1st Sunday in February (Week 6) Jesus’ Purpose (John 1; Zechariah 9:9-10; John 1 and I Corinthians 3)

This week marks the end of our long study of Jesus’ Purpose. It’s time to reach a bottom line, a moment of decision, a summation of our insights, a final analysis, or a last word. Who the heck is Jesus … and why should he matter to my micro-culture? That’s the ultimate question. Depending on our answer, Jesus may have only archeological interest (the preoccupation of dusty academics trying to learn the lessons of history). Or Jesus may have only philosophical interest (the ideal of philanthropists trying to learn the good life). Or Jesus may have only cultural interest (the focus of an elite racial or cultural enclave defending their island of ideology in a sea of alternatives).

Clearly, however, others have explored the story of Jesus and found a more profound meaning and universal significance. Here is someone that has had, continues to have, and will have a decisive role in my history, your history, and universal history. The Gospel of John is the last of the Gospels to be written, and one senses that it was written only after centuries of prayerful pondering, ongoing debate, and trials by fire. It’s a kind of bottom-line book. One has the sense of a spiritual spelunker who has gone deep, deep into the investigation of Jesus, and finally broken through into a huge crystal cave without walls or roof or ceiling, but filled with more jewels of insight and gems of grace than he can possibly comprehend. He is clearly fighting for words. Only one word seems to say it all: Wow!

Team Meditation (Zechariah 9:9-10)

Christians will instantly recognize here a prophecy that will be fulfilled when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on what describe as Palm Sunday on his way to crucifixion and resurrection. The paradox of a king riding the foal of an ass is not lost on the ancient hearers of Zechariah, the later inhabitants of Jerusalem when Jesus actually does it, and today’s seekers looking for salvation. The life and teaching of Jesus is full of paradoxes, because life is full of ambiguities, and God is full of surprises. One theme remains constant: humility. Jesus was and is the King of Kings, yet he sought to be a servant of God and humankind.

Worship teams have a habit of being arrogant. Perhaps that is why most church conflict starts with the choir, the band, the music leaders, or the liturgists. It is understandable, in a way, because they are constantly working with the mystery of Jesus incarnate among God’s people. The squire feels more pride than the knight; the handmaiden feels more boastful than the great lady; and probably the disciple holding the reins of Jesus’ humble beast puffed up with pride. Can one expect less of worship leaders facilitating the worship of God?

Yes, one should. You are Christians, and are expected to not only to model different behavior, but different attitude. Of all the leaders of the church, seekers and disciples will look to you first to see a model of how Christians should behave. Your humility, self-discipline, and focus on Jesus is how seekers will judge the whole church.

Worship Theme (John 1)

The story of Jesus is as foundational to God’s purpose as the story of the creation. John does not begin by comparing Jesus to other wise and moral leaders, or by comparing his teachings to the insights of other great religions. Right from the start John knows that Jesus is beyond all of those comparisons. The only story comparable to Jesus’ story is the story of the creation. Why? Because Jesus story is about freeing humanity to fulfill God’s original purpose in creating the world. It is about returning to Eden. It is about giving humanity a fresh start. It’s about a new creation.

John compares God’s creative word that brought everything into being, with Jesus himself who makes everything possible. The only metaphor John can imagine using is one of light suddenly shining in a pitch black room. God’s original creation was full of light, but as humanity turned away from God they found themselves groping in the dark. Even if they wanted to leave the darkness, they could not find their way. Jesus is the light. Suddenly the exit sign is visible … the way out. And as everyone knows, every exit is also an entrance … the way into God’s grace.

The story of this new creation is a paradoxical one. An act of willfulness got humanity into the blackness, but they have lost the ability to even choose to get out of it. There plight is like that of an aged or ill man who tries and fails to walk. “I have fallen and cannot get up!” Despite repeated calls to 911, there is no help. And then Jesus comes. Yet the story is not as simple as that. Why does Jesus have break down the door? Why is the fallen man not more joyous to be rescued … and even resistant to being helped? Why does Jesus need to cripple himself and lie on the floor in the man’s place? When the police finally arrive, why do they arrest him instead of praising him? Is there more at stake, hidden from first glance, behind the fallen man’s condition, that needs to be confronted? Is there something wrong with gravity? With aging? With complaining? With human accountability?

