Overview
The call to share the good news of God’s forgiveness and His gift of salvation is a personal call (Isaiah 6:1-9). Two thousand years ago we received the Great Commission to go into the entire world to preach the gospel to all peoples and to make disciples of the nations. This world is not some untouched corner of the Amazon jungle. This world is our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, our friends, our families.
Scripture
Ephesians 4:13, 14.
Discussion Video
Lesson 1
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
OVERVIEW
Have you ever been told you had to leave your home? Can you imagine it? What would it be like to be ordered from your home because of the church you go to or the God you worship? Well, that is exactly what happed to the Jews who were living in Rome during the reign of Claudius. This was a difficult period in history, but God doesn’t leave His people alone during any period. Today’s lesson is about God’s plan to turn bad situations into ones that bring glory to His kingdom.
OPENING ACTIVITY:
THROW IT!
Supplies: Beach Ball
1. With a marker divide a beach ball into sections.
2. Write questions on each section, such as:
- Where were you born?
- What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
- If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be?
- Who’s your superhero?
- Who is your favorite Bible character?
- What team did you want to win the Super Bowl in 2022?
- What is your most inspiring scripture passage?
- Do you prefer fish or dinosaurs?
- What is the worst thing you’ve ever tasted?
- What’s your greatest pet peeve?
- What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?
3. Have the students throw the beach ball to each other and have them answer the question closest to their left pinky finger.
TRANSITION
In Christian circles the term tent maker means that a person has a second career that they can use to make a living while spreading the Gospel. Have you ever wondered where that term came from? Paul was a tent maker, and he made a living doing it as he traveled the world preaching the Gospel. Have you ever wondered what talent God has given you that you could use to support yourself as you spread the Gospel?
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Read Acts 18:1-8.
1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 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 Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
QUESTIONS
- Why did Aquila and Priscilla move to Corinth?
- Who did Paul attempt to reason with in the synagogue?
- What caused Paul to devote his ministry to the Gentiles?
- How successful was Paul’s ministry?
- What does Paul indicate needs to happen before baptism?
Read Acts 18:9-11.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
QUESTIONS
- What message did God have for Paul?
- How would you feel if God gave you a message like He gave Paul?
- Why wouldn’t Gallio prosecute Paul?
- What important principles does this passage teach us about following God?
APPLICATION
Does God still communicate with His people like He did with Paul?
Read John 14:26.
26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
God promises He will speak to us through His Spirit and help us to remember all the things He has told us. It’s encouraging to know that God is still interested in speaking into our lives. Paul was a pioneer in sharing the Gospel to the Gentiles and many times he was put in situations that would make a less confident person unable to do what God is calling him to do.
QUESTIONS
- What about you? Are you willing to listen for God to speak into your life?
- Are you willing for Him to call you to do uncomfortable things?
FOLLOW UP
Read Mark 13:11.
11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
Read Acts 18:9-10.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”
QUESTIONS
Reflect on these two passages and see if God has a message for you in them.
What theme is God speaking about in this passage?
How do the principles in these texts relate to each other?
Lesson 2
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
LEADER’S NOTE
For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.
You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.
Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.
Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.
OVERVIEW
While the lesson for this week covers Acts 17:1-18:17, we’ll look closely at just chapter 17 because there’s so much in just this one chapter. If you and your Sabbath School class want to continue into chapter 18, go to AdventSource’s website and you can purchase and download a Relational Bible Study for the book of Acts, including chapter 18.
Acts 17 records three places Paul went on this part of his missionary journey. These included Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. Each has its own story. One common theme seems to be that everywhere he went to tell people about Jesus, Paul stirred people up. Sometimes his visit ended in riots! Paul typically started with Jews in their synagogues, telling them the Messiah the Jews looked for had already come. His name was Jesus. Then Paul would tell them the story of Jesus. Usually some people believed and some didn’t.
This wasn’t just a matter of preference. If you believe Jesus is the Messiah, it changes everything! If you’ve grown up in a Christian environment, it’s hard to appreciate how radically different this would be for a Jew. Nowadays many Christians just consider Jesus a good guy who said some good things and helped people. But Jesus was much more radical than that! Ask yourself, “If Jesus really is my Savior (I’m totally doomed without Him) and Lord (I’ll do whatever He asks me to do), how does that affect what I do each day?”
Those in Berea were fact-checkers before the internet and Google were around. They tested what Paul said by comparing it with Scripture. In addition to Jews coming to believe in Jesus, so did God-fearing Gentiles, including those prominent in the town. That’s a big change for a little town.
Next came Paul’s trip to Athens—the capital of intellectualism in Paul’s day, dating back to the glory years of the Greek empire. Mars Hill, just outside the city, was the hangout place for people to talk and debate and challenge any new idea against existing schools of thought. This was the “Harvard Square” of the day. Christians today refer to Paul’s experience at Mars Hill as the model to follow to interact with intellectuals. Others think Paul looked back on it with regret, wishing he would have used a different approach—see 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, written right after Paul’s experience at Mars Hill.
“I Have Something to Tell You”
Who can “push your buttons”? Whose buttons can you push?
Read Acts 17:1-34.
1 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”
8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
In Berea
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
In Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 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. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
1. Why did Paul go to the synagogues as his evangelism strategy?
- Because of his Jewish background, this was familiar to him.
