Now Is The Time: Acts Youth JourneySample

NEXT STOP—ATHENS. PAUL PREACHES THE WORD-UP!

PRAY:

God in heaven, the message of the apostle Paul was so clear and so bold. Lord, I am young, and you know my heart. Make me authentic for your glory so people can see you in me.

READ:

Acts 17.1-34

Paul continues his missionary journey as we see him go to Thessalonica and then on to perhaps his most famous and well-known destinations—Athens. There he finds idols all over the city, including an altar on which the people have inscribed the words: “To An Unknown God” (v 23). Paul is taken before the city council. He stands up in the midst of philosophers and learned people and begins to challenge them and their wacky thinking. This is one of Paul’s greatest sermons in the book of Acts. He explains that he knows who the “unknown” God is. He says it is this God, about whom he preaches, who made the heavens and the earth and everyone in it. He even called on all of his listeners to repent and follow the resurrected Jesus Christ. Paul concludes by saying that in order to prove God is true, Jesus was raised from the dead. Some people laughed in his face, but as a result of Paul’s outspoken sermon, many others believed and followed Jesus.

REFLECT:

Do you have any idols in your life? They may be in the form of habits, possessions, or even people. Ask God to lead you away from them.

RESPOND:

It is your heart that God sees, not your intellect and your social position. Be humble and surrender those areas of your life that you have not given over to him.

Lord, clear out any hidden idols in my life. Let me make room there for you only.