the other believers to post bond and then they released
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  them. That very night the believers
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  sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they
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  went to the Jewish synagogue and the people of Berea were more
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  open minded than those in Thessalonica and they listened
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  eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the Scriptures day
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  after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
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  As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent
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  Greek women and men. But when some Jews in
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  Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in
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  Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.
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  The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast
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  while Silas and Timothy remained behind.
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  Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens.
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  Then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and
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  Timothy to hurry and join him. While Paul was waiting for them
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  in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw
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  everywhere in the city. He went to the synagogue to
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  reason with the Jews and the God fearing Gentiles, and he spoke
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  daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.
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  He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic
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  philosophers. When he told them about Jesus
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  and his resurrection, they said, what's this babbler trying to
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  say with these strange ideas he's picked up.
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  Others said he seems to be preaching about some foreign
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  gods. Then they took him to the high
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  council of the city. Come and tell us about this new
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  teaching. They said.
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  You were saying some rather strange things, and we want to
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  know what it's all about. It should be explained that all
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  the Athenians, as well as the foreigners and Athens, seem to
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  spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.
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  So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as
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  follows. Men of Athens, I notice that you
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  are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw
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  your many shrines and one of your altars had this inscription
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  on it to an unknown God. This God whom you worship
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  without knowing is the one I'm telling you about.
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  He is the God who made the world and everything in it.
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  Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man
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  made temples, and human hands can't serve his needs, for he
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  has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath
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  to everything, and He satisfies every need From one man He
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  created all the nations through the whole earth.
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  He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and He
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  determined their boundaries. His purpose was for the nations
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  to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and
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  find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.
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  For in Him we live and move and exist.
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  As some of your own poets have said, we are His offspring.
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  And since this is true, we shouldn't think of God as an
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  idol designed by Craftsman from gold or silver or stone.
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  God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in
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  earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to
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  repent of their sins and turn to Him.
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  For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the
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  man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is
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  by raising him from the dead. When they heard Paul speak about
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  the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but
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  others said we want to hear more about this later.
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  That ended Paul's discussion with them, but some joined him
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  and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a
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  member of the Council, and a woman named Demarus, and others
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  with them. Ah yes, Lord, you are so big and
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  all encompassing in your rule. As Paul said to the Athenians,
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  it's in you that we live and we move and we exist.
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  Thank you Jesus, that through you all things were made, and
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  that through You all things will be restored and your love knows
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  no bounds. And we worship you and we
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  recognised you as supreme over all, and that every breath we
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  take, every step we take, every thought we think, we do this in
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  you and in your provision and in your guidance and in your
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  blessing. So we thank you and we praise
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  you, and we pray all these things in your name, Jesus.