Athens

Good morning, my name is Jill and our reading today is taken from Psalm chapter 16 verses 1 to 8.

Psalms 16:1–8

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, you are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.

I say of the holy people who are in the land, they are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup, you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord who counsels me. Even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand I shall not be shaken. Amen.

Good morning, my name is Alistair. Our second reading this morning comes from Acts chapter 17 verses 16 to 34.

Acts 17:16–34

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

So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks,

as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him.

Some of them asked, what is this babbler trying to say?

Others remarked, he seems to be advocating foreign gods.

They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him,

may we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears and we would like to know what they mean.

All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said,

People of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.

For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship,

I even found an altar with this inscription to an unknown God.

So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship.

And this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth

and does not live in temples built by human hands.

And he is not served by human hands as if he needed anything.

Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

From one man he made all the nations that they should inhabit the whole earth.

And he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him,

though he is not far from any one of us.

For in him we live and move and have our being.

As some of your own poets have said, we are his offspring.

Therefore, since we are God's offspring,

we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone,

an image made by human design and skill.

In the past God overlooked such ignorance,

but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice

by the man he has appointed.

He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead,

some of them sneered, but others said,

we want to hear you again on this subject.

At that, Paul left the council.

Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed.

Among them was Dionysus, a member of the Areopagus,

also a woman named Demaris, and a number of others.

Amen.

Thank you for God's word.

So let's just pray for Alistair as he comes to speak to us

on what we've just read this morning.

Father God, we just thank you for your word.

And we just pray for Alistair as he comes to share with us this morning.

We pray that you are with him

and that you can just help him to deliver what's on his heart.

We just thank you for all of the work he's done

in preparing your message.

And we just pray for him now as he comes to speak to us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this service.

Let me add my welcome to Graham's.

My name is Alistair.

I have the privilege of being the assistant pastor

here at Brunsfield.

And the privilege of leading us through

that passage that was just read to us

from Acts chapter 17, verses 16 to 34.

Acts 17:16–34

But to start off, I want you to imagine

that you're on holiday in a new city,

one of the cultural capitals of the world.

It's probably a wonderful dream that many of us are having

during this lockdown.

But when you go on holiday,

when you visit a large, prominent city,

what is it that grabs your attention?

Prior to my wife, Sabina, and I moving to Edinburgh,

we lived in Vienna for a few years.

And when we used to walk around,

I would constantly be looking up.

Because we were walking past buildings

that were hundreds of years old.

You'd look up and you would see intricate wreaths

made of stone.

And you would almost think that they were made

of real leaves and flowers.

And then you'd see sculptures and statues

that were so lifelike.

With every step, you couldn't help but be drawn

into the beauty of the city.

And on top of that, you'd walk past opera halls.

You'd hear masterful artists playing their instruments.

Talented opera singers belting out tunes

in the middle of the city centre.

And you'd walk past birthplaces of famous composers.

And you couldn't help but marvel

at the beauty of a city like that.

Most of us are probably like this

when we go and visit somewhere new.

We walk around and the things that grab our attention

are the architecture, the culture,

the atmosphere of the city, right?

Well, this morning we're going to go on a journey

with the Apostle Paul back in time

to the ancient city of Athens

at the height of its cultural significance.

It was a prominent city.

A place where philosophers would gather

and debate and discuss the newest ideas.

An intellectual hub for the greatest minds

of the ancient world.

An ancient city filled with hustle and bustle.

But we're going to focus on two things this morning.

Firstly, what the Apostle Paul saw

as he wandered around Athens.

And then secondly, what he did because of that.

So the first thing that we see in this passage

is seeing the reality.

In verses 16 to 21.

Seeing the reality.

So Paul, Silas and Timothy have just been in Berea.

A town where the Jews listened to Paul's message.

And they examined the scriptures every day

to see whether what he was saying was right.

And we see that from verse 11 in chapter 17.

But then people from Thessalonica came

and caused a riot and made trouble

so that Paul had to leave.

And he was taken to this city of Athens.

A city that, as far as we know,

he had never visited before.

And he was to wait there

until Silas and Timothy would join him.

So what would you do

if you had a few days to kill

in a city you'd never been to before?

Well, you'd go sightseeing.

You'd go and check out the local hotspots.

You'd try the local food.

You'd look at the tourist attractions, right?

