Preaching in the Capital
Acts 17:1-9 (pew Bible p852)
Preaching in the Capital
2nd Journey
For Discipleship and Evangelism
Travelled to Macedonia by God’s leading
Thessalonica—the capital
Salonika in today’s world
Preaching in the Capital
Paul’s style
Go first to those who believed in God—Jews
Explain his vision
Gain support/prayer
Then to the Gentiles
Evangelism—making disciples
Four words we will look at today
Reasoned
Explained
Proved
Proclaimed
Preaching in the Capital
Acts 17:2-3 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the
synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row
he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He
explained the prophecies and proved that the
Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said,
“This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”
We will use this as a model of evangelism
Preaching in the Capital
A model of evangelism
Reasoned
Paul took time to dialogue
Questions and answers
Icebreakers to build respect, trust
No doubt he shared God’s vision
He didn’t come in as a “know-it-all”
We do well to take time to build relationships
before we “preach”
Preaching in the Capital
A model of evangelism
Explained—The Prophecies
Paul was well versed in Scripture
Paul opened these Scriptures to them
Many of the prevalent cults are well versed in
Scripture
Satan is well versed in Scripture
The Word of God is our only armour of offence
We struggle to be as well versed as our competition
How will we ever effectively witness if we cannot
explain the Biblical reason for our faith?
Preaching in the Capital
A model of evangelism
Proved—alleged
It means: “to lay down alongside or to prove
by presenting evidence”
Paul used the OT to “prove” that Jesus is the
Messiah. Could we?
He used the Bible to “prove” that the Messiah
they were looking for had to suffer and die
Could we use the NT to “prove” Jesus is the
Messiah?
Preaching in the Capital
A model of evangelism
Paul reasoned—proved his credentials
Explained—laid out his thesis
Proved—supported his thesis
Then he Proclaimed—his conclusion
Based on the evidence presented, I proclaim to
you that “This Jesus I’m telling you about is
the Messiah” that you have been looking for.
Preaching in the Capital
After 3 weeks in the synagogue they moved
to the street…
Preaching in the Capital
After 3 weeks in the synagogue they moved
to the street…Why?
Romans 11:13-14 “I am saying all this especially for
you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle
to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to
make the people of Israel jealous of what you
Gentiles have, so I might save some of them.”
 To provoke them to search the scriptures and
find Jesus
 The result was that the Jews rose up against
them—just as they did Jesus and the prophets
Preaching in the Capital
The Street Ministry—What did Paul teach?
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 “…how you turned away from
idols to serve the living and true God. And they
speak of how you are looking forward to the coming
of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised
from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us
from the terrors of the coming judgment.”
 Turn from idols to God—repentance
 Look forward to Christ’s return
 Resurrection
 Salvation through the work of Jesus
 Coming judgement
Preaching in the Capital
What did Paul teach?
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 “And may the Lord make your
love for one another and for all people grow and
overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May he,
as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and
holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord
Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.”
 Love for each other and all people
 Love that proves a strong, blameless, holy heart
How’s our love—How’s our heart?
Preaching in the Capital
What did Paul teach?
1 Thessalonians 4:1“…we urge you in the name of the Lord
Jesus to live in a way that pleases God…”
1 Thessalonians 4:3-12 “God’s will is for you to be holy,
so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you
will control his own body and live in holiness and
honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not
know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a
Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife, for
the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly
warned you before.
Preaching in the Capital
God has called us to live holy lives, not impure
lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these
rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting
God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. But we don’t need to
write to you about the importance of loving each other, for
God himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed,
you already show your love for all the believers throughout
Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge
you to love them even more.
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own
business and working with your hands, just as we
instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians
will respect the way you live, and you will not need to
depend on others.”
Preaching in the Capital
1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
Jesus will return
His return will come unexpectedly
Those ready will go to live with Him forever
There will be no escape
Be on guard—alert—clear-headed
Preaching in the Capital
“let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by
the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet
the confidence of our salvation”—5:8
“For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ,
not to pour out his anger on us.”—9
“Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive
when he returns, we can live with him forever.”—10
“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as
you are already doing.”—10
Preaching in the Capital
This teaching turned the world upside down!
The Gentiles believed it!
The Religious rejected it!
What will you do?
Preaching in the Capital
Living Jesus, Living Hope
In our homes, church and community
Reasoning, explaining, proving and
proclaiming that Jesus is the risen Messiah
the Bible teaches about.
Living like we believe it!