Following the Risen Christ God’s Noble Servants Acts 17:1-15

I. Relocating the Missionary Team- moving to Thessalonica

1.Change in ministry personnel

I. Relocating the Missionary Team- moving to Thessalonica 1.Change in ministry personnel 2.Change in location of ministry

I. Relocating the Missionary Team- moving to Thessalonica 1.Change in ministry personnel 1.Change in location of ministry “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Appollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.” Acts 17:1

I. Recalling A Small Beginning

II. Reaching Out to the Lost

1.City government

II. Reaching Out to the Lost 1.City government 2.Method and message

II. Reaching Out to the Lost 1.City government 2.Method and message “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,” Acts 17:2

II. Reaching Out to the Lost a)Reasoning

II. Reaching Out to the Lost a)Reasoning b)Opening

II. Reaching Out to the Lost a)Reasoning b)Opening “explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.’” Acts 17:3

II. Reaching Out to the Lost a)Reasoning b)Opening “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.” Nehemiah 8:8

II. Reaching Out to the Lost a)Reasoning b)Opening “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.” Nehemiah 8:8 c)Alleging

II. Reaching Out to the Lost 3.Reaction to their message

II. Reaching Out to the Lost 3.Reaction to their message “And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.” Acts 17:4

II. Reaching Out to the Lost 3.Reaction to their message “But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers”

II. Reaching Out to the Lost “of the city, crying out, ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king – Jesus.’ And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.” Acts 17:5-8

II. Reaching Out to the Lost 3.Reaction to their message “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” Acts 17:6b

III. Responding to God’s Word

“So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.” Acts 17:9-10a

III. Responding to God’s Word “For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.” 1 Thessalonians 1:8

III. Responding to God’s Word 1.Location of Berea

III. Responding to God’s Word 1.Location of Berea 2.Approaching the people

III. Responding to God’s Word 1.Location of Berea 2.Approaching the people “When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.” Acts 17:10b

III. Responding to God’s Word 3.Response of the people

III. Responding to God’s Word 3.Response of the people “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11

III. Responding to God’s Word 3.Response of the people “Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.” Acts 17:12

III. Responding to God’s Word 3.Response of the people “But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.”

III. Responding to God’s Word 3.Response of the people “So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.” Acts 17:13-15

IV.Recognizing Our Place In Service

1.Righting an upside down world takes courage and determination

IV.Recognizing Our Place In Service 2.Sharing the gospel means sharing our lives

IV.Recognizing Our Place In Service 2.Sharing the gospel means sharing our lives “So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8

IV.Recognizing Our Place In Service 3.Rejection is often the cost of presenting the truth

IV.Recognizing Our Place In Service 3.Rejection is often the cost of presenting the truth 4.The Kingship of Jesus Christ in our lives has unavoidable implications