If you go to Paris,

you're going to try your hardest

and bend over backwards almost

to get the whole Eiffel Tower

into your picture frame.

30 attempts later

and 28 fake smiles

and you finally get the picture you wanted.

But what does Paul see

as he walks around Athens?

Well, look with me at verse 16.

Paul's eyes aren't drawn to the architecture

or to the culture

or the sophistication

or the philosophical significance

of the people in Athens.

His eyes are drawn to the idolatry

and he is deeply, deeply distressed.

Now, Sabina and I spent a few weeks

in the Middle East last year

and we visited a number of touristy hotspots

in the area.

We stood next to and took pictures

of ourselves in the ancient temples

of Zeus, of Hercules and of Diana,

just to name a few.

But one day as we were in

one of these temples,

we were talking about how

thousands of years ago

that place would have been

heaving with worshippers

and stalls of people

selling small household gods,

people selling false gods

and false hope.

And we were amazed

at the absurdity

and the evil

of the idolatry

that we were now standing next to

and taking pictures of.

But Paul wasn't standing

in an empty city.

He was walking through a city

that was full of idols,

a new idol around every corner.

It's as if they were drowning

in a ton of false deities.

And this upset.

It provoked

and it compelled Paul

to see the reality

of the situation

and to preach the gospel to them.

Paul sees the idolatry

in the city

and he knows

the deeper reality

that it conveys.

That these people

are giving glory

and honour

to created things

instead of to God,

the creator.

But we can't look at this

and think that we're any different

or that somehow

our world has overcome

this problem of idolatry.

Sure, our idols look different

but just take a wonder

down Princess Street

here in Edinburgh.

Or look at the advertisements

on television

and you will see

what the idols are

that we worship today.

Popularity,

material wealth,

a good reputation,

having the perfect body,

relationships,

sex,

being liked by everyone

and so on.

None of these

are bad things

in and of themselves

but

they are terrible gods.

Terrible things

to worship.

We are no different

from the city of Athens.

As John Calvin,

the pastor and theologian

from many years ago

once said,

man's mind

is a perpetual

factory

of idols.

Idols are the things

that we,

that take up our time,

that take up our energy,

our money,

our effort.

The things that we

prioritize

over God.

Do you want to know

what your idols are?

think about

what you miss most

during this lockdown.

Think about

what your mind

is consumed with

and what you give

all of your time to.

Idols

are the things

in our lives

that take the place

that should be reserved

only for God.

And so Paul

sees this

and he is compelled

to speak

and he reasons

with the Jews

in the synagogue

and goes into

the marketplace

and in verse 18

it says that he

preached the good news

about Jesus

and the resurrection.

So Paul sees

the reality

of idolatry

and he is compelled

to preach.

Friends,

how do we respond

to idolatry?

we are surrounded

in a world

that is trying

to find satisfaction

and fulfillment

and meaning

in things

that won't deliver.

We try to find

satisfaction

in our jobs,

in our university

grades,

in our material

possessions,

in our marital status

and many more things.

but in reality

that points

to one truth

that humans

are born

worshippers

and we are

naturally born

worshipping

the wrong things.

We shouldn't

be worshipping

things that are

gone in a flash,

things that can break

and things that

don't satisfy.

Friends,

we should only

be worshipping

God

and in the face

of idolatry

our response

shouldn't be

apathy.

We shouldn't

walk away

and not care

at what people

are doing

but we should

point people

to the only person

who is worth

worshipping,

the person

who created us

to worship

and glorify him

and that is

God alone.

When we see

idolatry

we need to see

the reality

of it

and it must

lead us

it must

lead us

to boldly

proclaim

Jesus

to a world

that is hardwired

to worship.

The second thing

that we see

in this passage

is speaking

the truth

in verses 22

to 34

speaking

the truth.

So Paul

has preached

to the people

of Athens

and they called

him a babbler.

They accused

him of advocating

foreign gods

in verse 18

and he was

told that he

was promoting

strange ideas

in verse 20

but this

doesn't deter him.

