Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, March 14, 2021

Maybe This Will Work!

Today Pastor Michael is discussing how we try to find things that will fix things in our lives.  When we’re stressed and pressured and frustrated, where can we turn for relief?  The background finds Paul in Athens, speaking to the citizens.  Athens in those days was a center of education, culture and religion.  So, Paul finds himself preaching to the Athenians and spreading the gospel of Jesus.  

Paul started at a place the Athenians could understand, notably that they were a city of many deities.  Paul discussed their altar, “…to an Unknown God”.   Paul then showed that there is only one, true God, by drawing heavily on Old Testament polemics, found in Leviticus (26: 1) and Isaiah (42:5), amongst others.  Paul also used Greek poets phrases such as Aratus and Epimenides.  Proof of Paul’s education and ability to give connecting points to an audience with a cultural background different than his.

As the Athenians learned from Paul, there is only one, true God.  Even when you have many altars, you still don’t have a relationship with Jesus.  Even the people that love you the most, cannot take the place where God should be in our lives.

Today’s bible verses are found in Acts 17: 22-33.