A Greater Address (Acts 17)

“The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” is one of the famous Aesop’s Fables. The fable tells of a town mouse that goes to visit his cousin mouse that lives in the country. There in the country, the country mouse offers the city mouse a meal of simple food. The town mouse mocks the modest meal.  He invites the country mouse to visit him in the city. There in the city, he promises, they will experience far more exciting food and lifestyle.  So, the country mouse joins the town mouse for a tour of the city. But their feast in the city comes to a halt when dogs arrive and force the rodent to flee. The country mouse decides to return home where life is safe and simple.

The ancient fable reflects attitudes towards country and city which still exist today. The city is still often seen as a place of excitement and extravagance, yet danger. The country is still sometimes still seen as unsophisticated and unexperienced, yet safe.

Clearly both matter to God. For example, the story of Scripture begins in the country (Gen. 1-the Garden of Eden).  It ends in the city (Rev. 22-the New Jerusalem). God’s story takes place in both country and city.

But, sometimes, as Aesop’s fable suggests, the city is viewed as the darker of the two. Sometimes even the church views the city in this way. I want to briefly survey some of what the Bible says about the city. Then I want to briefly look at the importance of cities today. And then I want to spend some time in conversation with two leaders in our city.[1]

 

Let’s first look at the city through the lens of the Old Testament:

 

The City Matters to God-Old Testament
The City of Babel (Gen. 11)	Place of pride/self-sufficiency
The Cities of Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen. 18)	Places of exploitation & injustice
The City of Jerusalem	Antithesis to the City of Babel/ Babylon
The Cities of Nineveh & Babylon	Object of God’s concern/ ministry

 

1. One of the most prominent cities in the Old Testament is the city of Babel (Gen. 11).  People living on a great plain gather together and decide to build this city. Within that city they build a tower that reaches to heaven. This new city of Babel and its skyscraper was built as a symbol of the people’s independence from God. Thus, the Old Testament acknowledges that the city can be a place of pride and separation from God.
2. We also see this darker side of city in the story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18). There is so much injustice in these two cities that God destroys them.
3. But the Old Testament also reveals the positive side to city.  For example, the city of Jerusalem is established as an opposite to the city of Babel. Babel was established “to make a name” for its citizens (Gen. 11:4). Jerusalem is established for the name of God (1 Kings 14:21). Babel had its high point or skyscraper—the tower. Jerusalem had its high point—the temple. But unlike the tower in Babel built for the people’s prominence, Jerusalem’s high point is built for God’s prominence.
4. Later the prophet Jonah is sent to preach to a pagan city—Nineveh. Jonah reluctantly obeys, and the city is spared. In his speech to a sulking Jonah (Jonah 4:10-11) God makes a case for the importance of that pagan city based on the sheer number of people living there. In essence God says, “How can you look at so many lost people and not find compassion in your heart?” The pagan city, even with its faults, becomes a place of God’s concern and ministry.
5. We see the same thing with the pagan city of Babylon. God’s people are dragged away into exile to Babylon.  God tells them to settle down and engage in the life of their new city (Jer. 29:6). They are to serve and pray for the city of Babylon (Jer. 29:7). Once again, the city, with all its faults, becomes the object of God’s concern and ministry.

 

Jesus continues a focus on the city. We see this especially in the gospel of Luke:

 

The City Matters to God-Jesus’ Ministry

Luke begins (1:5-25)/ ends (24:46-52) in the city.

The central section of Luke (9:51-19:27) focuses on Jesus’ journey to the city of Jerusalem.

Only Luke notes that Jesus pauses to weep for the city of Jerusalem (19:41).

Luke mentions the city of Jerusalem twice as often as other Gospels.

 

1. Luke begins and ends in the city. He starts with the announcement of the birth of John in the city of Jerusalem (1:5-25). He ends with the disciples returning to the city of Jerusalem (24:46-52).
2. The central section of Luke (9:51-19:27) focuses on Jesus’ journey to the city of Jerusalem.
3. In addition, Luke gives special attention to the city by being the only Gospel to note that Jesus pauses to weep for the city (19:41). He alone portrays Jesus as one who loves the city so deeply that he weeps for it.
4. In summary, Luke refers to the city of Jerusalem twice as often as any other Gospel. Thus everything about Luke’s story is focused on the city.

