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Speaker 1: Let us pray for As I passed by and beheld

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Speaker 1: your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription to

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Speaker 1: the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him. Declare

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Speaker 1: I unto you Acts seventeen twenty three. As I study

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Speaker 1: the life of Paul, I will be mindful to study

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Speaker 1: his approach and how he reached the heart of those

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Speaker 1: who believed differently than him. With the power of God.

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Speaker 1: Paul delivered a masterpiece of a speech. He connected brilliantly

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Speaker 1: with people from a different culture, showing he understood Greek

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Speaker 1: society and their human needs. In the same breath, I

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Speaker 1: pray that you give me the same precision and tactfulness

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Speaker 1: that Paul used to reach the lost in the same

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Speaker 1: way way. Allow me to speak with affirmation, familiarity, inclusive language,

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Speaker 1: encouragement and hope as I'd lead them to the unknown

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Speaker 1: God that created the heavens and the earth. Release in

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Speaker 1: me the gifting of speech and communication on a level

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Speaker 1: I've never known. I am a student and a servant first.

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Speaker 1: Therefore my mind is open and ready to receive all

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Speaker 1: I need to grow in Jesus name. Amen, thanks for

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Speaker 1: making prayer a priority in your life to hear the

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Speaker 1: Bible come to life, Stay tuned for the Bible in

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Speaker 1: a Year, brought to you by Bible in a Year

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Speaker 1: dot com.

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Speaker 2: The Unknown God. In our last story, Paul and Silas

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Speaker 2: were beaten brutally and thrown into prison for casting a

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Speaker 2: demon out of a little girl. As they dwelled in

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Speaker 2: the dark and cold chamber, they sang to the Lord,

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Speaker 2: and a mighty earthquake freed them. Now we see the

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Speaker 2: violence of Jews in Thessalonica and the curiosity of Gentiles

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Speaker 2: and Athens. In all of it, God is glorified. Inspired

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Speaker 2: by the Book of Acts.

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Speaker 3: In our previous episode, we heard how Paul and Silas

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Speaker 3: were in prison for casting an evil spirit out of

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Speaker 3: a young girl. Though beaten, bruised, and bound in chains,

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Speaker 3: Paul and Silas blessed the Lord with sweet songs of

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Speaker 3: worship for all to hear. God then sent an earthquake

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Speaker 3: to burst open the prison gates, but most importantly, to

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Speaker 3: rock the soul of a jailer in his family who

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Speaker 3: came to know Jesus and the power of salvation in

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Speaker 3: their lives. Today we'll hear how Paul and Silas plant

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Speaker 3: a church in Thessalona among both Gentiles and Jews, and

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Speaker 3: how they faced more opposition from unbelieving Jews. We'll also

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Speaker 3: see how Paul speaks in words and terms the gentiles

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Speaker 3: in Athens can understand to introduce them to the unknown

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Speaker 3: gods that their hearts longed to meet. Let's listen now

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Speaker 3: to the reading of God's word.

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Speaker 2: Paul Silas and Timothy walked down a small path into

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Speaker 2: a synagogue in Thessalonica. Its doors were large and dark,

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Speaker 2: but inside it resided hundreds of Jews and Greeks alike.

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Speaker 2: People of different creeds had heard of Paul's teachings, so

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Speaker 2: they came to see for themselves what the Lord may

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Speaker 2: be doing. Paul Silas and Timothy spoke about the life

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Speaker 2: of Jesus for three weeks. They proclaimed the liberating message

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Speaker 2: of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. Some of their eyes

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Speaker 2: lit up as they came to an understanding of who

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Speaker 2: Jesus truly was. Some Jews and many Greeks were persuaded

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Speaker 2: to follow God with all their lives. Both men and women.

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Speaker 2: Leaders were raised up and discipled to love the city,

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Speaker 2: and a beautiful community began to emerge in Thessalonica yet

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Speaker 2: there was a brooding hive of Jews in the city.

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Speaker 2: Jealous of their draw and influence, they formed an angry

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Speaker 2: mob and searched high and low for Paul and his friends.

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Speaker 2: When they couldn't find them, they kidnapped a believer by

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Speaker 2: the name of Jason. Jason was hosting the three men

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Speaker 2: and was the closest thing they had to leverage against Paul.

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Speaker 2: They attacked the house of Jason and set the entire

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Speaker 2: city in an uproar. They drugged Jason and a few

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Speaker 2: other Christians out into the city streets and mocked them.

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Speaker 2: They beat them in the courtyards and goaded Paul and

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Speaker 2: his followers to show themselves. When Paul, Silas and Barnabas

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Speaker 2: did not emerge in time, the men took Jason's money

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Speaker 2: and left him. The mob left, and the city returned

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Speaker 2: to its peace. Jason was restored by his fellow Christians.

