#soap # Acts 17 ## Title: Bring Your Brain With You ## Scripture: (Acts 17:11-12) “These Jews were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the message, examining the scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.” (NET) ## Observation: When I was younger, I went through a crisis of faith. I loved Jesus, but I had questions. The crisis came when I was told that I didn’t need to have questions. I just needed to have more faith. This would have probably worked for many people, but my brain is not wired that way. The result was a difficult season of thinking something was wrong because of the questions that would not go away. This passage was a gift. The people of Berea were like me. They were open-minded but not so much that their brains fell out. They wanted to study what was being presented to find the truth. Discovering this has helped me tremendously. Christianity is a “logical” belief system. Jesus says He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We can bring our brains into the conversation and discover the truth. The Lord is not intimidated or angered by questions. We are welcomed to bring all our doubts, questions, fears, and everything else into the discussion and find the truth that will set us free. ## Application: Bring your questions and find the truth through logically and systematically studying the Scriptures. The truth will set you free. ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for inviting us to examine our faith.