Sermon notes

Spirituality vs. Christianity Acts 17

Intro…a church in Encinitas….
Celebrating Our Divinity. Loving Our Humanity. Serving Our Community. Come join us on Sunday or Wednesday. Great music, a spirited message and a joyful, loving community are waiting for you. Childcare, children’s and teen's classes are part of the Sunday celebration too. At _____________ our philosophy is based on the Science of Mind. “There is a Power in the Universe greater than we are, and we can use it.”
We believe the ultimate goal of life to be a complete emancipation from all discord of every nature, and that this goal is sure to be attained by all.
We believe in our own soul, our own spirit, and our own destiny; for we understand that OUR LIFE is God.
We believe that HEAVEN is within US, and that we experience IT to the degree that we become conscious of It.

To most people, practically anything can be considered a spiritual experience.
The perfect wave, ice cream, music, art…people actually look for spirituality/God in all kinds of other ways also...
(Mountains, Ocean, Meditation, Money, Self-Help etc.)

This is nothing new, people have been searching for a deeper spiritual meaning since the beginning of time… Adam and Eve…be like God
- Kings, rulers have worshipped other gods and even required people to worship them.
- We’ve ended up with so many different religions today because of everyone’s different search for deeper meaning and purpose, “There has got to be something out there bigger than me.”

Today I hope to show that we all have a God shaped hole in all of us.

Paul dealt with the same type of mindset in his day too…Acts 17:1-4
- Background: chap 9, Paul’s conversion, 12, Xians persecuted, 13, missionary journeys, 15, The council of Jerusalem, , 2nd missionary journey, CHAP 17, Paul’s work in Thessalonica, Berea and Athens.

What can we learn from Paul’s approach when it comes to talking about spirituality with others?
v. 2 He reasoned with them from the scriptures.
The Bible is always a good base to work from, keep it handy and memorized

v. 3 He spoke the gospel truth.
Jesus is the Christ, Messiah, not just some great prophet

v. 11 He spent time with wise people. (The Bereans)

v. 13 He preached the gospel everywhere he went, even in the midst of conflict.
Take a look at what Paul was dealing with and how he handled it:
v. 16 A city full of idols.What are the idols people worship today thinking they are spiritual?

v. 17 He reasoned with them.
Kept an open dialog. Reasoned: dialegomai, to say thoroughly, discuss in argument or exhortation, dispute, hold debate.
We can reason with others, but always be ready to defend the truth.

v. 18 He dealt with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers .
Epicureans: those who followed Epicurus. They believed happiness was the chief end of life. Who are the “Epicureans” of today?

Stoics: Their founder was Zeno…got the name Stoic from Stoa Poikile (means painted porch), a lecture place in Athens where Zeno taught.
The emphasized the rational over the emotional, be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief. Calmly accept all things as a result of divine will.
They were pantheistic, a belief in and worship of all gods. Who are the Stoics of today?

In this context, we find Paul (in v. 19) taken to a meeting of the Areopagus (a council that had charge of the religious and educational matter in Athens)
This council met on the Hill of Ares, west of the Acropolis, also known as Mars Hill. They were dedicated to Ares, the god of war.
- Basically, they sat around , “doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.”
- They needed some godly wisdom and council and Paul was about to do just that.

v. 22-23 “Men of Athens, (friends in San Diego, spiritual seekers of Encinitas) I see that in every way you are very religious.” (He saw their numerous objects of worship.) The even had an altar to an “unknown god.”
“What you think is unknown, I will make know to you, tell you the truth. “

Remember these basic truths that Paul taught at Mars Hill: 17:24-31
v. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth…
v. 25 God gives all men life
v. 26 God created life and determines our outcomes.
v. 27 It is our job as humans to seek God.
v. 28 In God we have all we need.
v. 29 God is not an idol made of the finest materials; he is alive, living, breathing and loving.
v. 30 God commands full repentance.
v. 31 God will judge us all with justice. He is a right and fair judge.

What were the reactions? V. 32-34
1. Some sneered
2. Others said “tell me more.”
3. Some believed, a few…even Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus. That membership was a high distinction. God can soften anyone’s heart.