Paul is still

deeply distressed

by the idolatry

that he sees

and now he's

brought before

a council

a group of

prominent people

who were

responsible for

the moral

for the education

and for the

religious act

of Athens

and he's

asked to

explain

his message

and look

where he

begins

in verse

22

read with me

people

of Athens

I see

that in

every way

you are

very religious

for as I

walked around

and looked

carefully

at your

objects

of worship

I even

found an

altar

with this

inscription

to an

unknown

God

so you

are ignorant

of the

very thing

you worship

and that

is what

I am going

to proclaim

to you

now in

this verse

Paul isn't

approving

of their

polytheism

their love

for a

plethora of

idols

he isn't

saying this

unknown God

that you

worship I'm

going to

tell you

about him

and he

isn't saying

that there

are multiple

ways to

God

he's pointing

out the

absurdity

that they

are worshipping

something they

have no idea

about

and he

goes on to

proclaim to

them the

one true

God

who is

deserving

of worship

Paul

draws out

five wonderful

truths about

God that I

hope will

encourage us

all as

Christians this

morning

that will

comfort us

and lead us

to worship

our all

powerful

our almighty

and our

amazing God

God

and this

should

encourage us

because Paul

doesn't do

anything special

in this

passage

you don't

require a

PhD in

theology to

do what he

does here

Paul simply

explains who

God is

and he calls

the people of

Athens to

repent

every single

Christian can

do that

and I

hope that if

you're listening

to this

service this

morning and

you're not a

Christian

that these

five truths

about God

will challenge

you to

consider who

he really

is

God is not

some distant

far off deity

or a fairy

tale

but he is the

one true God

and he alone

is worthy

of our

praise

and so we

get our

first truth

about God

in verse 24

read with me

the God who

made the

world and

everything in

it is the

Lord of

heaven and

earth and

does not

live in

temples built

by human

hands

God is

creator

he is the

all powerful

one who put

the stars in

their place

the one who

created this

wonderful world

that we live

in as Psalm

97 so

wonderfully puts

it the heavens

proclaim his

righteousness

and all

peoples see

his glory

everyone is

without excuse

because when we

look at the

skies when we

see the ocean

when we see

the snow

capped mountains

and the

wonderful creation

that God has

made there

should be no

doubt in our

minds that

there is a

creator

and we are

called to

worship him

and as if

that wasn't

amazing enough

verse 25

continues and

says God is

the sustainer

of life

God gives

everyone life

and breath

and everything

else

as you woke

up this morning

you probably

rubbed your

eyes

gave a wee

stretch

probably a

little yawn

and started

your day

like every

other day

but every

single thing

you have

everything that

you are

is a gift

from God

even the

breath that

you breathe

is a gift

from the God

who created

you and the

God who

sustains you

as verse 28

says for in

him we live

and move

and have our

being

God is the

sustainer

of life

and in

verse 26

we see that

God is the

ruler of

the nations

he knows

the rise

and fall

of all the

nations that

span throughout

history

the nations

that once

were mighty

and powerful

attributed their

success to

military might

but God is

the one

who has

appointed their

times

their success

should not lead

them to rely

on themselves

or think of

how great

they are

but as

verse 27

says God

did this

so that they

would seek

him and

perhaps reach

out for him

and find him

though he is

not far from

any of us

do you see

that wonderful

that mind

blowing and

that comforting

truth at the

end of that

verse

God is not

far from

any one

of us

maybe you're

struggling

during this

lockdown

period

maybe you're

lonely

maybe you're

hurting and

afraid

friends the

wonderful truth

is that God

is not far

from you

call out

to him

call on him

maybe even

for the first

time

and hear the

voice of the

one true

loving God

who calls you

to himself

and he promises

to be with

you all

the time

and then

Paul goes

even further

and he

presents the

next truth

about God

that shall

blow our

minds every

single time

we think

about it

God is the

father of

humanity

verse 29

says since

we are God's

offspring we

should not

think that the

divine being

is like gold

or silver

or stone

an image

made by

human design

and skill

we are God's

offspring

and our

response

because of

that should

never be

to worship

anything else

but God

himself

and God

as the

father of

humanity

is not

some stern

father standing

with the rule

book ready

and eager to

punish those

who defy

him

he is a

loving father

who has

made a

way for

us

wayward

sinful

children

to be

made right

with him

through the

death and

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

and God

is calling

you home

God is

calling his

people to

himself

will you

listen to

the call

of a

loving

of a

good

of an

almighty

father

God

and repent

how you

respond to

that question

is important

because of

