Today’s passage: Acts 15:36-16:5
Helpful thoughts:
- Paul and Barnabas agreed to go back and strengthen the church which had been planted on their previous mission. They didn’t agree on who should go along with them.
- The way the argument went is evidenced by Barnabas taking John Mark (His blood relative) along with him in a different direction than they had planned.
- None of these men were perfect. They were sinners just like us.
- God used all of them to further the gospel anyway, just like He can with us.
- All of them eventually respected one another and reconciled. (1 Corinthians 9:6, 2 Timothy 4:11)
- Timothy was willing to be circumcised as an adult to have access to the synagogues and the Jewish people for the furtherance of the gospel.
- The pattern of the church: Being strengthened in the faith and increasing in number.
Questions to consider:
- What was the nature of Paul and Barnabas’ disagreement? What were they NOT arguing about? What were they both wholeheartedly committed to doing?
- Do you think Timothy was crazy or was he a man of God? What are we willing to give up or to do to share the gospel with the lost? How much effort, pain, discomfort are we willing to endure to see people saved and growing?
- In what ways is our church being strengthened in the faith and increasing in number? How important is it that we prioritize these things over the pleasures, goals, hobbies, interests that we can have in this life?