Paul walks into Athens, a city stuffed with idols and clever talkers, and instead of being impressed he is grieved. Rather than condemn the crowd, he starts with an altar they had built to an unknown god and tells them he has come to make that god known, even quoting their own poets on the way to the resurrection. Together with the Bereans, who checked everything Paul said against Scripture, these scenes model how to speak the gospel into a skeptical culture without watering it down. This is a chapter for Christians who feel surrounded by unbelief and are unsure how to begin.

The Rev. Dr. Matthew Tassey, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Shawnee, OK, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 17:1-34.

To learn more about Redeemer Lutheran, visit redeemershawnee.org.

The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.