John’s introduction alludes to all of this. Suddenly we, who have been studying Jesus’ Purpose for so many weeks, are thrown back into consternation. We thought we had it, but maybe we don’t get it even now. There is more. Back to the books!

Small Group Discussion (John 1 and I Corinthians 3)

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2^nd  Sunday in February (Week 7) Christian’s Mission  (Acts 1:6-11 and Matthew 28:16-20; 2 Kings 2:1-12; Mathew 28, Luke 24, Acts 1, 1 Peter, and 1 John)

Today we begin a new story line. For weeks we have explored the significance of Jesus the Christ, just as the earliest disciples spent years living with Jesus himself. We have watched his behavior, listened to his teachings, experienced a transformation in our own hearts, and continue to make sense of it all. One thing, however, is clear. The relationship with Jesus entails a heightened sense of responsibility. It is as if we found a cure for cancer, and now felt an obligation to share the news with the entire ailing world. Such news cannot be contained. We overflow with excitement to share it.

Christian mission is essentially an “overflow” experience. We have been filled to the brim with joy, and our cup runs over with an endless flow of water. We fill container after container, and still there is more. We give it away to individual after individual, but there is more than enough for our friends, and we start giving it away to complete strangers. In the end, the flow of life-giving water is so constant and overwhelming that the room in which we stand is filled with water, bursts the doors and windows of our church, and rushes out to flood city, province, country, and world.

No doubt you have seen humorous movies in which the water fills a room, burst the door, and the flow of water spills out carrying the occupants of the room with it. That’s mission. Christian mission is not really something we do, but something that sweeps us away. We are not in control of the flood of grace. God is in control. We are just swept along with it. Mission is about getting “carried away with our faith”. We are never sure where the water will carry us … perhaps unexpected, unsafe, or unpleasant places. We do know that the water of life will permeate any nook and cranny of the world, and nothing can escape it influence. Wherever we are, we are in the mission field. What ever we are doing, we are missionaries.

Team Meditation (2 Kings 2:1-12)

2 Kings 2:9-10   ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "I pray you, let me inherit a double share of your spirit."  ¹⁰ And he said, "You have asked a hard thing …”

The earliest Christians did not miss the parallel between the ascension of Jesus into heaven on a cloud, and the ascension of Elijah into heaven in a chariot of fire. Comparisons with Elijah were common speculation during Jesus’ life, because of the prophecies that Elijah would come again at the end of time. Christians saw Elijah as a sign of something even greater yet to come in Jesus. This makes Elijah’s last conversation with his disciple an important clue to understand Jesus’ last conversation with his disciples.

Elisha recognized that he was expected to carry on the work of Elijah, but doubted he had the spiritual power (discernment, wisdom, compassion, courage, and so on). The disciples came to understand that they were expected to carry on the work of Jesus, and doubted they had the power. And in the weeks to come we will begin to understand that we are expected to carry on the work of the apostles … and we will doubt that we have the power. This is why the gift of the Holy Spirit is so important. The early disciples wait in Jerusalem until they “receive power”.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the relevance of the Holy Spirit to Christian life. Some think it is about receiving personal gifts of holiness; others that it is about the church receiving a corporate gift of unity. Both are wrong. These are merely means to an end. The real purpose of the Holy Spirit is to carry you away into mission. The spirit equips you, guides you, and helps you endure it to the end. The Spirit is neither about personal holiness nor corporate unity, but about using both totally dedicated to continuing the work of Jesus.

So we can and must receive a “double share of the Spirit”, for after all, we are weaker than Elijah and more sinful than Jesus. But heed the warning. This is a “hard thing”. This mission that starts in joy will lead to peril. What is surrounded in love, will experience a large measure of tears. We are no longer our own persons. We are God’s now. We are “family”. Jesus is now our “brother”. His mission is our mission. His destiny is our destiny.

Worship Theme (Acts 1:6-11 and Matthew 28:16-20)

Our habit is to understand first, and then take action. We are naturally cautious. Before we act, we want to know why. We also want to be confident in a basic strategic plan, and we want to know the probably consequences that will result. We want to be properly equipped. We want to be assured that the cause is right, and the means are effective, and that there is at least a reasonable chance that we will survive the effort and retire to a good pension, nice house, and ripe old age of contentment.