the final

truth that

Paul draws

to our

attention

this morning

in verse

31

for he

has set

a day

when he

will judge

the world

with justice

by the man

he has

appointed

he has

given proof

of this

to everyone

by raising

him from

the dead

the final

truth

this morning

is that

God is

the judge

of all

the world

there will

be a day

when every

person who

has ever

lived will

stand before

God as

he judges

the world

there is

no naughty

or nice

list

there will

not be a

final chance

to say but

God I was

a good

person

as we all

stand before

God

there will

be those

who are

called to

live in

harmony

with him

forever

in his

perfect

presence

and then

there are

those who

will be

cast out

of his

presence

who will

spend

eternity

in his

just

judgment

against

sin

so why

would we

worship

idols

because on

that final

day no

no idol

nothing

will be able

to save

us as we

stand before

a holy

God

we shouldn't

worship idols

but we

should only

worship

God

because he

alone is

the one who

can save

us

friends this

is not a

point that we

can take

lightly

or a decision

that we can

put off to

some future

event

we must take

this seriously

because God

as just

must punish

sin

and that

starts

with us

he proved

this by

sending

Jesus

his perfect

son

who paid

the punishment

for every

Christian

on the

cross

so for all

those who

have repented

and put

their trust

in Jesus

we do not

await the

day of

judgment

with fear

and with

trembling

but we

await the

return of

the Lord

with eager

anticipation

because we

will be with

him forever

and that is

why Paul

is standing

before the

people of

Athens

and that is

why I am

standing here

before you

this morning

begging you

to listen

to the call

of a loving

father

to repent

and come to

him

to put your

trust in

Jesus

and be

forgiven

people will

respond

differently

to this

message

there were

those in

verse 32

who sneered

at Paul

and then

there were

those in

verse 34

who became

followers of

Jesus upon

hearing that

wonderful message

of who God

is

how will you

respond this

morning

think back

to where we

started off

traveling

in a new

city

looking at

the sights

and taking

in the

beautiful

scenery

our world

is just

like Athens

we can walk

around the

cultural centers

of the world

and see just

as many

idols as

Paul saw

Christian

how do you

respond at

the sight

of idolatry

do you see

the reality

of it and

speak into

that situation

we need

to take

the message

to the

world

that we

serve a

wonderful

God

who is

creator

sustainer

ruler

father

and judge

we need

to tell

people the

truth

because he

alone is

the one

who deserves

our worship

and we

should be

disturbed

and deeply

distressed

by idolatry

and if

we aren't

what does

that say

about our

lives

imagine if

God were

to take a

look into

our homes

into our

minds

into our

lives

what idols

would he

find

as we

engage with

our friends

we need to

be so grieved

by their

sin

distressed

by their

idolatry

that we

have a

burning

desire

and we

are burdened

to share

the gospel

with them

we need to

speak the

gospel of

Jesus

and not be

apathetic

in the light

of idolatry

and if you're

not a Christian

this morning

let me

challenge you

and say

that no

amount of

idols will

satisfy

no amount

of idols

will

fulfill

that hunger

that you

have

the only

person

that deserves

all of your

worship

is the

living God

and he

calls you

to come

to him

to repent

and to put

your trust

in his

son

Jesus

Christ

let's pray

together

heavenly

father we

ask for

forgiveness

for the

times that

we have

worshipped

idols

instead

of you

father

would you

reveal to

us the

idols of

our hearts

the things

that we

have put

above you

in our

lives and

the things

that we

prioritize over

you father

forgive us

and father

help us take

that wonderful

message to

the world

that we

serve an

almighty

God

a God

who is

creator

sustainer

ruler

father

and judge

and help us

call people

to repent

and believe

because the

kingdom of

God is at

hand

and we

pray this

in the

precious

and holy

name of

our

saviour

Jesus

Christ

amen

well thank

you so much

Alistair for

taking us

through that

passage and

I trust

that it's

caused all

of us to

just stop

and to

think about

the world

in which we

live and

perhaps the

things that

we are doing

and the

things that

we're

pursuing

in our

lives

one of the

things that

we've been

doing over

the last

few Sundays

is we've

just been

hearing from

people in

our church

family and

they've been

telling us

their stories

about how

they came

to first

meet Jesus

and it's

been so

encouraging to

hear so

many people

feedback to

us how

they've been

connecting with

these stories

as we've

just been

hearing from

people

and we

said this

is the

truth about

the church

of Jesus

that it's

made up of

many different

people who

are doing

many different

things all

with very

different

stories about

how we all

came to

meet the

one same

saviour

and so we're

going to hear

another story

now from one

of our members

who's called

Declan

