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Sermon Notes
The God You’re Already Looking For
I. He Saw Them
Acts 17:16–17
Paul walks the city, observes carefully, and is moved with pastoral concern and not contempt. Faithful witness begins with seeing the people you’re sent to.
II. Earning the Right to Speak
Acts 17:17–21
Paul goes where people are, engages daily, and treats the Athenians as people worth engaging. He does not treat them as targets to be persuaded. Their dignity opens the door.
III. He Found the Point of Contact
Acts 17:22–23
Paul starts with what’s true about them. The altar to the Unknown God is not an obstacle. It’s the entry point. He finds their longing before he names the answer.
IV. He Proclaimed the God They Hadn’t Met
Acts 17:24–29
Paul systematically dismantles seven Athenian assumptions about God using their own logic and quoting their own poets. Every point is carefully shaped for this specific audience.
A. God is the Creator of everything (v. 24a)
B. God cannot be contained (v. 24b)
C. God is not needy: He is generous (v. 25)
D. God made every nation on purpose (v. 26)
E. God placed you here so you would seek him (v. 27)
F. Their own poets confirm it (v. 28)
G. God cannot be reduced to an image (v. 29)
V. He Didn’t Leave Without the Hard Part
Acts 17:30–31
After every gracious, culturally intelligent move, Paul still lands on repentance and the resurrection. Cultural sensitivity is not the same as softening the message.
VI. He Left the Response to God
Acts 17:32–34
Three responses: mockery, curiosity, belief.
Paul doesn’t chase or inflate results. Luke names Dionysius and Damaris. This is a small harvest, faithfully sown. The outcome belongs to God.
REFLECTION/APPLICATION QUESTIONS
- Paul’s distress over Athens drove him toward people, not away from them. When you look at the culture around you, what is your instinctive response — and where does it take you?
- Paul was invited to the Areopagus because of how he engaged in the marketplace — respectfully, seriously, daily. Is there someone in your life you’ve been talking at rather than genuinely engaging with?
- Paul found the longing underneath the wrong answer and used it as an entry point. Think of someone in your life who is spiritually searching. What do you think they are actually reaching for?
- Paul shaped his message specifically for Athens — using their logic, quoting their poets. What would it look like for you to know someone well enough to speak to their specific questions rather than giving a scripted answer?
- After all his careful, gracious engagement, Paul still landed on repentance and the resurrection. Where do you find it hardest to get to that part of the conversation — and why?
- Luke names Dionysius and Damaris because they matter. Who is your Dionysius or Damaris right now? What is one step you can take toward them this week?
Time of Response
Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE
What does this reveal about God?
What does this reveal about you in relation to God?
What do you need to do about it?
The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)
I am no longer my own,
but Yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,
exalted for You or brought low for You.
Let me be full,
let me be empty.
Let me have all things,
let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to Your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are mine,
and I am Yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
I HAVE A QUESTION
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED:
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(On occasion, questions answered following Sunday.)
How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?
One Method To Use When Reading Scripture:
The S.O.A.P.S. Method
S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.
O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.
A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?
P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.
S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.
- Inductive Bible Study:
- Observation (what does the passage say?)
- What is happening in the passage?
- Who is involved in the passage?
- What happened before and after the passage.
- Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.
- Interpretation (what does it mean?)
- What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
- What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?
- Application (how does it apply to my life?)
- What does the passage say about God?
- What does the passage say about me and to me?
- What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?
How do I talk with God?
WAYS TO PRAY
One Way to talk with God is to:
Pause.
Rejoice.
Ask.
Yield.
ANOTHER OPTION
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication: Requests
