MESSAGE NOTES, 6/15/25

Following Jesus isn’t just about Sunday mornings or spiritual moments—it’s about surrendering your whole life to Him.

This series explores how every area of our ordinary lives—resources, relationships, health, and careers—is meant to be lived fully with and for God’s glory.

This week, we focus on how important it is to steward our God-given identity.

 

CONNECT 

  1. Reflect on your past week. What’s something ordinary in your daily life (like drinking coffee, walking the dog, or doing dishes) that surprisingly connects you to God—or could, if you paid more attention?

REFLECT

  1. Ponder this main point from this Sunday’s message: The most important thing you can steward in life is your God-given identity. Otherwise, you won’t have the right perspective of yourself or what God has entrusted to you (see THE WHOLE LIFE image below). What do the words “steward” and “entrusted” mean to you?  How have you seen this play out in your life or in the lives of those around you? 
  2. Read Acts 17:16-28. What do you notice about Paul’s approach with those he speaks with in Athens? What is the main point he is trying to help them understand? What is beautiful, inspiring, hopeful, and or breathtaking about verse 17:28″ – For in Him we live and move and have our being.
  3. Read the Background on the Gods/Idols in Athens below. How do you see this relating to our struggles with idols as followers of Christ in our culture today? Why do you think this is still so relevant today?
  4. How does it impact you to know that “Your God-given identity is fully loved, fatally flawed, forever forgiven, and filled with gifting and purpose”? What do these words mean to you? What would you add or delete from this description? Which part of that truth is hardest for you to believe?
  5. Of the “false identities” or idols mentioned (health, work, relationships, resources, etc.), which one are you most tempted to build your identity on? Why? How have you had victory?

TAKE ACTION

  • Confess the false narratives about your identity and exchange them with God’s Truth
  • Invite God into what might be happening THIS or THAT TIME TOMORROW.
  • Memorize Colossians 3:17 and or Acts 17:28

 

BACKGROUND ON THE GODS/IDOLS OF ATHENS 

In Acts 17, Paul addresses the people of Athens—a city steeped in idol worship—and he references specific gods and temples that reflect the very identity traps we face today. Here’s how their idols map to themes like religion, health, resources, work, and relationships:

1. Religion – The Altar to the “Unknown God” (Acts 17:23)

  • Meaning: This altar was likely a safety net, built out of fear that they might have forgotten to worship a god and wanted to cover all their spiritual bases.
  • Modern Parallel: When we make religious activity or moral performance our identity, rather than our relationship with God, we fall into legalism or superstition. We become spiritual but disconnected from the living God.

2. Health – Worship of Asclepius

  • Though not directly named in Acts 17, Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, had temples throughout the Greek world.
  • Meaning: Health and healing were seen as divine gifts controlled by this deity.
  • Modern Parallel: When our identity is rooted in our physical health, youthfulness, or appearance, we crumble under sickness, aging, or limitations. We forget our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, not sources of ultimate value.

3. Resources – Worship of Hermes and Plutus

  • Hermes was the god of commerce and trade. Plutus (wealth) represented material abundance.
  • Meaning: Athenians admired prosperity and financial success as signs of favor.
  • Modern Parallel: When we attach our worth to wealth or possessions, we live in anxiety over losing them and feel pride when we gain them. Jesus warns in Luke 12:15: “Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

4. Career – Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy

  • The city itself was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom, craft, and strategic warfare.
  • Meaning: Athens idolized intellect, productivity, and achievement.
  • Modern Parallel: Our careers, accolades, and mental performance become idols when they define us. Like Paul, who counted his achievements as loss (Phil. 3:7–8), we must remember that identity comes from God, not our résumé.

5. Relationships – Worship of Aphrodite

  • Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty, and sexual attraction.
  • Meaning: Romantic love and physical beauty were seen as divine ideals.
  • Modern Parallel: When we define ourselves by who loves us, who affirms us, or how attractive we are, our identity becomes unstable. Like Leah in Genesis 29, we must move from needing love from others to being secure in God’s love.

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