The mission of our church is meeting people where they are and helping them take their next step towards a Christ-centered life.
In Acts 17 we see Paul doing exactly this in his trips to Thessalonica (verses 1-9), Beroea (verses 10-15), and Athens (verses 16-34).
Paul’s evangelism strategy is to go first to the synagogue and interact with the Jewish communities of the town.
In Thessalonica he has modest success but also runs into fierce opposition.
However, the people of Beroea are much more receptive to his message about Jesus. These people had a deep love and respect for the Scriptures, (our Old Testament) and so Paul met them where they are and showed them through the Scriptures how God had promised to redeem the world through a crucified and resurrected messiah.
And because Paul met them where they are “they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see if these things were so.”
The Beroean church shows us the importance of daily scripture reading and study for our growth as disciples of Jesus.
As we read and reflect upon Scripture, especially the life and teachings of Jesus, we draw near to God and God’s Word begins dwelling within us and guiding us in our daily lives.
As we open our minds and hearts to Scripture, we discover our place in God’s story, God’s activity in our everyday lives, and God’s vision and dream for our future.
