May 21, 2017 Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 17:22 31 Ps. 66:8 20 1 Pet. 3:13 22 John 14:15 21 Paul s Witness in Athens Goal for the Session Adults will examine how Paul addressed the religious aspects of Greek culture and practice caring ways to tell others about their Christian faith. n PREPARING FOR THE SESSION Focus on Acts 17:22 31 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective by Michael Joseph Brown What is important is the speech itself. What the speech attacks, using the very arguments of Greek philosophy, is popular Greek religious practice the worship of idols and not the religious theorizing of the philosophers. Then why direct his speech at these philosophers? It may be because they represent the highest of Greek culture. Nevertheless, something is still odd about this passage. One does not get the impression that Luke is thinking of such a specialized audience, cultured elites who occupy their time with intellectual matters. Paul speaks, in a sense, to the whole of Athens, and through Athens to the entirety of Greek culture and religiosity. WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective by Sean A. White As we confess in the Apostles Creed, we believe in Jesus Christ, God s only Son... who ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, from whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. In our own restlessness, we have retrieved the unknown god and entrusted those who consider themselves religious to name this deity as they will. Reminiscent of the ancient philosophers, Ravi Zacharias writes, Jesus told us that the only way we could understand who we are is to cast our gaze... on the relationship toward which we move in the sum total of our being, the relationship with Christ and Christ alone. SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective by Randle R. (Rick) Mixon The challenge is to say to those around us, We see your spiritual hunger. Might we offer sustenance from our rich store of spiritual resource? The challenge is to find the imagery and language that allow us to enter another s world in order to speak our truth honestly, respectfully, and effectively. What does it mean to be so fully rooted and grounded in God, so centered in our own experience of the Christian story, that we cannot keep from sharing it? In the words of the old hymn, when we feel our faith in our very bones, how can we keep from singing? NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective by John S. McClure Much of the art and creative productivity in this world, at its deepest level, is expressive of the Spiritus Creator, God s ever-creating Spirit present within all creative process. Rather than shunning this creative potential, Paul recognizes it all around him and celebrates it as something that could potentially open us to the God who wants to be known in Jesus Christ. We as preachers can encourage congregations toward this same kind of doxological living, in which we are thankful for all of the gifts around us, no matter how ambiguous, and are always looking for and finding in all human endeavors the unknown God and the desire to know more about that God. 1
Paul s Witness in Athens FOCUS SCRIPTURE Acts 17:22 31 Focus on Your Teaching Depending on their backgrounds and personal experiences, adults have widely varying levels of comfort with listening to the witness of others and/or with speaking of their Christian faith and inviting others to come and see Jesus. Some will recall shaming or aggressive conversations about faith. Some will regret that they did not speak of Christ to someone when they had the opportunity to do so. Help all group members to feel welcome in the conversation this session regardless of their experiences, and encourage all to consider this topic from a fresh point of view. Lord Jesus, when I hesitate to speak of my faith in you, forgive my reluctance and free my tongue to sing your praise. Amen. YOU WILL NEED white cloth or placemat pillar candle, lighter board or newsprint markers Bibles copies of Apostles Creed or Nicene Creed copies of Resource Sheet 1 hymnals or songbooks copies of Resource Sheet 1 for May 28, 2017 For Responding option 1: Resource Sheet 2, scissors option 2: Internetconnected device option 3: plain paper, pens, markers n LEADING THE SESSION GATHERING Before the session, place the white cloth or placemat in the center of your learning area and put the candle on it. For Gathering, print the following questions on newsprint or the board: Who? When? Where? Why do you think it felt awkward? If you are using option 1 in Responding, make copies of Resource Sheet 2 (Scenarios) and cut them apart so there is one story for each pair of adults. Welcome adults to the sixth Sunday of Easter. As you light the candle, say: Jesus Christ is the light of the world. Pray the following prayer or one of your choice: Alleluia! Christ is risen! Open our hearts to your Spirit, O Risen Lord, as we explore the Word. Amen. Ask adults to take a quiet moment to recall a conversation about faith that felt awkward at the time. Form pairs and ask them to tell each other about these conversations, answering the questions you ve written on the newsprint or board. Say that the Bible story today is an account of a conversation about faith. 2