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Speaker 2: They met every need of his, as was the custom

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Speaker 2: of the Church by Peter and the Apostles. The Church

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Speaker 2: in Thessalonica immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night

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Speaker 2: to Berea. They had to escape before the mob re emerged,

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Speaker 2: even more angry than before, so the disciples left, confident

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Speaker 2: that the Thessalonian Church was well equipped to brave the

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Speaker 2: storms ahead. Berea was a more peaceful city than Thessalonica.

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Speaker 2: Its jews were passive and calm. They received the words

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Speaker 2: of Silas and Timothy well, so Paul left them to

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Speaker 2: rest among the people of Berea. Paul journeyed to Athens,

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Speaker 2: the city built on wisdom, philosophy, and corruption. There was

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Speaker 2: a beautiful dichotomy in Athens. The people there were deep

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Speaker 2: thinkers and inventive, yet they lacked depth of soul. They

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Speaker 2: lacked hearts that aligned with the benevolent will of God.

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Speaker 2: As a result, they were knowledgeable yet shallow. They were

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Speaker 2: wise yet foolish. They were brilliant yet lost. Paul passed

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Speaker 2: through the city streets of Athens. He was amazed at

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Speaker 2: the buildings, libraries, and court yards. He walked the city

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Speaker 2: streets with a tent of eyes and ears, alert to

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Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. As he was walking, he passed by

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Speaker 2: many idols. Each false god was built to represent a

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Speaker 2: human desire for pleasure and success. There were gods to

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Speaker 2: sex and alcohol. There were gods to war and money.

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Speaker 2: There were gods to physical strength and outward beauty. Paul

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Speaker 2: passed by an altar with an inscription that wrote to

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Speaker 2: the unknown God. Paul smiled and entered into the courtyard

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Speaker 2: where many philosophers and scholars met to debate and learn.

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Speaker 2: Paul spoke with stoic philosophers and inquisitive students. His mind

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Speaker 2: was engaged by the rhetoric, but he was careful to

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Speaker 2: not lose the heart of Jesus. As he conversed with

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Speaker 2: the philosophers, they became confused, saying, what is this babbler saying?

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Speaker 2: And he seems to be a simple preacher of foreign divinities.

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Speaker 2: Yet they did not say so mockingly. They truly desired

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Speaker 2: to understand what Paul was speaking of. Every person in

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Speaker 2: Athens desired to hear something new. Oh, Paul spoke about

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Speaker 2: the life and death of Jesus, My brothers and sisters,

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Speaker 2: Paul shouted, I have perceived that you are very religious,

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Speaker 2: since I saw an altar to the unknown God in

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Speaker 2: your courtyard. So Paul spoke about the God they did

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Speaker 2: not know, the God that made all things and the

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Speaker 2: God that saves.

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Speaker 3: In today's scripture, Paul, Silas and Timothy are reaching both

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Speaker 3: Jews and Gentiles in Thessalonika. Paul knew the Jewish scriptures

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Speaker 3: better than most and was able to reason through what

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Speaker 3: God had already revealed to show those who were open

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Speaker 3: to hearing how Jesus was and is the promised Messiah.

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Speaker 3: His preaching was compelling, courageous, and convincing. The Gospel was

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Speaker 3: continuing to make powerful inroads throughout the Roman world. The

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Speaker 3: most powerful government in the world is no match to

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Speaker 3: the power of the Gospel. No wonder, Paul said, I

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Speaker 3: am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it

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Speaker 3: is the power of God and to salvation to everyone

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Speaker 3: who believes. To the jew first, and also to the Greek.

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Speaker 3: That's Romans one sixteen. Men and women are coming to

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Speaker 3: faith in Christ and are now growing in their faith,

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Speaker 3: being discipled in each new city as churches are forming.

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Speaker 3: As was always the case, of course, the Jews who

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Speaker 3: refused to believe, were very opposed to the work these

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Speaker 3: men were doing, and once more Paul and the others

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Speaker 3: had to deal with lies and even persecution. But this

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Speaker 3: did not deter them. They knew this was to be expected.

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Speaker 3: Jesus himself had told the disciples that they would face

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Speaker 3: rejection persecution and even death in his name. We also

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Speaker 3: need to remember this comfort and popularity are not the

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Speaker 3: marks of effective followers of Jesus. If we are to

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Speaker 3: be about the work and witness of the Kingdom of Christ,

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Speaker 3: the enemy will oppose us. There is reason to rejoice

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Speaker 3: and persevere, however, and not bow to the pressure the world.

