05/21 - Common Ground on Mars Hill

 

Common Ground on Mars Hill

Acts 17:22-31

                                                    

• Changing Times, Changing Settings
  • Ever felt like a duck-out-of-water?
    • Entertainment loves this theme
      • So many movies & TV shows
    • So many life experiences
      • New school, new job, meeting the SO's family
    • What if you found yourself at a concert with weird music?...
    • How do we handle these moments?
      • Building bridges & finding connections (looking for common ground)
    • Paul at Mars Hill
      • Paul, while highly educated and a Roman citizen by birth, was the duck-out-of-water Beverly Hillbilly in this setting and among these people
      • He preached in a way not recorded elsewhere
        • While some have said it was a "bad sermon" because he didn't confront them with the Gospel in all its fullness, it would not have been included in Scripture if is wasn't intended to teach us
        • Paul was intentionally taking a step back from the things he & the Jews took for granted, and finding common ground.
          
      • A Hard but Necessary Work
        • A skill we are in danger of losing
        • Modern life allows us to connect with only those people who rarely disagree with us. You can be easily "friended" and "unfriended" on Facebook. If the news report angers you, change the channel. 
        • Now people have falling-outs. Paul and Barnabas.  Desi & Lucy
          • This happens in business, in marriage, in a nation...
          • When this happens, the prescription both in psychology and scripture is the same: reconciliation... in other words, finding where you can stand with each other, building a bridge, recovering the common ground
            
        • For someone who is about to give a presentation to strangers (or preach a sermon), the first order of business is to find common ground!
          • Jesus did this with His parables. Preachers still do this...
            
        • How does Paul handle this?
          • Here is our Common Ground:
            • v22: "I see you are very religious!"
              • Remember how the KJV goes here? "Ye are too superstitious!" An insult, not a compliment. Why? 
                • Europe's "Wars of Religion" - 16th & 17th centuries
                • When was the KJV translated? 1611
              • Paul finds the common ground: "I will reveal to you the unknown, true God that you have built this alter for."
            • v26 "God made us all from one," so we are all brothers of the same Father.
            • v27 "He made us to seek Him," and here are examples of their own thinkers who say things like this.
          • Now will you walk with me to here?
            • v28 "But He made us; we should not try to make God in our preferred images." He does not soft-pedal their differences. 
            • v30-31 "God doesn't hold you responsible for not knowing, but now you are hearing about God's son, and God calls you to turn to His mercy before the time of judgment."
            • v31 We've got excellent reasons for our position.
              
          • Our world is changing. We now have to work harder to find common ground. We have to work harder to not let ourselves be pulled into an increasingly combative and reactive culture.
            • What is solid that we hold on to? For the Christian, the solid ground is the teachings and the Person of Jesus Christ.  Not necessarily styles and forms...
            • And did that music make you uncomfortable earlier? Guess what, it was written and performed by a Christian, who sings about our the common ground of human brokenness.  My favorite excerpts: "You are surrounding all my surroundings... And now I'm holding onto You!"
            • See 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Matthew 22:36-40