Conclusion …v. 34
Religion isn’t just a mystical feeling…
Christianity isn’t “PC”. It claims to be the only way to God. John 14:6

Here are my notes from this mornings sermon. I did my best to not just focus in on homosexuality, but any sin that God is displeased with in our lives. Please give me your thoughts and maybe we can get a dialog going here.

“Don’t show favoritism” James 2:1-4

· My concern this morning is more about how the Christian church treats those who struggle publically with sin, any sin.
· Our series this summer is “Hot topics” and the topic of homosexuality is certainly one of the hottest...“Jesus, save me from your followers”

Text: James 2:1-4
· This text from James applies to attitudes of favoritism this church was showing towards those who were rich vs. those who were poor.
· However, the principle applies to our topic this morning also…
· The Bible is very clear on its stance toward homosexuality. In a few minutes we’ll look at some of the key passages that show that heterosexual relationships are God’s best for us.

v. 1 Don’t show favoritism.
· Why do we tend to show favoritism? Because we like to be around people who are like us. Most of us don’t want to get stretched into an uncomfortable place.
· Often when someone comes into our lives, and especially our churches who is in the throes of a sinful life, we just don’t know what to do.
· What is if they make a scene? What if they don’t change fast enough?
· Often we like to pounce on a single issue or sin in the Christian life and make that our cause…

A minister was completing a temperance sermon. With great emphasis he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." With even greater emphasis he said, "And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he said, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." Sermon complete, he sat down. The song leader stood very cautiously and announced with a smile, nearly laughing, "For our closing song, let us sing Hymn #365, "Shall We Gather at the River."

v. 2 How do we show favoritism?
· By giving preferential treatment to those who “look or act normal.”
· When someone comes into our churches who looks a bit different, the judgment radar goes off.
· The same thing was happening to the churches that James is writing this letter to.
· “Oh, you are rich, good looking and don’t smell too bad, please, come sit right up front here (so we look good as a church).
· We can do the same thing today if we’re not careful, “Oh, you seem put together with no major sin struggles, welcome to our church!”
· But when someone walks in who looks “weird” (to you) or has an obvious sin struggle, we’re not sure how to greet them and what to do with them.
· We need to let anyone come right in, sit where ever they want and feel welcome.
· At the same time, we need to keep preaching the whole Bible, the truth of God’s word and let the Holy Spirit continue to convict each one of us in the areas of sin that we struggle with.
· Some of us wear our sins on our sleeves and some of us wear our sins on our hearts.
· God is just as grieved over the “obvious” sins that everyone sees and can easily name, as he is the “secret” sins that no one knows about.
· The key is not to get too self righteous and start thinking, “At least I don’t struggle with that sin.”
· James tell us that showing favoritism is sin, v. 4 “judges with evil thoughts” and . v. 9…
· Showing favoritism and not loving those who struggle with sin shows an immaturity in your Christian life and a lack of compassion for your fellow man.

Let’s take a look at some specific verses that help to clarify the Biblical stance on homosexuality.
· Lev. 18:22, 20:13 Those are pretty simple and straight-forward.
· Romans 1:24-27

· Galatians 5:19-21 We’re all on this list somewhere…helps us not to judge others so much.
How do we turn away from our sinful nature?
· Galatians 5:22-25
Pursue the fruits of the spirit
Crucify the sinful nature
Live by the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit.

· Romans 13:12b-14.
(A call to turn away and do what is right in God’s eyes.)
Put aside the deeds of darkness
Put on the armor of light
Behave decently
Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ
Don’t think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
We need to dress for battle!

If we are going to avoid the trap of an addictive sinful life or habit, then it’s going to take some definite action steps on our part.
· Keeping clear of sin does not come naturally to any of us.
· If we don’t take steps like those described in Galatians and Romans, then we will be that person who is judged when we walk into church.
· People will be tempted to show favoritism and “not know how to deal with you.”


Conclusion: 1 Cor. 6:9-11
· Again, a list we all land on somewhere…today’s sermon really is for all of us!
· But the key words are: “And that is what some of you were.
· Through God’s grace, love, mercy and forgiveness, we can be washed, sanctified, justified (made right) in the name of Jesus.
· That’s called not being a victim of a sinful life, not trapped in a behavior you think you can’t get out of.
· That’s called victory in the Christian life.