Acts 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. Holy curiosity is a gateway to truth. (1) Curiosity Meets Paul didn't wait for the Athenians to come to him. He went where they were. He listened. He observed. He engaged. Acts 17:22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.’ We assume we already know why people believe what they believe without ever asking them. You begin to see where the gospel intersects with their lives. (2) Curiosity Prompts Acts 17:24–28 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth… that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. What if the God you have been searching for is actually closer than you imagined? Curiosity is the engine of genuine self-reflection. Our assumptions give us a sense of control. Reflection paves the road to repentance. (3) Curiosity Leads to Acts 17:21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. Acts 17:30–31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. What will you do with Jesus? Acts 17:34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. Three responses. Mockery. Hesitation. Belief and action. (1) Be curious about your neighbors (2) Be curious about your own soul (3) Respond to the Risen Christ