So it is not surprising that over the centuries there has been much debate about the scriptures we read today. What exactly does it mean to “go to the world”? What does it mean to baptize everybody in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? And what exactly is implied in the promise that Jesus might be with us always? Let us just understand … and then we will act. Unfortunately, since we never fully understand these things, we never really act either. The question is dramatized in the encounter between Peter’s fishing party and the risen Christ. Do we want to fish … or cut bait? Do we want to be in mission … or talk about what mission means?

God’s mission requires a change in our habit. Instead of understanding first, and then acting, we must trust first, and start acting even though we don’t fully understand. Mission does not spring from understanding. It springs from a relationship … our relationship with Jesus. We love him so much, and trust him so much, that we are willing to leap into the unknown, simply and only because he asks us to do it. We’ll understand later. We will equip ourselves on the run. We will discover the cost at the time we pay the price. This is why Jesus often says that the words we need will be given to us when we need them. The courage we require will be given to us when we face the sacrifice. Just do it, Jesus says. And trust me.

Worship Design (Acts 1:6-11 and Matthew 28:16-20)

You might want to dust off the old hymnals and take a stab at the oldie Trust and Obey to launch this particular service.

Trust isn’t easy to come by. How do you trust that which you can’t see? This isn’t about doubting Thomases, though it certainly could be; this is about stepping out on faith—as Nike (and Tom) says, to Just do it!

There are so many films that illustrate the need to trust that I hesitate to recommend any single clip. However, there are three that come to mind that you may want to especially consider.

The standard of standards is the clip from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) when Jones (Harrison Ford) has to step out on faith, literally, into a chasm in order to save his father.

Star Wars (1977) has a clip when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is training with Ben Obi-wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) to use the light saber. He is blindfolded and is trying to defend himself from a training drone. “Trust the force, Luke.”

Finally (and my personal favorite, since I’ve used the <place w:st="on"><state w:st="on">Indiana</state></place> Jones’ clip about a thousand times), use Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005). In the second scene or so, Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is trying to protect his house from being knocked over by the council when Ford Prefect (Mos Def) asks him to come to the pub and have a drink. His urgency is all about trust, even though Arthur is both clueless and hesitant.

In any event, any of these sets the theme up nicely.

There are a variety of trust exercises you can do in the service, including trust falls or trust walks. In a trust walk, pair up and blindfold one person in the pair. The other person takes them on a short walk, guiding them by their voice only (no touching except to prevent a mishap in the making).

Finally, use Matthew 10:5-20 (cf., Luke 10:1-9) to illustrate how Jesus expected his disciples to “Go into all the world.” Take no money, no extra clothes, no bag, not even a staff. They had to trust for their provisions in the field. But Jesus reminds them that they were going out like sheep among wolves.

Living for Jesus is living on trust.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (Mathew 28, Luke 24, Acts 1, 1 Peter, and 1 John)

Trust me, said Jesus. Go into all the world. Believe it’s me, even though I’ve been dead for three days. Trust me, I’m with you even in persecution.

This week in your small group, discuss what trusting Jesus means, especially in terms of the assigned scripture passages. It’s pretty easy to trust in the good times and in the easy times. It’s when your expectations aren’t met that trust gets difficult. What did it mean to trust when everything else seems hopeless? Have you ever had to trust Jesus when your life seemed upside down? When your life seemed to be on hold? How did it turn out? How do you share your faith that God is not just in control, but has our best interests at heart with someone whose back is against the wall?

Bill T-B

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3rd Sunday in February (Week 8) Christian’s Mission (Acts 2:1-13 and 37-47; Joel 2:28-29 and 3:14-16; Luke 14 and Acts 2:1-6:7 and James and Romans 12-15)

What must it have felt like? Did the disciples realize that something was beginning that would change the world? Or did they only realize the full significance of Pentecost later? This experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit … unexplainable, non-rational, yet full of promise and hope, would be the “mother” a whole string of spirit-inspired, world-shaking, events. Augustine would hear a voice in the garden; Luther would nail 95 theses to the wall; Wesley would have his heart strangely warmed; Martin Luther King Jr. would have a vision of racial equality; John Paul II would bring down the Berlin Wall. Yet as significant as these later experiences of the Spirit would be … this was even bigger.

