Pastor Jordan Boyce is continuing our Acts of the Apostles series with The Unknown God, preaching from Acts 17:22–34. Paul walked into a city searching for God without truly knowing Him and declared that the God they were looking for was closer than they thought. Wherever you’re watching from, join us as we look to Jesus, the One who makes the unknown God known. Paul stood in the heart of Athens surrounded by altars, idols, philosophy and religion, yet the people still did not know the God they were searching for. Pointing to their altar “To the unknown god,” Paul proclaimed that the God they were reaching for was not far from them. God uses the world around us to point us toward Jesus, and through Jesus, He reveals Himself. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. If you want to know what God is like, look to Christ. And the ultimate assurance of who Jesus is comes through the resurrection. Christianity ultimately confronts each of us with the same question Jesus asked Martha: “Do you believe this?” Key Highlights: • The Athenians knew gods, religion, philosophy and worship, but they did not know Jesus. • Creation points to the Creator, art points to the Artist and the shadow points to the One casting it. • God meets people in ways they can recognize. Our passions, relationships, creation, joys, struggles and questions can all point us toward Him. • Paul declares that God “is actually not far from each one of us.” Like feeling your way through an unfamiliar room toward the door, God is closer than we may realize. • The goal is not simply to know about God, but to know Him and be known by Him. • Jesus is the Man who makes the unknown God known. He is “the image of the invisible God.” • If you want to know the personality of God, look at the person of Jesus: the Father who runs toward the prodigal, the One who touches the leper, lifts the paralyzed and opens the eyes of the blind. • Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” • Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd and declared, “Behold the Man!” The question for us is: Have you beheld Him? • When you are stung by sin, bitten by betrayal or caught in the stranglehold of shame, look to Jesus. • Paul points Athens beyond philosophy and religion to the resurrection. God has given assurance of who Jesus is by raising Him from the dead. • Christianity ultimately comes down to more than believing Jesus was a good man, moral teacher or prophet. Do you believe He is God? • Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and then asked her, “Do you believe this?” That same question remains for us today. • Jesus died, was buried and rose again. The resurrection changes every decision that follows. • If the tomb is not empty, we are fools. But if it is empty, we are free indeed.Scripture References: Acts 17:22–34, Colossians 1:15, John 14:9, John 19:5, Zechariah 12:10, Hebrews 12:2, John 11:21–27, Psalm 34:8