Connection Point Church - September 5, 2010
Practical Atheist
A Practical Atheist is someone who says they believe in God, but lives as though He doesn't exist.
Jeremiah 44:16-18
Jeremiah 44:16-18 NIV84
“We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord! We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”
Acts 17:16-23
Acts 17:16-23 NIV84
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God‑fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: "To an Unknown God". Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
Small Group Questions
We tend to think that God exists for us when we don't fear Him. Here are some small group questions that will focus on helping us understand what it means to fear God. If you would like more information about small groups, please let us know on your connection card.
Small Group Question 1
• Describe one of your biggest fears in life. How has that fear shaped your life and your actions? • In what ways, can fear sometimes be a good thing in our lives?
Small Group Question 2
• A practical atheist is someone who believes in God but lives as if He does not exist. In what area of your life are you a practical atheist? Give specific examples.
1 Timothy 3:1-5
1 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV84
Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self‑controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)
Small Group Question 3
• Do you see any of the qualities mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 in your own daily life?
Psalm 36:1-2
Psalm 36:1-2 NIV84
An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.
Small Group Question 4
• The greatest evidence of the fear of God is obedience to God. What are some specific areas in your life where you struggle with obedience to God’s direction? How would a fear and awe of God make it easier to follow Him in these areas?
Small Group Opening Question
During your childhood or teenage years, describe the most disobedient thing you ever did? How did your parents react?
Prayer Request
We would love to pray for you. Please submit your requests to us and we will faithfully pray for you!