This is the “overflow” experience from incarnation into mission, but this time we see it from the point of view of those who are swept away by it. The fear and joy, anxiety and sublime confidence, surprise and ecstasy must have been truly amazing. And “amazing” is perhaps the best word to understand the motivation for mission. From this point onward the disciples will be dazed and amazed because the Spirit is doing astonishing things with ordinary people.

Team Meditation (Joel 2:28-29 and 3:14-16)

A Biblical vision is not like modern corporate visions. It is not a strategic plan or even a desired result. It is not a clear, detailed, destiny that can be achieved with human ingenuity and persistence. A Biblical vision is discernment of God’s ultimate purpose … a purpose that cannot be contained in words or reduced to mere result, and which, therefore, cannot be attained simply by good planning and stewardship. It must be God’s doing. It is a glimpse of what God’s action will look like. It is not an essay, but poetry. It is an image, a metaphor, or a song in the heart. The vision bubbles up inside, and bursts out in non-rational eruptions, exaltations, and ecstasies. You don’t read a vision. You dance to a vision. And the best leaders can do is wait for the Lord, go deep into unity with Christ, and let God’s spirit flow through them.

Such surrender is scary. Not only might the public misunderstand, and dismiss us as insane, drunk, or foolish … but in the act of being carried away by God we just might find ourselves doing things that are crazy, extreme, or dangerous. Are we ready?

Worship Theme (Acts 2:1-13 and 37-47)

One would think that the disciples would have understood God’s plan for mission. Jesus commanded them to go unto the wide world, and then at Pentecost they were equipped to do so. They were given gifts of speech that would enable them to communicate effectively in all the international languages of the known world. I have known near-savants who seem to be able learn languages in a remarkably short time span, but have never been around anyone who just received the ability in a thunderbolt. Surely the disciples understood God’s plan for mission.

Yet it becomes clear that they only understood part of it. They understood the goal to break through barriers, reconcile enemies, and unite together to worship God in Christ. This is also the part they we best understand. It may be hard, but Christians are called to go beyond all prejudice, set aside all self-interest, supporting each other in love and including all people in fellowship. There is no percentage giving implied in Pentecost. It’s all God’s. Life belongs to God. We share it with the needy first, and work outwards.

Yet the early disciples ... like many Christians today … still make a strategic mistake. They assumed that all they had to do was remain in one place; establish an organizational infrastructure; practice radical hospitality; and praise God. God would take care of the rest. It will come as a shock to them that God wants them to take their radical hospitality “on the road”.

Worship Design (Acts 2:1-13 and 37-47)

On the EasumBandy Advance Leadership Forum, we received a message that is revealing. It read, in part:

I am a church planter and we've spent almost $25,000 on advertising in the last 15 months—direct mail, newspaper ads, website, yellow pages and roadside signs and have gotten very little return for the money we've spent except for the intangible of getting our name known in the community. The best bang for the buck has been roadside signs we put out every weekend—we've attracted a number of families with them, followed by the website.  Least return on dollar spent was the yellow pages—not one single contact of any kind, then direct mail—five mailings to 14,000 homes generating four families who've stayed with us, and then newspaper ads which have brought a few. By far the most effective "advertising" has been word-of-mouth/personal invitations—probably 80% of our congregation has come that way

The North American church seems to be addicted to attraction-evangelism, but as Tom points out, the Church has suffered from that addiction since Day 1. <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">House</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Church</placetype></place> advocates claim that the advent of church buildings crippled the church, since effective house churches multiply from home to home in rapid succession. Theirs, officially, is a mission of dissemination.

The question is, how do we get out of our churches and into the community. How do we take Jesus to them rather than trying to get them to come to us?

I’m going to offer two different suggestions for this week. The first is for those who are landlocked. The second is for the daring.

This week we’re going to use a ship and harbor metaphor. You can do a Google image search for “boats pushed ashore” (use the quote marks) to get pictures to use, or use the one included online at the Uncommon Lectionary Worship Design Tools. In any event, the image to use is one of a boat or ship that was in the harbor when a storm hit. Boats and ships were made to be out on the open waters. Several fishing vessels rode over the 2004 tsunami in <place w:st="on">Asia</place> without even being aware anything was amiss. On the other hand, the picture of the boats (image below) shows the result the tsunami had on boats that remained “safely” in the harbor.

