This page gives you ready-to-use Bible study questions for Acts 17, with leader’s notes for each answer. It works for a small group, a Sunday school class, or personal study. Acts 17 follows Paul through Thessalonica, Berea and Athens, where the gospel meets resistance, open minds and an unknown altar. The questions move from what the text says, to what it means, to how you might live it.
Acts 17 at a Glance
Paul and Silas move through Thessalonica, where Paul reasons from the Scriptures in the synagogue and some believers are won over while others stir up a crowd against them. Under cover of night they are sent to Berea, where the people examine the Scriptures daily to test what Paul says. When opposition follows them from Thessalonica, Paul travels on to Athens alone while his companions stay behind.
In Athens Paul is provoked by the idols of the city and speaks at the Areopagus, using an altar inscription to introduce the God who made the world and does not live in temples. The chapter ends with a call to repentance, a day of judgment through a raised man, and a small group of believers, including a named woman, who come to faith.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an interpretation. Ask the group to point to the text, quote a phrase, and name what happens, without explaining yet. Keep the pace slow so people notice details they might otherwise skip.
Acts 17:2-3
2 Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
(WEB)
Reading Paul’s method aloud shows how he reasoned from the Scriptures and explained the suffering and resurrection of Christ. Use it early to set the tone for how the gospel is presented.
Acts 17:11
Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
(WEB)
This verse describes the Bereans’ readiness and daily examination of the Scriptures. Reading it together helps the group see a model of eager, careful listening.
Acts 17:24-25
24 The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, 25 neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things.
(WEB)
These verses present God as Creator who gives life and does not need human service. Reading them slowly grounds the rest of Paul’s speech in the character of God.
Acts 17:26-27
26 He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
(WEB)
Here Paul speaks of God’s purpose in nations and his nearness to each person. Reading this aloud reminds the group that God’s desire is to be found.
Acts 17:30-31
30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
(WEB)
This passage calls for repentance and names the coming judgment and the resurrection as its assurance. Ending the reading with it gives the group a clear and sober focus for response.
Memory Verse for Acts 17
Acts 17:28
‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’
(WEB)
This verse says that in God we live, move and have our being, which gives a steady truth to hold onto. Memorizing it helps you recall that your life is sustained by God in every ordinary moment.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you made the world and give life and breath to all things. We confess that we often look for you in the wrong places, and we ask you to open our eyes as you opened the hearts of the Bereans and the Athenians who believed. Give us a readiness to hear your word, a habit of testing what we learn against the Scriptures, and courage to speak about Jesus with clarity and kindness. Draw near to each person in this room, since you are not far from any one of us. Teach us to repent, to trust the risen Christ, and to live as people who belong to you. Amen.