 

Finally, we see a similar emphasis as we look at the ministry of Paul:

 

The City Matter to God-Paul’s Ministry
The City of Antioch (Acts 11,13)	Communication center
The City of Athens (Act 17)	Intellectual center
The City of Corinth (Acts 18)	Commercial center
The City of Ephesus (Acts 19)	Religious center
The City of Rome (Acts 28)	Military/political center

 

1. Paul’s early hub of ministry was the city of Antioch (Acts 11, 13). Antioch was the center of political, military and commercial communication between Rome and the Persian frontier and between Palestine and Asia Minor. It was one of the three or four of the most important cities of the entire empire.
2. In Acts 17, Paul travels to Athens, the intellectual center of the Greco-Roman world.
3. In Acts 18, he goes to Corinth, one of the commercial centers of the Roman Empire.
4. In Acts 19, he travels to Ephesus, one of the religious centers of the ancient world.
5. And by the end of Acts, Paul has made it to Rome, the military and political center of the empire. Paul’s ministry was literally centered on cities.

 

And cities continue to be critically important for churches today. Three hundred years ago only about 3% of the population lived in cities. Today more than 80% of the population lives in cities. And cities offer unique opportunities for churches. In his book Center Church Timothy Keller lists four groups the church can reach best by focusing on cities:

 

The Cities Matter to the Church
1)    Young Adults	A significant percentage of Millenials live in/ desire to live in cities.
2)    Cultural Elites	Many of those who influence institutions and systems live in cities.
3)    Unreached People Groups	Unreached peoples (and their homelands) can be reached in cities.
4)    The Poor	The majority of the poor in the world live in cities.

 

1. Young Adults. Studies show that a large percentage of young adults—known as Millenials—either live in cities or desire to live in cities. If the church wants to reach young adults, it’s going to find them in the city.
2. Cultural elites. These are people who have a large influence on business, publishing, media, the academy and the arts. They tend to spend their time in city centers. And by reaching these cultural influencers, you end up influencing large groups of people who follow them.
3. Unreached people groups. Many of the unreached people groups in the world are represented in the great cities of the world. Many come to cities in the United States and become much more open to the gospel than they would have been in their home countries because they are uprooted from their traditional settings and kinship networks. In a city, you can reach dozens of different national and ethnic groups. From there, the gospel spreads back into their homelands as they return to them.
4. The poor. The great majority of the world’s poor live in cities. According to UNICEF, one in three people living in cities today live in slums. If we want to serve the poor, we must serve in cities.

 

That’s why Highland is committed to ministry in cities. We serve in cities around the world and around the country, including Atlanta, Kiev, Ukraine and Bacolod, Philippines. We recently launched a new Chinese Worship service which this morning is filled with men and women from cities all across Asia. And here in this group this morning many different cities are represented—Collierville, Germantown, Millington, Bartlett, and others.

But one of the important cities we serve is the city of Memphis.  Two of the primary ways in which Highland expresses God’s concern for the city of Memphis come through our partnerships with HopeWorks and Agape. We’re blessed to have the Executive Directors of both organizations with us today. Ron Wade leads HopeWorks and is an elder at Highland. David Jordan leads Agape and is an elder at White Station. Please welcome them.

Ron and David:

1) give us an overview of your ministry in the city of Memphis;

2) why do you, personally, have a heart for the city; and

3) share the story of someone specific in the city who has been served/blessed/ transformed by Agape/HopeWorks.

Today is your opportunity to support these two important works in the city of Memphis, and the important work we’re doing in all the cities all around the world. Today is our Outreach Contribution. Twice a year—late Fall and late Spring—we take up a collection to fund many of our outreach ministries. All of those ministries are listed in the Go Brochure which we passed out in services last Sunday. You can pick up a copy at the Welcome Center today. The money you give today goes directly to HopeWorks, Agape, and dozens of other outreach ministries. Our goal is $200,000. That’s 5-6 times what we give on a normal Sunday. But I think you’ll agree with me, that the sacrifice is worth it. God has a heart for the city. Highland does as well. Let’s give generously today so that these ministries can continue to be used by God in changing and blessing lives.

I’m going to pray and then we’ll pass the collection trays/baskets. They will only be passed around one time. This is your time to give to the Outreach Contribution.

 

Prayer

 

Contribution