Spirit-led sending is the amazing work of the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:4So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit.[1] These words anchor the entire mission of Barnabas and Saul. Their journey did not begin with personal ambition or strategic planning; it began with divine direction. The Holy Spirit was not merely assisting; …
After Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus and spent years training him, we find Saul teaching at Antioch. The Jerusalem church had sent Barnabas to check out the newly formed group of Jesus followers in Antioch. Antioch was the 3rd-largest city in the Roman Empire, with a population of half a million. …
Barnabas, the encourager, is an example for every believer. In Acts 9:27, we meet Barnabas at a critical moment in the early church. Saul, once a fierce persecutor of believers, had encountered Christ and been transformed. Yet the believers in Jerusalem were understandably afraid of him. They doubted his conversion and kept their distance. It …
As the message of Jesus spread, the believers began to understand that the Gospel is for the Gentiles, too. What seemed chaotic was actually God’s quiet strategy. After Stephen’s death, believers were scattered by persecution, carrying wounds, grief, and uncertainty. Yet as they traveled to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, they carried something stronger than pain: …
Being an instrument of God to build His Kingdom is a gift only He can bestow upon us. As the story of Saul—whom we later come to know as the Apostle Paul—unfolds, he believes he is building God’s Kingdom by persecuting believers. Yet on his way to Damascus to continue this mission, the Lord suddenly …
Just before ascending back to heaven, Jesus gave His followers a mission. They were called to go and tell the Gospel. Acts 1: 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends …
The good news and the shield of faith are some of the most essential pieces of the spiritual armor the Lord has given us. When we go into battle without these pieces of armor, we find ourselves without a roadmap, the Bible, and the faith that is rooted in His Word. Today, the Lord may …
The promise of the resurrection and its fulfillment is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Before Jesus entered Jerusalem, He told the disciples what would happen to Him which would fulfill the prophecies concerning Him. Luke 18:32 He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. 33 They …
While the story of Acts 8:1-25 is primarily about Philip and Simon, we can see John’s changed heart if we look closely. John and his brother James were fishermen before Jesus called them as disciples. Jesus gave these brothers a nickname. Mark 3: 17 James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons …
The power of the Gospel is seen in people’s hearts as they bear the fruit of a transformed life. In the early church, a great persecution drove the believers out of Jerusalem. Instead of stopping the Gospel, it spread it like seeds in the wind. Acts 8:4 But the believers who were scattered preached the Good …