Sermon Title: Church in the Mind of God – A Provoked People

Key Scripture(s):

Nehemiah 1:1-4

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

Acts 17:16

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

Description:

This session explores what it means to be a Church that truly reflects God’s heart - a Church provoked not by offence or fear, but by love, truth, and a longing for God's glory in a world full of idols.

We’re reminded that real vision doesn’t begin with strategy - it begins with a burden. Like Nehemiah, who wept over Jerusalem, and Paul, who was “greatly distressed” by the idol-filled streets of Athens, God calls His people to be stirred by what they see - to move from complacency to conviction, from comfort to action.

The word used in Acts 17:16 to describe Paul’s response to the idol-filled city of Athens is paroxyno - from which we get paroxysm: an uncontrollable surge of emotion. Paul was overwhelmed - not by irritation, but by a burning love for God’s glory and compassion for the lost. Like Nehemiah who wept over Jerusalem’s ruins, Paul’s distress was not passive - it propelled him to preach, reason, and reveal the unknown God to a spiritually blind city.

We see in Paul’s response a pattern for our own:

• He saw the spiritual state of the city with clarity.

• He felt a holy grief and indignation for God’s glory and the lost.

• He acted, reasoning with people in the synagogue, the marketplace, and the public square.

• He spoke, not with condemnation but with connection - pointing people to Jesus, the unknown God they were unknowingly searching for.

This message challenges us to open our spiritual eyes - to look past surface beauty and see the idols choking our culture. To be provoked in spirit, not passively accepting the brokenness around us. And to defend and share the gospel boldly, because Jesus is still the answer to a world bowing to false saviours.

If we are to be the Church in the mind of God, we must be a provoked people - we must let the Spirit disturb our comfort, open our eyes, and ignite us with bold love for our cities and nations.