The point is, this is metaphorical for the church. When we are dispersed in our community, we are effective, and though we may be sheep among wolves, we can count on the Shepherd who goes with us. On the other hand, coincidence or not, it took a famine and then a Roman invasion that destroyed <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Jerusalem</city></place> to get the twelve apostles who were told to “Go!” to do anything besides “Stay.”

For a video reference, use the clip in Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) when the Japanese begin their attack on <place w:st="on">Pearl Harbor</place> and the US Battleships are trying to get underway to get out of their “safe harbor.”

For those of you given to radical, introduce the theme to the worship participants. Open a brief discussion about “Go ye into all the world” versus “Y’all come” theology. Then break the group up into pairs or triads and send them out into the world with the instructions below. Instruct the group to reassemble in an hour and invite them to share their experiences with the following questions: 

1. What were the people doing in your setting?

2. Why do you think they chose to do those things at your setting (as opposed to being at home)?

3. What were the issues you heard people talking about?

4. Why do you think these people weren’t at “church”?

5. How could you reach out to these people where they are? (Brainstorm ideas that don’t involve trying to get them to come to church.)

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4^thSunday in February (Week 9) Christian’s Mission (Galatians 5:1-25; Isaiah 49:8-13; Acts 8-12 and Galatians)

It isn’t long before the apostles the disciples realize that there is something new about their leadership. Disciples in the ancient world normally stayed close the geography, culture, concepts, and dialogue partners of their masters. Yet the Holy Spirit seemed intent on moving them beyond this familiar territory. Suddenly the “disciples” were traveling to distant lands, immersing in different cultures, interpreting Jesus’ teaching in foreign concepts, and debating leaders from other sectors and cities. What’s going on here? It seems that “apostleship” is a step into the twilight zone between the footsteps of the Master and the experience of the masses.

The basic reason for this radically new approach to faithfulness is that, unlike other great Masters of ancient times, Jesus had risen from the dead. He had literally gotten up from the grave, and then walked away into the world, essentially continuing the work of salvation across history. What is a good disciple to do except keep following the Lord? And the Lord was moving out into the world. One can only imagine how unsettling this was for the original disciples. None of them were exactly “cosmopolitan”, and they must have felt remarkably insecure stepping away from the familiar environs of Galilee.

But they had the guarantee that the Holy Spirit would guide them. And they had the confidence that God could use ordinary people to fulfill big visions.

Team Meditation (Isaiah 49:8-13)

There is always a correlation between members and leaders. Leaders follow a high standard than members, so that the members can see their example and grow in faith. If the members are called to a “life in the Spirit”, then leaders are called to be even more intentional, accountable, and transparent to that “life in the Spirit”. Members may struggle to live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control … but leaders are called to demonstrate a greater discipline. The demonstrate that such a life can be done, and when they fail, they reveal that failure can be forgiven. Their way is harder, their sin is more culpable, their guilt is more profound … and their experience of forgiveness even more wondrous and miraculous.

If the members are called to a “life in the Spirit”, then leaders are called to be a “covenant to the people”. Their faithfulness in adversity is a sign of the real intent of the people themselves. Their weakness in the spiritual life is a revelation of an even greater rot at the heart of a community. If you want to know if a Christian community is authentic, look to see if the leaders are authentic. I do not mean just the clergy, and indeed, the “covenant to the people” is revealed is most clearly revealed in the authenticity of volunteers (board members, team leaders, ministry participants). Their spontaneous behavior and daring deeds are more revealing of the “life of the Spirit” than that of any clergy person. After all they are not being paid to life a life in the Spirit. If they do it, they do it for the sheer joy of being with Jesus.

Leaders are a “covenant to the people” … not just to the church members, but to the public at large. The credibility of the entire Christian movement is in your hands on a daily, hourly basis. What you do on the subway, how you behave in traffic, what you say at the office, how you comport yourself in the church parking lot, what you imitate from television and the media, and how you interact with total strangers and distant enemies, will reveal the truth about your faith community.

Worship Theme (Galatians 5:1025)

The earliest apostles sought to demonstrate in their own lives, and draw other people into an ongoing experience, what the Bible calls “life in the Spirit”. It amounted to an alternative lifestyle … a different standard of behavior than anything yet experienced in the ancient world. All other religions practiced extreme exclusivity. All other cultures practiced various degrees of judgmentalism or condescension. All other philosophies separated reason and spirituality as either/or choices between logic and emotion.

