Read:  Acts 17:16-34 and Isaiah 40:12-31

Open

Athens was famous in the first century as a center for intellectual and philosophical thought.  For what would your hometown growing up have been famous?

Dig

In the sermon, idolatry was defined as any time “we dethrone God and enthrone creation…. It is any time we attribute to the creature what only the Creator can do.”  Was this definition helpful?

In the sermon, we named some of the idols in our city.  What idols would you name?

If you were outlining Paul’s message in Acts 17:22-31 what would you say are his main points?  How does his message relate to our own struggles with idolatry?

In Acts 17 and in Isaiah 40 idolatry is confronted by the greatness of the Lord.  Looking at the idols you named above, how would you compare their puny, debilitating, handicapped nature to the greatness of God?  What language and metaphors can you come up with to contrast the living God with these idols?

Reflect

Are you “greatly distressed” (Acts 17:16) by the idols all around us?  Why or why not?  What can we do about it?