Declan's going

to tell us a

little bit of

his story

and particularly

about how he

now seeks

to use the

everyday things

that he does

in his life

to lovingly

connect with

people and

tell them about

Jesus

and once

Declan's

finished we're

going to have

our final

song

hi my

name is

Declan

I'm a

member at

Brunsfield

Evangelical

Church

I'm 29

and an

air traffic

controller

I'm a

Christian

I believe

in God

I'm just

going to

take a

couple of

minutes

now to

explain a

little bit

about why

I do

and how

that happened

for me

so I

grew up in

a lovely

place called

Peebles in

a Christian

household and

we always

went to

church and

I had a

very positive

experience going

to church

growing up

there was

people who

leaked out

for me

and were

very good

for me

so growing

up I

always believed

in God

and as a

young teenager

I helped

out at a

holiday club

in Peebles

and there I

got to meet

some older

teenagers and

young adults

who were also

Christians

and that was

the first time

I'd met some

other young

Christians and

I got to make

some great

friendships and

get to know

them more

and I saw

that they were

quite cool and

there was

something different

about them

the way they

acted and

the way they

interacted with

each other

and just

their priorities

in life were

a bit different

and I liked

it I thought

it looked good

and I could

see that the

thing that was

different about

them was that

they were

Christians and

I decided then

you know I

want some of

that and so

I thought this

being a Christian

was a good

thing and so

when I was 16

I made a formal

commitment you could

say and I was

baptized and from

then on I would

always say I've

been a Christian

I've always

believed in God

but as I got

slightly older and

I went to

university I

maybe became what

you might call a

part-time Christian

I was still going

to church I was

still involved in

some church

activities but

outside of that I

wasn't really giving

God much respect I

wasn't considering

him in the things I

was choosing to do

and the way I was

living my life and

around about this

time I got involved

with an organization

called Christians in

Sport and when I

was at university I

was very sporty and

Christians in Sport

was great for me I

got to meet other

like-minded individuals

who were Christian and

also into their sport

and we'd do little

Bible studies and

discuss issues that

were really specific

to being a Christian

in sport and it was

then I learned how to

match up having a

faith and living that

out and matching it

up with sport or

generally matching it

up with your lifestyle

and it was someone I

met through Christians

in Sport who was I

think aware of this

sort of part-time

Christian lifestyle that

I was living and one

day he just said to

me what are you doing

and that was a

catalyst for me to

think about the way

I was living my life

and I decided if I was

going to be a Christian

I wanted to do it

properly and so I

wanted to look into

the Bible more and

see what it said and

actually if it was true

and so that was the

beginning of a process

which is still going on

for me where I studied

the Bible and looked at

what it said and

scrutinized parts of it

and I've come to the

point where you've

probably guessed it

that I really believe

in God and the Bible

and I think it's all

true and I think it's

also good news which

might sound a little

bit cheesy but I do

think it's good and

the Bible tells us that

when we become a

Christian there is a

transformation we're

transformed from

before we're a

Christian until

afterwards and for me

that wasn't a sort of

instantaneous moment

it's taken years and

it's still ongoing but

the more I study the

Bible the more I get

to know God and the

more I am transformed

you could say and the

more I'm convinced that

God exists and that the

Bible is a good news

story and as I

mentioned Christians in

Sport was really

important for me and

knowing that the Bible

is true and that God

exists and that it's

good news I want to

share it and Christians

in Sport has been

really helpful for giving

me a way to do that and

something we used to

speak about the

Christians in Sport

meetings was worshipping

God and being a witness

for God so in my sport

and triathlon I can do

that now when we're in

church and we're singing

we're all quite

comfortable that we're

worshipping God then

but I'm not a

particularly good singer

but I'm an okay

swimmer and when I'm

swimming I can still

worship God and the

Bible tells us that

actually anything that

we do and everything

that we do we can

worship God so when I'm

doing my sport I can

worship God but I can

also be a witness for

God and through my

sport I get a chance

to make great

friendships and get

to know people and

that's really good and

I enjoy that but it's

also a chance to share

sometimes a little bit

and sometimes a lot of

the gospel and some of

what the Bible tells us

and so through my sport I

can worship God and I

can be a witness for him

and that's some of what

God asks us to do and

so that's what I try and

do each day and that

more or less is my story

and if you have any

questions about it then

feel free to get in

touch