The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Acts 15-16
Act 3: God’s New Covenant People
Scene 4: Christ’s Church: God’s People Advance the Kingdom
Background Information: Acts 15-16
Barnabus was said to be a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. When Saul (Paul) became a Christian and the other believers were afraid of him, Barnabus took the risk and vouched for him. The church sent out Barnabus and Paul to be the first missionaries. These two men were clearly close and spent a great deal of time together. The two took along Mark, the cousin of Barnabus, to help them during their arduous journey. Halfway through the trip, Mark abandoned them and went home. We are not told why, but it clearly bothered Paul. Later when Paul and Barnabus made plans for another missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to give Mark another chance, and Paul insisted that he not go with them. The disagreement was so intense that they each went their own way. The result was that their efforts were multiplied, as now two teams went out. This outcome was good, but what are we to make of these two leaders in the church having this kind of disagreement? How could two good and godly men, both being led by the Spirit, come to such drastically different conclusions? Was Paul being hard-headed and holding a grudge, when he should have forgiven Mark? Was Barnabus being unwise to trust Mark again, showing foolish favoritism to his cousin? Paul eventually came around on Mark and worked with him again (2 Timothy 4:11). We have no evidence that Paul and Barnabus failed to “agree to disagree” in a civil manner; we only know that neither was willing to concede his position. Both were absolutely convinced that he was right. People sometimes refer to the “early church” with a kind of longing nostalgia: “If only the modern church was like the early church.” The fact is that the church in Acts was made up of normal Christians just as the “modern” church is. The purpose of several of Paul’s letters was to address the many problems in the church. It is troubling when the church acts just like the world and becomes belligerent and petty in relationships. However, we must not miss the fact that faithful churches are very unlike the world around them. In the church, as in the world, relationships are never perfect, and there are many interpersonal problems. But like Paul and Mark, and very much unlike the world, faithful followers of Christ forgive each other. Faithful followers of Christ learn how to continue to fellowship and work together in peace. The mark of a Christian is not that they never disagree, but that they always love.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for primary age children at River. Pray that they would continue to seek the truth and that God would reveal himself to them.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.