Goodbook messages arrive every Monday, Thursday, and Friday with a Scripture reading and ideas for how to apply the reading in our lives. We are reading through the book of Acts. For additional Scripture reading, you can follow the Advanced Track.
Reading: Acts 17:28 28
“For in him we live and move and have our being.” As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.”
Application:
One of the things Paul was very good at was knowing his audience. His message about Jesus was consistent, but he changed how he delivered the message depending on who he was talking to.
When Paul spoke to the Jewish people about Jesus, he appealed to the Jewish Scriptures. He lifted up prophecy and promises that are fulfilled in Jesus. In this passage, Paul is not talking to a Jewish audience. Here Paul is talking to a group of Greek philosophers. So he changes things up a bit. He doesn’t quote them Scriptures about Jesus. He takes a different approach.
Paul does quote, but he doesn’t quote Scripture. He quotes their own philosophers! The first quote is from the Cretan philosopher Epimenides. The second is a quote from a Cilician Stoic philosopher named Aratus. Paul takes their quotes, something familiar to the audience, and uses it as a spring board to talk about Jesus.
There is something brilliant in Paul’s approach. He meets them where they are. He speaks to them in language that is familiar. He connects their everyday with the divine.
I often hear people say they struggle with witnessing because they do not know what to say or how to say it. Maybe we can learn from Paul. Perhaps we need to listen to songs and read books and watch movies with an openness for how these works of art can be a springboard for talking about Jesus.
For example, I have been reading stories to my son at night. One story we read was Peter Pan. Peter’s reason for not going home was because he feared his parents would close the window and not want him anymore. Peter tried to dissuade Wendy and her brothers from leaving Neverland and returning home. But when they did, they found the window was still open and the parents welcomed them back with open arms. I used this as a springboard to talk about the story of the Prodigal Son, and how God always welcomes us back home with loving arms (Luke 15:11-32).
It’s a start…
1) What books, songs, or movies do you know that make a great springboard to talking about Jesus?
2) The next time you read a book, watch a movie, or listen to a song pay attention for connections with Jesus or with the Bible. Talk about them with someone who might be far from God.
Share your comments and application ideas...
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