THE EARLY CHURCH AT EPHESUS

A FAITHFUL COUPLE - AQUILA AND PRISCILLA

Read Acts 18

     There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Acts 18:2 NIV

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     Leaving the city of Athens, Paul traveled to Corinth where he sought work. He met Aquila and Priscilla, Jewish believers who had recently been banished from Rome. As natives of Pontus, Aquila and Priscilla may have heard the gospel on the Day of Pentecost and fled to Rome during the dispersion of the church from Jerusalem.

     Now by God's sovereign design, He used them in the evangelistic ministry of Paul, traveling with him to Ephesus, where they stayed and worked with the Ephesian church. Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. When Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos' dynamic preaching, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. (18:26)

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     This faithful, mature couple set an example of patient endurance, hard work and fruitful ministry. Lord, I pray that our home will always be a welcoming place where other believers are encouraged and built up in the Word.

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     When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. Acts 18:27 NIV

THE EARLY CHURCH - Preaching in Athens

THE UNKNOWN GOD

Read Acts 17:22–34

     "Men 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.   Acts 17:22b–23a NIV

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     After fleeing to Athens, Paul found himself in a very different setting. He went to the marketplace daily, preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection to all who would listen. This was easily done since all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas. (17:21) 
     A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers disputed with him about Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Paul began his argument by referring to their monument to "An Unknown God." 
     "Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth…(17:23b-24a) From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him…”(17:26-27)

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     Paul was trained in the Jewish law, but the Holy Spirit enabled him to present the gospel to secular philosophers. Lord, I need this kind of discernment to be ready to give an answer to people I meet out in the marketplace of ideas.

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"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent."  Acts 17:30 NIV

THE EARLY CHURCH - The Noble Bereans

THESSALONICA AND BEREA

Read Acts 17:1–15

     Paul reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ."  Acts 17:2-3 NKJV

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     For three Sabbaths Paul taught in the synagogue at Thessalonica before opposition began. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks, both men and women. These would become the founders of the Thessalonian church. But the Jewish leaders were jealous and hired some evil men to round up a mob and cause a riot. When word of this arrived, the believers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.

     Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. (Acts 17:11-12 NIV)

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     Lord, help us to be like the Bereans, getting to know Your Word and teaching it accurately to our children, so that they can recognize the difference between truth and error and find Your perfect will for their lives

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     When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.   Acts 17:13-14 NIV