Refuge Church Byhalia is a new nondenominational evangelical church located in Byhalia, MS that exists to share the hope of Jesus, grow together, & love our neighbors in Byhalia, Marshall County, Lewisburg, & surrounding areas. Below is a sermon outline from our Launch Training on 1/26/25. From Acts 17 titled, ‘Be Relatable’ that was part of our ‘Preparing to Launch’ series where we are learning what the church should be & do.
Intro
- Good Morning & Welcome again to Refuge Church Byhalia!
- We are so glad that you are here today and hope you leave with higher thoughts of Jesus.
- We are in a season of ‘Preparing to Launch.’ (Big Sermon Graphic)
- Where we are spending time learning what the church should be and do while we also polish our skills and passions to serve the church & our neighbors.
- Very Very soon we will finish all of these renovations & celebrate what God has done at this property and look forward to what God will do from 3964 Hwy 309 N. in Byhalia.
- God has been so good to all of us and has promised that He is working through all things for our good and His glory.
- And so, we face every day, with peace & joy rooted in that promise.
- Now we have been working through the book of Acts for some time now
- And we are currently following Paul & his missionary team as they venture into far eastern Europe.
- And it seems week in and week out Paul & the team are facing death threats or are being chased out of town.
- And that chasing has now brought Paul to Athens where we are going to see Paul be a skillful and relatable communicator
- Please open your Bibles to Acts chapter 17
- Today we will look at Acts 17:16-34 Page ___.
- And the big take away for us today is to ‘Be Relatable.’
- Now if you don’t have a Bible that you typically use, we would love for you to use one of the Blue Bibles that was in a seat near you. Page numbers for any verses I reference can be found on the screen and match those Blue Bibles.
- Here’s the idea, I’m going to say a lot of words today, and man sundays.
- But you need to know, the speaking, the singing that we do every week.
- They are all rooted in the Bible.
- The HOly INspiried Perfect Word of God.
- See this centuries old book that is helpful in every aspect of our lives.
- Now follow along as we read, starting in verse 16.
- My plan today is to read a few verses and then do some explaining. So you will want to keep a finger in Acts 17 throughout our time together.
- Starting in verse 16.
‘16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was gprovoked within him as he saw that the city was hfull of idols. 17 So ihe reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
Pray.
Arrival ‘As Paul Goes’
- So Paul sails to Athens.
- As Athens is declining from it’s great height as a city of significance.
- Still a center for thought, philosophy, & trade
- But not as fancy as it once was.
- And as he enters the city
- The holy spirit helper
- That’s gifted him to serve the church
- Provokes Paul
- Paul was tormented
- He’s like the guy on the plane that is guaranteed to crash. And he knwos where the parachutes are.
- He is provoked and has to say something. He has to talk about the Jesus who rescued him.
- So he reasoned verse 17 says – meaning he dialogued
- He talked back and forth with the people of Athens.
- Paul had no desire to waste time – the plane was crashing
- These people, these image bearers of God – were doomed apart from Christ.
- Theologian Matthew Henry says something challenging and helpful here, ‘Time is precious, and we are concerned to employ it well, because eternity depends upon it, but much is wasted in unprofitable conversation.’ -Matthew Henry
- How many of our days are filled with senseless purposeless conversation
- Conversation that gets us nowhere and doesn’t help us.
- How many conversations do we have in the lobby before and after church services, and beneficial?
- Oh may we be a church that has open eyes & broken hearts for the image bearers in Byhalia, Barton, & Beyond!
- Open eyes to see them
- And hearts broken enough to say something about eternity to the people we meet as we go to work, go to school, go to shop, and go to play.
- Well how did Paul’s conversation go?
- Let’s continue in verse 18.
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, j“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because khe was preaching lJesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to mthe Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this nnew teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some ostrange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
- So Paul’s audience grew beyond the people in the synagogue
- And there were 2 groups of thought
- Epicureans – people living for pleasure.
- No pain, no anxiety allowed for these people
- Stoics – people managing time & resources well.
- And God was in and part of everything
- Epicureans – people living for pleasure.
- And Paul understood these people
- Were all trying to live well
- And life life to be fullest according to their worldview
- Whether that was for pleasure
- Or to make it through one day at a time
- And if we think about it, many of the people we interact with as we go
- Fall into these categories
- The epicureans – living for the best house, best clothes, best look, best vacation, best friday night, best date night habits, best this that and the other thing
- The stoics – you ask them – how are things going – and the canned response is ‘making it one day at a time.’
