Threatened Economic Culture

God's Exceptional Choice  We are God's Artwork Christ is Wisdom Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)  Acts 19:32-20:1 The Voice 32 Enraged voices are shouting on top of each other, some saying one thing, some saying something else. The crowd is completely out of control. Most of the people don't even know what caused the commotion in the first place. 33 Some of the Jewish people push a man named Alexander to the front of the crowd, hoping he can calm the disturbance. He raises his hands to silence the crowd and gets a few sentences out; 34 but then the crowd realizes he's a Jew, and once again they start chanting. Crowd: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! For two solid hours, they keep the chant going. 35 Finally the town clerk manages to calm the crowd. Town Clerk: My fellow citizens of Ephesus, everyone in the world knows that our great city is the caretaker of the temple of Artemis! Everyone knows that we are the home of the great statue that fell from heaven! 36 Our status as the economic center of the idolmaking industry is not in danger, so please, calm down. Don't do anything rash. 37 The men whom you have seized aren't temple robbers, nor have they blasphemed our great goddess. 38 If Demetrius and the artisans who share his important trade have a legal complaint, don't bring it here to the theater; take it to the courts—they're open today. 39 If you need to charge someone with a crime or launch an inquiry, take the matter to the regional judges. 40 We need to do this according to regulations, or we'll all be charged with rioting. This kind of behavior can't be justified. 41 So he succeeds in dispersing the crowd. 20 As soon as the uproar ended, Paul gathered the disciples together, encouraged them once more, said farewell, and left on foot. He decided to pass through Macedonia, For Reflection "The message of Jesus not only has the power to annihilate economic supremacy but also turns the world upside down in the process. In the kingdom of God, a worker is always paid a wage worthy of his work: anyone who works has enough to eat, and no one is left out of the profitable bounty of God. No longer do businesses profit from dishonesty, manipulation, or selfishness."* *Embedded commentary in The Voice. Pray Pray for those who Jesus' Gospel threatens. Pray for the teachers of the Word. Finally, pray for the now and anticipated Kingdom of God. Forward to a friend Sign up for our mailing list!