- God told him to do so.
- He was primarily an apostle to the Jews.
- To tell them about Jesus—the Messiah the Jews anticipated.
- Paul knew this would start a riot.
- Paul knew this would convert Jews who attended the synagogue.
- This had been Paul’s most successful strategy, so why change?
- Synagogue rulers invited Paul to come preach.
- Other.
2. What was the accusation against Paul and Silas in Thessalonica?
- They were Jews.
- They weren’t Jews.
- The issue of circumcision.
- Claiming Jesus was God.
- Sabbath breaking.
- Failure to worship Caesar.
- Breaking Roman laws.
- Breaking Jewish laws.
- Other.
3. Why did the believers in Thessalonica send Paul to Berea?
- So their lives would calm down in Thessalonica.
- Their desire for Paul to share the good news in Berea.
- They wanted to hear what Silas and Timothy had to say.
- Local authorities advised them to send Paul away.
- They knew they’d get a letter or two from Paul later.
- Jason and the others had suffered enough.
- Paul offered to leave.
- They were tired of listening to Paul’s long sermons.
- Other.
4. To whom did Paul reach out in Athens?
- Those who attended the Jewish synagogue.
- People in the marketplace.
- The center square of the city.
- The young people in the area.
- The intellectuals on Mars Hill.
- City officials.
- Those we would consider “the least of these.”
- Other.
5. What is a good way to share your faith with intellectuals?
- Speak in intellectual ways.
- Just tell them about Jesus.
- Ask questions rather than pushing for one right answer.
- Intellectuals aren’t interested in faith.
- Intellectuals are all about “talk” and not about “walk.”
- Engage in scientific discussions or debates.
- Share your personal story.
- Other.
6. What do you think about the resurrection of Jesus?
- I hardly ever think about it.
- It’s vital! Without it, Christianity is a sham.
- It turned out to be Christ’s ultimate miracle.
- I grew up believing it, so I haven’t really questioned it.
- It’s unbelievable.
- It’s either a cornerstone or a stumbling block.
- I tend to take it for granted.
- Other.
7. Who/What are the idols in America today? Who/What are the idols in your house?
8. How successful was Paul’s presentation on Mars Hill? How successful are you at sharing Jesus with those who aren’t Christians?
SUMMARY
Each place Paul went, he told people about Jesus. But his tactics on how to share Jesus varied from place to place. He used his mind to try an approach that would meet people where they were, but he also remained sensitive to impressions from the Holy Spirit about what to do, and what not to do. As followers of Jesus, we desire to share Him with others, too. Consider the application ideas as you put this into practice in your life this week.
APPLICATION
Here are three application ideas for you to “live out” the Bible passage we studied for this week’s Youth Sabbath School. Try this with friends, family, and/or with strangers by talking to them about Jesus.
- Before doing so, ask yourself what you think is the best thing about Jesus, why Jesus is important to you, and what message you think Jesus wants you to share with others about Him.
- Then reflect on how you came to this current perspective—did this come from your family or church or maybe some experience you had early in life, or maybe something recent?
- How are your current ideas similar to five years ago, and how are they different?
- Imagine yourself five years from now. How old will you be, and where are you likely to be?
- How might your understanding at that time be similar, and how might it be different compared to right now? This might be experimental, but you can really grow through this experience as well.
- FRIEND(S)
- Have a conversation with either one friend or a group of friends. The number of people, and who those specific people are, can make a big difference in your conversation.
- Share what’s most important to you about Jesus, such as friendship, forgiveness, power, intimacy, purpose for your life, or the way your life has always been.
- Ask your friend(s) what Jesus means to them. Listen well.
- Do you find it easy or difficult to talk with your friend(s) about Jesus? Why or why not?
- To what extent do you influence your friends about Jesus? To what extend do your friends influence you about Jesus?
- If Jesus is God to you, how does that affect your friends and your relationship with them?
- How long until you run out of things to talk about with friends when it comes to Jesus?
- Does this seem fake or natural, fun or frustrating?
- FAMILY
Families usually have certain patterns of communication. You may choose to follow a typical verbal exchange, or mix it up like Paul did. The purpose isn’t to simply talk, but to talk about Jesus. You might want to set an appointment, or meet at a restaurant, or do an activity together, or just sit around the living room or dining room table to talk.
- Notice the dynamics when you talk to someone older in your family rather than someone younger.
- Realize that your current understanding and experience with Jesus has been influenced by your parents. As teens mature, sometimes they push back against what their parents passed on to them simply to forge their own way. Is that happening with you? Do you try to mirror your parents or do the opposite?
- If you have siblings, how does your relationship with them affect your conversations with them about Jesus? Bring a fresh look at Jesus into your family in conversations this week.
- Be prepared to change some yourself!
- STRANGERS
This can bring to mind the stereotype of a street preacher or protester who creates ire and jeering from those passing by.
You might want to do this with a partner for various reasons, understanding that the dynamics change as more people get involved.
Instead of that image, try a conversation with a stranger, in person. This could be at a park or other public space. You may take a stab at presenting Jesus and hope your approach is appealing, like what Paul attempted on Mars Hill.
Another option is to do more listening and then present those aspects of Jesus that seem to match the stranger you are just getting to know.