- Only for the reality to be – the pleasure is less and less fulfilling and fun.
- And no matter how level headed and even things may be – there seems to be chaos around the stoics.
- And this is what broke Paul’s heart
- These people were toiling day in and day out – for nothing & for no progress.
- Finding no rest
- No lasting peace
- No lasting joy
- SO Paul makes his appeal. Acts 17:22
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: p‘To the unknown god.’ pWhat therefore you worship qas unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 rThe God who made the world and everything in it, being sLord of heaven and earth, tdoes not live in temples made by man,3 25 nor is he served by human hands, uas though he needed anything, since he himself vgives to all mankind wlife and breath and everything. 26 And xhe made from one man every nation of mankind to live yon all the face of the earth, zhaving determined allotted periods and athe boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 bthat they should seek God, cand perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. dYet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for e“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;4 as even some of fyour own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’5 29 gBeing then God’s offspring, hwe ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 iThe times of ignorance jGod overlooked, but know he lcommands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed ma day on which nhe will judge the world oin righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and pof this he has given assurance to all qby raising him from the dead.”
- Paul meets them where they are.
- He carefully relates to them after observing things about them.
- Noticing, they have temples all over for every god they could think of
- And even the one they couldn’t think of.
- And Paul, creatively decides, this is my opportunity
- This is the way I can connect to these knowledge loving
- This is the way I can be relatable
- And so he dives in, laboring to answer some of life’s biggest questions
- Where did I come from? – God made everything, including you. (vs. 24).
- Why am I here? – To Seek God. (vs. 27).
- Where am I going? – to be with God & have eternal life through Jesus or to be judged. (vs 30-31).
- But what do we do, how do we respond?
- Repent.
- Turn from your ways of thinking
- Turn from your easy of thinking
- You toil to find meaning in pleasure like the epicureans
- You toil to find meaning in a balanced life like the stoics
- You will never find it
- You will never find peace
- You will never find joy
- Run to the God of the universe and turn from these ways
- Paul, through his speech struck a chord and got the people around him to listen.
- Matthew Henry says. ‘Each sect of the learned men would feel themselves powerfully affected by the apostle’s discourse, which tended to show the emptiness or falsity of their doctrines.’ -Matthew Henry
- And for you in the room, on the fence about Jesus
- What are you waiting for?
- The time of ignorance is gone
- Eternity is placed in every man’s heart
- Everyone is seeking for that depth and value and meaning
- And the truth is the answer is right in front of us in the Bible
- God loves you
- And God created you to be with Him
- But the reason we are in a state of seeking and finding
- Is our sins separate us from God
- So apart from Christ – we seek to find joy, value, significance, peace, and security in many things
- More often than not, created things.
- Money, Stuff, Style, Sensuality, Alcohol, Drugs,
- But like these epicureans & stoics
- There are still unanswered questions and unfound things.
- And in Athens it was obvious for 2 reasons
- 1 – they had a temple for an unknown God
- Meaning they knew they hadn’t figured it all out
- 2 – they had a special place, the aeropagus, where they intentionally shared new ideas and ways of living.
- 1 – they had a temple for an unknown God
- And how often do things like this come up around us.
- New Trend
- New Style
- New lifestyle
- New worldview
- But it never lands
- It never brings peace
- Because our separation from the God who made and sustains the universe
- And sins cannot be removed by good deeds
- Or by good ideas
- We cannot fix this sin issue on our own
- Oh But God, who is rich in love
- Sent His son Jesus
- And paying the price for sin Jesus died & rose again
- So that everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life
- In John 10 Jesus says he is the
- What’s life look like when you find Jesus?
- John 10:1-18 Page ___
‘“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, (direction & meaning) for they know his voice. 5 yA stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus zused with them, but they adid not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, bI am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me (by trusting in Jesus), che will be saved and will go in and out and dfind pasture. (find peace) 10 The thief comes only to steal and ekill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (True life & True abundance is found in Jesus) 11 fI am the good shepherd. The good shepherd glays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is ha hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ileaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and jscatters them. 13 He flees because khe is a hired hand and lcares nothing for the sheep. 14 mI am the good shepherd. nI know my own and omy own know me, (God knows you, knows your name, knows what’s going on in life) 15 pjust as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and qI lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And rI have other sheep that are not of this fold. sI must bring them also, and tthey will listen to my voice. So there will be uone flock, vone shepherd. (There are more sheep to be found, so we must seek) 17 wFor this reason the Father loves me, xbecause yI lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 zNo one takes it from me, but yI lay it down aof my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and bI have authority to take it up again. cThis charge I have received from my Father.”’
