Daily Dose of the Word of God - Acts 17: 16-21

Kara Hackert, Director of Children & Family Ministries

Transcript

Kara Hackert  0:07  

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose of the Word of God. It's Tuesday, April 28 and I'm Kara Hackert. Today's reading is from Acts 17, verses 16 through 21. It's the season of Easter, and we're living it forward. Paul preaches in Athens.

Kara Hackert  0:26  

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 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. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Kara Hackert  1:26  

People from other lands who lived there did the same. Paul arrives in Athens, the intellectual and cultural hub of its time. And what does he find? He finds the city full of idols. He finds people searching for meaning in the wrong places. So what does he do? Paul goes to the synagogue and the marketplace every day and speaks with the people. He engages with them, and some listen to him. Some ask him questions. As I was reading about this passage, I found three questions I want us to think about. What are your answers to these questions? 1) What idols or distractions do you see in the world around you today? 2) When you see people searching for meaning, how does it affect your heart? 3) Where might God be inviting you to engage in meaningful conversation about faith?

Kara Hackert  2:39  

Let's pray together. Dear father, open our eyes to see the world as you see it. Stir our hearts, not with judgment but with compassion. Give us courage to engage with others, wisdom, to speak truth with grace and humility, to listen well. Help us to be present in the places you've called us to be. Help us to point others to you in both word and action. To you be all the glory, amen.