Paul s Witness in Athens EXPLORING Ask adults to turn to Acts 17:22 31 in their Bibles. Distribute copies of Resource Sheet 1 (Focus on Acts 17:22 31) and ask a volunteer to read aloud the What? excerpt, which provides helpful background for understanding the story, as does the following: Perhaps the Athenians were superstitious people people who covered all their bases by erecting a shrine to an unknown god, just in case they had missed a god in the creation of their pantheon of deities. Perhaps they were sophisticated enough to know that there were gods or dimensions of deity that would always extend beyond the human capacity to know. (Randle R. Mixon, Feasting on the Word, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 2. Westminster John Knox, 2010, 472). Ask a volunteer to read aloud Paul s words. Begin by reading aloud Acts 17:16 22a and then have this volunteer read from there through verse 31. Discuss: P What education or prior experience does Paul seem to bring to this situation? What is the value of this knowledge? P How do you understand Paul s goal in giving this speech? What seems to be Paul s strategy for reaching this goal? P Do you think Paul succeeds in meeting this goal? Why or why not? Ask a volunteer to read aloud the Where? excerpt from Resource Sheet 1. Distribute copies of the Apostle s Creed or the Nicene Creed. (Option: If your church uses a different creed in worship, distribute copies of that.) Invite adults to identify the phrases of the creed that best help them to understand their relationship with Christ. Ask: P Which words of Paul s sound like a creed? P What is helpful about knowing such a formulaic statement of faith? What is limiting about it? P When you speak of your faith, what language is most comfortable and helpful for you? (Record responses on newsprint or the board.) To transition to Responding, read the So What? excerpt from Resource Sheet 1. Discuss the following question from this excerpt: P What does it mean to be so fully rooted and grounded in God, so centered in our own experience of the Christian story, that we cannot keep from sharing it? EASY PREP RESPONDING Choose one or more of these activities depending on the length of your session: 1. Witness Practice Adults will practice caring ways to tell others about their Christian faith as they act out possible endings to given scenarios. Read aloud the first two sentences of the So what? excerpt on Resource Sheet 1 (Focus on Acts 17:22 31). Wonder together what it means to find the imagery and language that allow us to enter another s world. What can we do to find this imagery and language? (For 3
Paul s Witness in Athens example: listen, ask questions, study, pray.) Form pairs, and give each pair one story from Resource Sheet 2 (Scenarios). Challenge pairs to brainstorm endings to the story and choose the one they think would be most effective. Ask pairs to act out the scenario with the ending they choose. Applaud each pair s effort. After all have presented, discuss what adults have learned from each other during this activity. 2. Learning About Neighbors Adults will learn more about their neighbors in order to make them more caring witnesses to Christ. Recall how Paul was well-versed in the beliefs of the Greeks he was visiting. As a group, list the cultural and religious groups that are most prominent in your community. Take a few moments for adults to identify what they know about the beliefs or values of these groups. Choose one religious or community organization to learn more about. If this group has a Web site, spend time on it and highlight key information. How else might group members learn about this group? Depending on their interest, assign adults to find information during the week and bring it to the next session to share with the rest of the participants. Based on what you learn, discuss what questions group members might ask to begin a conversation with a person in this religious or community organization. Ask: What might you say about your faith to a person in this group, and how? Example: J esus is my shepherd. E very day, I know his love and care. S on of God, Savior. U nconditional love and forgiveness. S hows me the way of life. 3. Gifts Around Us Poems Adults will express what they want to say about their Christian faith through poetry. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the Now What? excerpt from Resource Sheet 1. Discuss how being mindful of God s ever-creating Spirit may help us to tell others about our faith. Invite adults to spend a few quiet moments thinking of what they would like to say to others about their faith. Add these responses to the chart started in Exploring. Set out paper, pens, and markers. Challenge adults to tell about their faith through acrostic poems. To begin, have them print JESUS down the left side of the paper, and write words, phrases, or sentences about their faith that begin with these letters. After all have finished, display the poems in your learning space and invite adults to read each one. CLOSING Invite participants to offer one word or a short phrase that summarizes any new insights they have for telling others about their faith in Jesus Christ. Sing or read in unison Here I Am, Lord or another hymn about witnessing from your church s hymnal or songbook. Pray aloud: Creator God, thank you for the gift of your living Word, our risen Savior, Christ Jesus. Fill us with your Spirit and loosen our tongues to boldly proclaim your word of truth. Amen. Distribute copies of Resource Sheet 1 for May 28, 2017, or e-mail it to the participants during the week. Encourage participants to read the focus scripture and Resource Sheet 1 before the next session. 4