- Have you come to Christ, and found direction & meaning for life?
- Have you trusted His payment for your sins?
- Have you found peace knowing Christ paid your bill in full and God doesn’t remember your sin?
- Have you found a great love in being known and cared for by Jesus? So much so He laid his life down for you?
- If you don’t know if the answer is yes to these questions – but you want to know – please mark salvation on your care card or come to me after service today so we can talk and pray about the good shepherd.
- For those of us finding hope & security in Christ
- We need to be relatable
- And ready to be like Paul with open eyes and broken hearts.
- There are more sheep out there
- But I want to focus on this idea of being relatable.
- I was listening to a sermon by one of my favorite preachers recently.
- He was speaking to church leaders.
- And he said ‘Don’t dress like a puritan. Why? They lived a long time ago. And I laughed.
- ‘Look like your culture except where your culture contradicts the scriptures.’ -Paul Washer
- And he goes on to say to these church leaders – and so many say ‘nobody is coming to our church because we preach the Gospel. And he rebukes them and says ‘No, people don’t come to your church because you’re weird.’
- To which I laughed, and then I was broken hearted.
- Because it’s like putting a sign on the side of the road, putting posts on facebook, renovating a building, all nice and good things
- But if we don’t go with open eyes and broken hearts
- To where the people are
- And then relate to them without being weird
- If we don’t talk to them in a way that they will listen
- We have missed the example of the early church leaders
- And we have missed the example of Jesus
- Jesus spoke in relatable and understandable parables.
- Paul ‘became all things to all men.’
- You know 20 years ago, I did not know how to use the word y’all.
- But now I do.
- And I am absolutely convinced that God is going to move in Byhalia
- And save many who are far from God
- Many who are looking for peace joy and security in created things
- In drugs, in sex, in achieving the ideal, and i mean this with great love and adoration,
- Many are looking for the ideal redneck lifestyle
- And if we want to be effective Soul Winners, as Charles Spurgeon would say
- We cannot be weird
- We must be relatable
- While never compromising
- We must meet Byhalians where Byhalians are
- We must meet the folks of Marshall County where they are
- Or our efforts will be weak, and barely effective
- So, my big headed self
- Once Zac gifted me with this awesome Refuge Church Byhalia hat
- I’m wearing this hat, and its starting conversations.
- I have only worn camo to hunt.
- And now I almost never go into town without camo on my head.
- Because culturally its what people do. And everyone wants to know the brand on your hat.
- And now my hat says the name of a church
- That shares the hope of Jesus, where people can find refuge, peace, meaning and security.
- So where are you going this week?
- And are you ready to share the hope of Jesus?
- And are you ready to not be weird
- But Go with Open Eyes – to see those image bearers around you needing Jesus
- Go with Broken Hearts – over the reality that apart from Christ they are destined to a sinners hell.
- And Go with a relatable message.
- As Jesus said in John 10, there are more sheep to be found.
- Pastor & Theologian Warren Wiersbe ‘We still need witnesses who will invade the ‘halls of academe; and present Christ to people who are wise in this world but ignorant of the true wisdom of the world to come. ‘Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but some are called, and God may use you to call them. Take the gospel to your ‘Athens.’’
- Now a question may be how did that go for Paul in Athens?
- It wasn’t a day of thousands trusting in Jesus
- Just ‘some’ Acts 17:32-34
‘32 Now when they heard of rthe resurrection of the dead, ssome mocked. But others said, t“We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius uthe Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.’
- So as we go – let’s trust God with the outcome.
- Whether its some, or many, or thousands.
- Because 1 soul saved, makes it worth it.
- If wearing a camo hat on my big head brings 1 sinner to repentance, its worth it.
- If speaking out to someone in a relatable way at the gas station brings 1 sinner to repentance.
- Its worth it.
- Let’s pray.
- Now as we wrap up – please fill out a care card and bring it to me or the offering box on the speaker so we can pray for you. God cares for you and so do our leaders.
- Also, if you are interested in small groups – mark it on your care card & we will make sure we plan for you. They start in Feburayr
- Now let’s Go share the hope of Jesus, & let’s not be weird this week.
- We are dismissed