Paul Verses The Eggheads (2020) Series

SERMON OUTLINE:

Athens: A City of Extremes (vs 16)

Paul: A Man of Courage (vs 17-21)

Communication: A Message of Impact (vs 21-34)

Response: some varied reactions (vs 32-34)

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• Eggheads is a British quiz show shown on channel 5

• Hosted by TC presenter Jeremy Vine.

• The show has gone on to inspire three spinoff series:

• Are You an Egghead? (2008),

• Revenge of the Egghead (2014)

• And Make Me an Egghead (2016).

• The term egghead refers to a person who is highly academic or studious; an intellectual,

• I am looking around the room for an example,

• But alas I am not finding anyone!

• In this morning’s talk,

• The apostle Paul encounters the eggheads of Greece.

Note: During his life the apostle Paul made three missionary journeys:

• We have read and already studied his first missionary journey in Acts chapters 13 & 14.

• This first journey lasted at least two years,

• We care currently looking at his second missionary journey,

• Found in Acts chapters 16, 17 and 18.

• This trip seems to have lasted about least three years.

• And sometime in the future we will read and study his third missionary journey.

• Recorded in Acts chapters 19, 20 and 21.

• This final trip would last about five years.

Note: In the book of Acts we have several examples of gospel preaching.

• e.g., Three sermons by the apostle Peter.

• e.g., Two sermons by the evangelist Philip.

• e.g., One sermon by the apostle Paul.

• Now all these sermons were preached to people who believed in one God,

• e.g., Jews and Samaritans or to Gentile God-fearers like Cornelius.

But now in this chapter,

• The apostle Paul gets to Athens, the centre of Greek culture,

• And we get the first sermon preached to polytheists,

• To those who believed that there were many gods.

• If you know anything about Greek mythology,

• You know they believed in a huge number of gods,

• e.g., Zeus, Hera, Hades, Ares, Poseidon, and the list goes on and on.

(1). Athens: A City of Extremes (vs 16)

“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ^

• For centuries, Athens had been the cradle of democracy and education.

• Athens had been home to some of the greatest ancient philosophers.

• i.e., Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Epicurus etc.

Joke: How many Philosophers does it take to change a light bulb?

• Socrates (469-399 BCE)

• "A light bulb unexamined is not worth changing."

• Plato (circa 427 - circa 347 BCE)

• "There is no need to change the light bulb because the only true light is knowledge."

• Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

• "First we must understand what we mean by change."

• Epicurus (circa 342-270 BCE)

• "We must consider whether changing the light bulb will bring pleasure or pain before we decide whether to change it at all."

And in response – how many Christians does it take to change a light bulb?

• Charismatic:

• 1 – Because their hands are already in the air.

• Pentecostal:

• 10 – One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.

• Reformed:

• None – Lights will go on and off at predestined times.

• Roman Catholic:

• None – Candles only.

• Baptists:

• At least 15 – One to change the light bulb,

• And three committees to approve the change.

• Anglicans:

• 3 – One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks.

• And one to talk about how much better the old one was.

• Christian Brethren:

• 0 – What do you mean change?

• TRANSITION: Athens was the home of the greatest ancient philosophers,

• It has been called the cradle of democracy and education.

Note: Athens was also a city of extremes:

• Even though the entire city was a showcase of past intellectual achievement.

• The people of Athens still hungered for spiritual things.

• Their thirst for knowledge was not quenched by their human eggheads.

Ill:

• It was the French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Christian philosopher,

• Blaise Pascal who said in his book, ‘Pensees’:

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.”

• TRANSITION: This city was awash with knowledge and intellectual arguments.

• But the people of Athens were spiritually hungry,

• And knowledge and information does not satisfy the heart of a person.

That hunger was most evident in what Paul first noticed about the city,