Turn The World Upside-Down

WELCOME & GREETINGS

- Getting to know new brothers and sisters in Christ in our fellowship.

- My prayer this morning is that I can encourage and lift up this congregation with this message.

INTRODUCTION

We exist in a time where great things have happened. We’ve taken extraordinary leaps in technology, travel, and exploration. But with great advancement comes great tragedy. In order to succeed in these areas, there are going to be failures.

1. Our 35th President, John F. Kennedy was considered a successful president. Whatever disagreement you may have with a number of his works as president, he has an enduring legacy where people generally see him in a positive light. Some of his policies were disastrous but that didn’t tarnish his legacy. He was a war hero saving his fellow sailors after his PT boat was hit and sinking. He cared about people. He wanted to help pass the Civil Rights Act to make sure all Americans were free to vote, work, and generally live in a way that would ensure their skin color didn’t prevent their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. On November 26, 1963 Kennedy was assassinated. It was also Kennedy’s dream that as a nation that leads, we should be the first to reach new heights and land on the moon. Kennedy’s impact on our world is still being seen today.

2. NASA’s influence on the world grew because of this directive. And in 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins journeyed to the moon before two of those men (Armstrong and Aldrin) walked on the lunar surface.

3. In both good and bad ways, we have been impacted by NASA and our space program. I was a young 10-year-old when watching from my school desk, we awaited the seven astronauts who would leap into orbit; among them the first school teacher--Christa McAuliffe. Their mission was to deploy a communication satellite to study Halley’s comet. After launch, one of the boosters had an issue that allowed gas to escape through a small O-ring. It ignited and caused the entire rocket and shuttle to explode. All seven astronauts were killed.

4. On September 11, 2001 I woke up and got ready for work. I turned on the television as I always did to watch the news. On every station one of the World trade towers was on fire and smoking. Then the second plane hit the other tower. Our lives would forever be changed.

So many points in history that we could speak about. Wars, conflict, economic victories and disasters, the rise and fall of influential people in governments, Hollywood, and music. Men and women who have written works that will be forever read and beloved for generations. These events have turned our world upside down. These events change us. Some of them so captivating they inspire conspiracy theories about the events and timelines.

Today, we look back to this story of our friend the Apostle Paul who made such an impact.

READ ACTS 17:1-9

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

EXEGETE PASSAGE

- Paul’s influence on their part of the world

- The men who accompanied him as part of his team that had been sent out to many cities all over Asia Minor.

o Silas, Barnabas, Luke, John Mark, Judas Barsabbas, Timothy….

- Encountered persecution, stoning, prison

o Remained faithful, converted jailers, Greeks, political and religious leaders

o Reputation for continuing to teach about the Messiah Jesus