May 21, 2017 Paul s Witness in Athens Adult Resource Sheet 1 Focus on Acts 17:22 31 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective by Michael Joseph Brown What is important is the speech itself. What the speech attacks, using the very arguments of Greek philosophy, is popular Greek religious practice the worship of idols and not the religious theorizing of the philosophers. Then why direct his speech at these philosophers? It may be because they represent the highest of Greek culture. Nevertheless, something is still odd about this passage. One does not get the impression that Luke is thinking of such a specialized audience, cultured elites who occupy their time with intellectual matters. Paul speaks, in a sense, to the whole of Athens, and through Athens to the entirety of Greek culture and religiosity. WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective by Sean A. White As we confess in the Apostles Creed, we believe in Jesus Christ, God s only Son... who ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, from whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. In our own restlessness, we have retrieved the unknown god and entrusted those who consider themselves religious to name this deity as they will. Reminiscent of the ancient philosophers, Ravi Zacharias writes, Jesus told us that the only way we could understand who we are is to cast our gaze... on the relationship toward which we move in the sum total of our being, the relationship with Christ and Christ alone. SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective by Randle R. (Rick) Mixon The challenge is to say to those around us, We see your spiritual hunger. Might we offer sustenance from our rich store of spiritual resource? The challenge is to find the imagery and language that allow us to enter another s world in order to speak our truth honestly, respectfully, and effectively. What does it mean to be so fully rooted and grounded in God, so centered in our own experience of the Christian story, that we cannot keep from sharing it? In the words of the old hymn, when we feel our faith in our very bones, how can we keep from singing? NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective by John S. McClure Much of the art and creative productivity in this world, at its deepest level, is expressive of the Spiritus Creator, God s ever-creating Spirit present within all creative process. Rather than shunning this creative potential, Paul recognizes it all around him and celebrates it as something that could potentially open us to the God who wants to be known in Jesus Christ. We as preachers can encourage congregations toward this same kind of doxological living, in which we are thankful for all of the gifts around us, no matter how ambiguous, and are always looking for and finding in all human endeavors the unknown God and the desire to know more about that God. 2017 Westminster John Knox Press
May 21, 2017 Paul s Witness in Athens Adult Resource Sheet 2 Scenarios New Neighbors One Sunday afternoon, Janelle and her new neighbor, Brittney, took a break from yard chores and sat on Brittney s patio to drink iced tea. As they shared accounts of their weekends, Janelle mentioned something funny that happened in the kindergarten Sunday school class she teaches. Brittney looked uneasy, and then said quietly, I ve wondered if our kids should go to Sunday school. Could they go even if I don t really believe in God? Janelle paused, and then said... Grandchild with Doubts Jim enjoyed watching his granddaughter, Nora, play on her college s volleyball team. Whenever he could, Jim would treat her to a meal out after the game. One evening, as they sipped milkshakes at a burger joint, Nora said, Grandpa, don t tell Mom, but I haven t gone to church since I came to college. In fact, I don t think I even believe in all that stuff anymore. Jim paused, and then said... Serving at an Emergency Shelter Once a month, Mason worked with a few others from his church to cook lunch at the emergency housing shelter. As was the custom of volunteers there, he always took a break to join a table of diners and eat with them. One Saturday, Jeremy hung back after the others left the table. He asked Mason why he helped in the kitchen at the shelter. What s in it for you? he wondered. Mason paused, and then said... 2017 Westminster John Knox Press