In Acts we read the history of how God grew and expanded His church. The stoning of Stephen led to the persecution of the church, which resulted in the followers of Christ being dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. As the followers of Jesus fled from Jerusalem, they shared the Gospel with Jews in the towns where they went. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, these believers began to see converts in every town they went.
Then some of these believers went radical; they shared the Gospel with the Greeks. God blessed and began to grow His church in Antioch. As news reached the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to observe what was happening. Barnabas was excited about the way God’s grace was being demonstrated and encouraged them in the faith telling them to stay faithful. Barnabas went to Tarsus to get help and brought Saul with him to disciple the rapidly growing church.
Luke then tells us, Acts 11:26 (CSB) “When he (Barnabas) found him (Saul) he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”
The church was growing in numbers, but, just as important, they were maturing. Barnabas had travelled 300 miles from Jerusalem. He then went to Tarsus and back, nearly 180 miles roundtrip. Barnabas, the encourager, was being used by God to impact the early church in ways he could never have imagined. As Barnabas and Saul taught those young believers, they grew more and more like Christ till eventually the people that observed the disciples at Antioch called them Christians.
The word Christian was a term coined by those who probably were not believers but saw the lives of these disciples as being so unique that it distinguished them from the rest of the population. The word is made by adding the suffix -ianos to the word Christos. That suffix means to be a slave or an adherent of someone else. The activity, behavior, and speech of the Antioch believers demonstrated the influence of Christ so strongly that the people of that city called them Christians.
For the last 8 weeks, the body of believers has been dispersed from our campus. We have lived lives confined to our homes and neighborhoods with occasional trips to the grocery or to pick up a takeout order. What has been our impact in this season? Has our obedience to Christ distinguished us from the masses? Is the devotion of our hearts such that people see us as slaves of Christ?
Throughout the New Testament we see the writers refer to themselves as slaves of Christ. Oh, that we would live such devoted lives to Christ that we would deserve to be called Christian.
Master, help us to live lives fully surrendered to Your Lordship in our lives. So that others would know that we are slaves of Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Items needed for Food Collection Week of April 27-30
Cereal
Canned Vegetables
Pop Tarts
Oatmeal
Dinty Moore Stew
Canned Chicken Breast
Loaves of Bread
Peanut Butter
Granola/Snack Bars
Microwave Popcorn
Saltine Crackers
VBS on the Road
We are looking for volunteers to lead and/or host 2-hour day camps in subdivisions around our area during the month of July. If you are interested in teaching or hosting, please contact Bro. Mark. mark@pinerbaptist.org
Grace Marriage
These sessions are offered as home studies that you can do with your spouse strengthening your marriage. I urge you to take advantage of this free resource.
Hey everyone! We want to serve your marriages and your families during this time. We realize that you are enduring stress, anxiety and uncertainty. In an effort to help you draw closer to Jesus and one another, we are providing you virtual sessions to do together that will help your marriage and family. These sessions are specifically designed to help you navigate your marriage during this time of quarantine.
Please contact Bro. Mark if you are interested in accessing this free resource.
On Friday look for an update from Brother Mark on steps we are taking toward preparing for a reintroduction of in-person worship.