He has set the date (Act 17aq)

HE HAS SET A DAY

Act 17:1-34
Key Verse 17: 30-31

1.       What do you know about the city, Thessalonica? In the city, where did he go on what day? What did he do there to whom? What does it mean that he reasoned with them? What was the basis of his reasoning? Why did he choose scripture as the basis of his reasoning?

2.       What was the key point of his reasoning? (3) What was the conclusion of his reasoning? (3) What was the outcome of his teaching? ( 4) How successful was it? Why?

3.       Read v5-8. How was the success accepted by the Jews? How did they try to destroy the work of God? What were the false accusations that they made?

4.       How did Paul begin his ministry at Berea? How was his method of preaching similar to what he did in Thessalonica? Why? How effective was his teaching? Why did the Jews in Thessalonica make such an intense pursue after Paul and Silas?

5.       Find about the city Athens. What troubled Paul most in the city of Athens? Where did he reason with whom? How was it different from the ministry in Thessalonica or in Berea? What might have prompted him to reason even in the market place day by day? With whom did he reason day by day? What are beliefs of Epicureans and Stoic Philosophers? What was the key message of Paul to them that caught their attention? (18) What desire did they express?

6.       Read and summarize the message of Paul into a few sections and put titles on each section (22-31). How did Paul begin his message (22-23)? What can you learn from his way of delivery of message? What distinction is made between their belief and Paul’s (23b)?

7.       What distinctions did he make between god of the people of Athens and God of Paul (24-25)? What is the point of v 26? What was God’s desire for all human being? What was the conclusion of this section? Through these verses, what did Paul try to establish and why was such establishment needed?

8.       What further reasoning was drawn from the preset establishment in what form? How does this pry into the core problem of men (29)? What is God’s demand from all men (30)? What does it mean that now God ‘commands’ all people everywhere to repent? Think about this in terms of its application to many different regions of the world, and different kinds of people, class of people and urgency of ‘response’, and negotiability. Why was a prompt response to God’s command necessary (31a)?

9.       When and how will of God be proven to be true (31b)? How should one understand the present age between Jesus’ message of salvation and the day God will send him back to judge? How can ‘raising’ him from the dead be a proof of forth coming judgment? Why did Paul hang everything of his preaching on one thing, resurrection?

10.   Find how his speech progress from commending, reasoning, negotiating, declaration, demand, and reinforcement. What were the non-negotiable that Paul put forth and were reinforced? Why did he ‘proclaim’ instead of ‘teaching or reasoning with them (3, 25)? Think about three ‘Biblical principles’ regarding human being and salvation and its implication in our talk with prospective sheep and in our messages.