The Christian “life in the Spirit” was different. It offered extraordinary inclusiveness, spanning social classes, economic disparities, national differences, racial stereotypes, and even gender bias. It refrained from judgmental attitudes or condescension, and treated even total strangers with honored respect. It united reason and spirituality, accepting and encouraging people to be both logical and emotional. Anyone could be a Christian. All it took was unity with Christ … a simultaneous “confession” that Jesus was Lord and an inward “cleansing” that welcomed Christ into the heart. Baptism was only the ritual expression of this unity. The real sign of authentic “life in the Spirit” was that a person lived an alternative lifestyle from the rest of the world.

The “fruits of the Spirit” reveal the truth about the person. Is this person a Christian or not? Regardless of what they say about faith in Christ, do they live like Christ. Do they model in their daily living love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Or do they follow the model of everyday living that everybody else lives in the supermarket and on television, namely, a life of anger, jealousy, lust, selfishness, and so on? To be sure, nobody can be perfect all the time. But do they regret not being perfect? Do they seek forgiveness?

In the earliest Christian movement, “life in the Spirit” was not a theological or doctrinal matter. There was only one doctrine: “Jesus Christ is Lord.” What mattered most was behavior. Does your behavior imitate that of Jesus? You are what you imitate.

Take good look at yourselves, Christians. Who do you really imitate?

Worship Design (Galatians 5:10–25)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor 5:17 NIV) 

People of the Way are expected to behave differently from those who are wandering, as the Galatians’ passage shows. Indeed, Paul almost seems to expect that there’s a near instantaneous change in a new Christian’s attitudes and behaviors when they become a “new creation” in Jesus. But we know differently, don’t we? We know long-time “Christians” in our churches who are pretty much the same as they were the day before they became Christian, except that they have a standing appointment on Sunday mornings. If they are the example, we know that it must take many years for a Christian to mature.

And yet...Paul’s expectations that Christians behave differently still permeates his letters. Maybe there was a way in which new Christians back then changed their behaviors more quickly than they seem to today.

The difference is that way back then, there was no New Testament to give guidance, inspiration, and education. Instead, new Christians were immersed in a culture of Christianity. They became disciples who were discipled, that is, they were apprenticed. Paul repeatedly wrote “Follow my example” and “live by the pattern you saw in <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">me.</place></state>” To his pastors he wrote, “Be an example that folks can imitate.” It’s been said of the North American church that “we’re educated beyond our obedience.” Instead of needing more education about Christianity, most of us need more training about how to be a Christian—training as in role models, mentors, and coaches—journeymen/women who train apprentices.

Use this week’s lesson to explore role models and our need to be in accountability partnership.

Use a scene from Family Business to explore a less-than-optimum role model. Use the scene when Adam McMullen (Matthew Broderick) is sitting around a table with his father Vito (Dustin Hoffman) and his grandfather Jessie (Sean Connery). In the clip, Adam is raving about his petty crime/con artist grandfather while his father tries to deflect and divert his attention and interests to college and other more worthy pursuits.

Use the lists of fruit and flesh to differentiate between living life in the flesh versus life in the Spirit. Then introduce the need for role models and accountability partnerships to move from education to training. You may want to introduce John Wesley’s Class Questions or Life Transformation Group questions (both widely available online) for use in the accountability groups.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (Acts 8-12 and Galatians)

Acts 8-12 is a story in contrasts. Here we read the of the <city w:st="on">Jerusalem</city>’s church twilight years—once Paul begins his ministry in Acts 13, we hear very little of the <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Jerusalem</city></place>’s church. Although Paul continued to defer to it in matters of accountability, the apostle’s influence on the movement continued to wane until AD 70 when the city itself was invaded and the <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Jerusalem</place></city> church ceased to exist.

On the other hand, in this same account we read of the mounting influence of the <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Antioch</city></place> church where followers of the Way were first called Christians. It was this church that sponsored the missionary journeys of Barnabas and Paul.

In your small group, discuss the differences between the eclipse of the <city w:st="on">Jerusalem</city> church and the rise of the <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Antioch</city></place> church. What caused the rise of one and the demise of the other? What does the book of Galatians reveal about this issue? And how does any of this relate to your congregation, and more importantly, to each of you personally?

Bill T-B