Our first day in Turkey

It was our first day in Turkey, formerly known as Asia Minor, and it was hot and sunny. In the morning we visited Priene, which is a small city with a spectacular view of the Meander valley. This valley used to be harbor back in the days when Priene was a thriving city, but the harbor and river valleys eventually filled in with silt, causing the decline of the city. Alexander the Great wintered in the city in 334 BC, Rome sacked the city in 129 BC, and Caesar Augustus restored it in 27 BC.

The archeology in Priene is outstanding. The site includes a theater, a temple to Athena, a bouleuterion (city council), an agora or marketplace, a synagogue, and many houses.

Pastor Rod’s goal for Priene was to get us to feel for what life would have been like for first century Christians living in the Roman Empire. To enter the bouleuterion or city council, it was required that incense be offered to the god Athena and later to the Roman emperor. To sell and later to buy in the marketplace, it was required that incense be offered to the god of the agora and later to the Roman emperor. The meat sold in the marketplace was devoted to the god Athena which presented a problem for Christians. Fresh water flowing from a spring at the base of Athena’s temple was thought to be living water from Athena which also was problematic for Christians.

We spent time discussing Jeremiah 29 where God tells the Israelites to build houses and settle down among the Babylonians for 70 years when they were taken into captivity during Jeremiah’s day. God told them to seek peace and prosperity in the city of Babylon. We also discussed Romans 12:2 which says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world any longer, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” The first century Christians needed to walk in the tension of truth and love. We need to do exactly the same thing.
We also discussed the early house churches that were evident in Priene. Instead of massive temples like the Greeks and Romans built, God built his church through his people. Isaiah 51 says that God’s people are all rocks cut from God’s quarry. I Peter 2:5 says that his people are like living stones being built into a spiritual house of which Christ is the cornerstone.

We have many takeaways from the house churches in Asia Minor.These early Christians changed the entire Roman Empire in just 400 years. The takeaways include:

-We are all equal. Galatians 3:28 says there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. James 2 also speaks about not showing favoritism.

- We need to have genuine love for others. Serve people with humility and respect.

-Christ followers give up themselves for others. This was so different from Hellenism, which is all about yourself and self gratification.

-We need to have the courage and backbone to stick to what Christ taught us in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7, regardless of persecution.

We concluded our time at Priene with a difficult climb up the rocky mountain which led to the acropolis. We all experienced what great teamwork, encouragement, and helping others could do for a small community trying to achieve something together. It was a blast, except for a few scrapes.

We also visited Miletus where Paul met with the Ephesian elders on his way to Jerusalem after his 3rd missionary journey. These events are described in Acts 20. We noted how important it is to finish well as Paul described in Acts 20:28 which says “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus Christ has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace”.

Overall we had a phenomenal day of growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and experiencing a wonderful time of community.

-Brian