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Bible Study: Nov. 16, 2016

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NASHVILLE (BP) — This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.

This week’s Bible study is adapted from the Bible Studies For Life curriculum.

Bible Passages: Acts 17:16-18, 22-23, 30-31

Discussion Questions: What principles and practices can we gain from Paul’s approach to sharing the Gospel? How can we use the things we have in common with others as a gateway to sharing Jesus? How can our group engage one or more of the cultures in our community?

Food for Thought:

Over the past several weeks, groups using Bible Studies for Life have been seeing how the Gospel — the unstoppable Gospel — spread through the early church. The Gospel reached people throughout Jerusalem, then spread further and further out. In Acts 17, the Gospel had even reached Athens, and Paul was eager to share Christ with the Athenians. Paul showed us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can impact any culture.

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We too can share Christ in any culture. America has a diversity of cultures, ethnicities, worldviews and preferences. It is our human nature to gravitate toward people who are more like ourselves, but the beauty of the Gospel is that it is not only for people “just like me.” The Gospel speaks to any culture, any time and any place. In Acts 17, Paul gave us an example of communicating the Gospel in a diverse culture.

Paul showed us that we can engage the culture around us. He then used one of many available altars as a starting point, a common ground for introducing the Gospel. Paul started with the beliefs of the people, and used those beliefs to transition to the truth of Jesus Christ. But Paul did not water down the Gospel for the benefit of those listening. He moved from common ground to the truth of the Gospel. As we see in this passage, many of the people reacted negatively to the truth of the Gospel — the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead — but we must still share that truth.

While some may scoff, others believe. In any time and culture, the Gospel communicates and people cannot walk away without a response. Let’s be bold in sharing, even in the face of those who scoff, because there are others who embrace the truth and trust in Christ.

Bible Studies For Life
Bible Studies for Life connects the Bible to life for adults, students, and kids. Bible Studies for Life helps individuals and groups know God’s Word through trustworthy content, creates biblical community through engaging and conversational group studies, and helps people engage the culture missionally by unpacking what the Bible says about real-life issues. More information can be found on the Internet at LifeWay.com/BibleStudiesforLife [3].

Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool [4].