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Speaker 3: We must not be silent in our generation. With the

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Speaker 3: church in Thessalonika in good hands, Paul and Silas left

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Speaker 3: by cover of night to Berea, where they found that

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Speaker 3: the Jews were thoughtful and eager to examine the scriptures

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Speaker 3: with an openness to believe. For this they were commended

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Speaker 3: as having noble character. Of course, soon enough, trouble found

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Speaker 3: Paul and Silas again, as Jews from thessala Andaika went

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Speaker 3: to Berea to stir up turmoil. We then hear how

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Speaker 3: Paul left for Athens ahead of the others. As he

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Speaker 3: awaited their arrival, he went throughout the city, this magnificent

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Speaker 3: city in ancient Greece. His heart was grieved and troubled

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Speaker 3: as he saw the abundance of idols. It seemed that

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Speaker 3: the Athenians were eager to find meaning to place their

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Speaker 3: hope and trust in something, even if it was a

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Speaker 3: false God. They worshiped many gods, but ultimately all of

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Speaker 3: their attempts pointed to simply human desire. It was human

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Speaker 3: wisdom at its worst. Everyone served what they thought made

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Speaker 3: sense to them, and sadly, this sounds a lot like

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Speaker 3: our world today, when everyone is worshiping themselves or something

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Speaker 3: or someone they choose to worship. Paul was surrounded by

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Speaker 3: people far from God, though they were seeking God in

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Speaker 3: their own way. In the synagogues, the Jews failed to

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Speaker 3: see Jesus for who he was, the promised Messiah. And

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Speaker 3: in the marketplace he found Greeks who thought themselves wise

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Speaker 3: but failed to grasp the deeper meaning of life that

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Speaker 3: was found only in the One True God. Rather than

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Speaker 3: write them off and forget about them as fools, Paul

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Speaker 3: engaged them with a thoughtful conversation in words that they

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Speaker 3: could understand. He had seen their idols and witnessed their

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Speaker 3: many gods, one in particular had stood out. So when

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Speaker 3: they brought Paul to the Areopacus, the place where the

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Speaker 3: city council gathered to discuss these things, here is what

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Speaker 3: Paul said to them. In Acts seventeen verses twenty two

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Speaker 3: to twenty three. People of Athens, I see that in

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Speaker 3: every way you are very religious. I walked around and

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Speaker 3: looked carefully at your objects of worship. I even found

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Speaker 3: an altar with this inscription to an unknown God. So

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Speaker 3: you are ignorant of the very thing you worship, and

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Speaker 3: this is what I'm going to proclaim to you. He

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Speaker 3: then told them about the God that they could know.

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Speaker 3: The God they could know in the person of Jesus Christ,

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Speaker 3: the God who loved them and sent his son to

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Speaker 3: die on the cross to rise again so that all

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Speaker 3: who believed in him could have eternal life. As a result,

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Speaker 3: some of those gathered came to faith in Christ, even

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Speaker 3: some of the prominent members of the local government. Paul

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Speaker 3: didn't change the gospel message to make it acceptable to

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Speaker 3: these people. He simply spoke in a language and in

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Speaker 3: a context that they could understand, in order to point

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Speaker 3: them to Jesus, who is, of course the known God.

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Speaker 3: The message stayed the same. The invitation to life and

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Speaker 3: freedom did not change, only the way that it was presented.

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Speaker 3: Today's reading reminds us that God gives us wisdom and

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Speaker 3: reason for a reason, and He has given us the

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Speaker 3: Holy Spirit to help us say the right words at

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Speaker 3: the right time, using God's word to proclaim the Gospel.

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Speaker 3: May our witness be strong and true, and as the

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Speaker 3: scripture tells us, may we be ready to give a

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Speaker 3: reason for the hope that is in us through Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 3: Dear God, we thank you for Paul's example of sharing

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Speaker 3: the Gospel to people far from you. May we also

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Speaker 3: boldly speak your name in our culture, in the public square,

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Speaker 3: in the marketplace wherever we go, that people will know

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Speaker 3: who the unknown God is, that you have made yourself

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Speaker 3: known in the person of Christ, and that all who

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Speaker 3: put their faith and trust in Him can discover eternal life.

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Speaker 3: In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. Thank you for listening

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Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham

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Speaker 3: of Dallas, Texas. You can download the pray dot Com

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Speaker 3: app and make prayer and Bible study the priority of

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Speaker 3: your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast, tell someone

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Speaker 3: about it, pass it on, let others know because it

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Speaker 3: is our desire to get God's word to as many

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Speaker 3: people as possible, as fast as possible. And if you

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Speaker 3: want to know more about what it means to be

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Speaker 3: a Christ's follower, what it means to be a disciple

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Speaker 3: of Jesus. Then go to Jack Graham dot org Jack

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Speaker 3: Graham dot org and we have many resources that are

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Speaker 3: available for you there. God bless you