1. The Open Hearted the Religious
Acts 17:10-15

3. “That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea.
Acts 17:10-15
“That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea.
When they arrived there,
they went to the Jewish synagogue.
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica,
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4. and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message.
They searched the Scriptures
day after day to see if
Paul and Silas were
teaching the truth.
As a result,
many Jews believed,
as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
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5. Acts 17:13
“But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the
word of God in Berea,
they went there and
stirred up trouble.
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6. “The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast,
Acts 17:14-15
“The believers acted at once,
sending Paul on to the coast,
while Silas and Timothy
remained behind.”
Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens;
then they returned to Berea
with instructions for
Silas and Timothy
to hurry and join him.”
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7. 1Thessalonians 3:6 “But now that Timothy has come to us from you,
and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us,
as we also to see you—”
PRAY

8. Acts 17:16-21 
“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.
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9. 18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.
When he told them about Jesus and His resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
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10. Tom Constable “Epicureans were disciples of Epicurus (341-270 B. C
Tom Constable “Epicureans were disciples of Epicurus ( B.C.) who believed that pleasure was the greatest good and the most worthy pursuit of man. They meant pleasure in the sense of tranquility and freedom from pain, disquieting passions, and fears, especially the fear of death. Epicurus taught that the gods took no interest in human affairs.
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11. modern utilitarianism.”
His followers also believed that everything happened by chance and that death was the end of all. This philosophy is still popular today.
“. . . Epicureanism is most fairly described as the ancient representative of
modern utilitarianism.”
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12. “The Stoics believed that everything was god,
and god was in everything.
So they believed that all things,
good or evil, were from “god,” and so nothing should be resisted, and they believed there was no particular direction or destiny for mankind.”
David Guzik
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13. “Then they took him to the high council of the city.
‘Come and tell us about this new teaching,’ they said.
‘You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.’”
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14. “(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)”
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15. “So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows:
Acts 17:22-34 
“So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows:
‘Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,
for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it:
‘To an Unknown God.’
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16. “This God, whom you worship without knowing,
is the one I’m telling you about.
He is the God who made the world and everything in it.
Since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve
His needs — for He has no needs.
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17. He himself gives life and breath to everything,
and He satisfies every need.
From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand
when they should rise and fall,
and he determined their boundaries.
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18. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
Acts 17:27-30
“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him—
though He is not far
from any one of us.
For in Him we live and
move and exist.
As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
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19. we shouldn’t think of God as
And since this is true,
we shouldn’t think of God as
an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now He commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to Him.”
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20. For He has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man
He has appointed, and He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead.
When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead,
some laughed in contempt,
but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”
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21. “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
Romans 10:9-10
“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
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22. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven,
Philippians 2:9-11
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven,
and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
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23. “That ended Paul’s discussion with them, but some joined him and
Acts 17:33-34
“That ended Paul’s discussion
with them,
but some joined him and
became believers.
Among them were Dionysius,
a member of the council,
a woman named Damaris,
and others with them.”
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