Fri. Zoom Class on Acts 9 / article: Lessons from the Antioch Church

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Frank Walton

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Jan 15, 2026, 11:21:30 AMJan 15
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This Fri. we'll make some concluding observations about the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8, which shows the great importance of the individual soul in God's eyes. Then, we will look at one of most historically important events in the history of redemption in Acts 9 -- the conversion of Rabbi Saul who became the renown apostle Paul, the foremost evangelist of Jesus Christ in planting churches and writing Scripture that we are using 2,000 years later. 

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TIME: Friday Jan. 16th, 11 AM in the USA central time zone, which is: 1 pm Chile, 5 pm Ghana, 7 pm Zambia & South Sudan; 8 pm Uganda & Kenya; 10:30 pm India

Link: http://zoom.us/j/9312107673 (If joining by phone, you must have the zoom app downloaded to your phone to view the zoom class. You can download the zoom app from Google Playstore. The link is the same for every class.)

If you are  having a hard time connecting or staying on the zoom class, try disabling your video which will help reduce the bandwidth required to stay on the call. 

I learned why it is difficult to hear some of you speak! If you are speaking too far away from your microphone, your voice will be muffled with words! So, speak closer to your microphone in your phone, etc. and we can understand your words better. When you ask a question, make a comment, send a greeting, please be sure to speak closer to your phone's microphone. Thanks.

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Lessons From Antioch Church (Acts 11:19-30)

INTRODUCTION
  1. A wonderful example in New Testament times was the church in Antioch of Syria...
    1. Begun by Jewish disciples who had been in Jerusalem, reaching out to Gentiles - Ac 11:19-21
    2. Where disciples of Christ were first divinely called "Christians" (followers of Christ) - Ac 11:26
  2. The church in Antioch of Syria grew large and would later...
    1. Serve as Paul's starting point for his three missionary journeys - Ac 13:1-3
    2. Send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to resolve the issue of circumcision - Ac 15:1-2

[In our text for this lesson (Ac 11:19-30), we can glean from the Holy Spirit's record of the church in Antioch Syria important things that are worthy of emulation. Let's start with...]

  1. HOW TO START A CHURCH
    1. CHURCHES CAN BEGIN IN VARIOUS WAYS...
      1. Paul started many churches through his missionary journeys - e.g., Ac 14:21
      2. Others start when a person or family moves to an area where there is no church
      3. Sadly, some churches begin as a result of division over matters of opinion
    2. CHURCHES START BEST WHEN CHRISTIANS "SWARM"...
      1. Like bees swarming from one hive to begin another, building up a large church enables a group to swarm to a nearby area where there's no church.
      2. The church in Antioch began when disciples came from Jerusalem - Ac 11:19-20
      3. Today, "church plantings" most often succeed when several families begin a new work, with preferably 2 evangelists (Luke 10:1).

      [From the church at Antioch, we can also learn...]

  2. HOW TO BE A STRONG CHURCH
    1. MANY CHURCHES HAVE MEMBERS WHO PROFESS FAITH...
      1. They may assemble with the church and express their faith in praise
      2. But sometimes their faith is not accompanied with true repentance and lifetime discipleship. A high drop out rate of baptized believers demonstrates either (1) they were not taught to count the cost before baptism (Lk 14:25-33), or (2) insufficient follow-up was done to ground them in the faith (Acts 14:21-23, 15:36, 20:1-2). 
    2. ANTIOCH WAS COMPOSED OF PENITENT BELIEVERS...
      1. They "believed and turned to the Lord" - Ac 11:21
      2. They turned from sin, and turned to the Lord (an indication of true repentance) with complete devotion to Christ
      3. More than mere confessors, they were true converts committed to lifetime discipleship of learning Christ Word (Matt. 28:18-20)

      [From the church at Antioch, we can learn...]

  3. HOW TO BE A GROWING CHURCH
    1. BY PREACHING THE LORD JESUS...
      1. They were "preaching the Lord Jesus" - Ac 11:20
      2. Today, some preach conversion to the "church", almost to the exclusion of preaching "Christ" and conversion to Him!
        1. Consider much of the evangelistic tools we sometimes use: do we stress following Jesus (Matt. 11:28-30) in loving obedience (Jn. 14:15) or mainly a checklist of the "NT pattern for the church." This is a matter of proper balance in teaching. 
        2. What can be the result of church-centered preaching that deemphases devotion to Christ?
          1. 1. People may be converted to the idea of the church, rather than to the Lord Jesus!
          2. 2. Extent of faithfulness may be limited to church related activities (e.g., attendance, not daily living for Jesus)
      3. We need to be sure that we preach the Lord Jesus fully!
        1. In other words, proclaiming that Jesus is Lord over every part of life - cf. Mt 28:18; Ac 2:36; 10:36
        2. The result of preaching Jesus as Lord?
          1. 1. They will be faithful disciples in all things that Jesus taught, including following His pattern for the work and worship of the New Testament church - Mt 28:19-20, 2 Tim. 1:13
          2. 2. The bottomline of preaching the Lord Jesus is that individual Christians will grow in His Word and be transformed into the image of Christ's character (Rom. 8:29)!
    2. WITH THE HAND OF THE LORD...
      1. At Antioch, "the hand of the Lord was with them" - Ac 11:21
      2. Without Divine help, we can never have the right kind of growth
        1. It is God who opens doors of opportunity - Col 4:3
        2. It is God who gives the increase - 1Co 3:5-7
      3. With God's help, we should expect growth
        1. That is the nature of the kingdom - Mt 13:31-33
        2. Trust in the Lord and believing, fervent prayer to God unlocks the power of heaven for church growth (Mk 11:23-26)!
    3. WITH THE AID OF TEACHERS...
      1. Like Barnabas, who encouraged them by word and example - Ac 11:22-24
      2. Like Saul, who together with Barnabas taught a great many people to build up a large, strong local church - Ac 11:25-26
      3. This shows the local church is God's Bible school as "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15, cf. 2 Tim. 2:2). To supplant the pattern of the local church with a human institution to train preachers is the sin of presumption that human wisdom is superior to the divine pattern (Psa. 19:14).

      [Preach Jesus as Lord, pray for God's helping hand, utilize those able to teach, and a church will grow! Finally, we learn from the church at Antioch, when faced with an impending crisis...]

  4. HOW TO BE A GENEROUS CHURCH
    1. ACCORDING TO ABILITY...
      1. The prophet Agabus foretold of a famine to come upon the world - Ac 11:27-28
      2. This large church with "many" disciples gave according to their ability - Ac 11:29
      3. Concentrating on building up a larger church in a large city instead of establishing many small, struggling churches outlying rural areas enables the church to cultivate resources to meet scriptural needs to aid the Gospel cause - 1Co 16:2; 2Co 8:12-14, 9:6-11
    2. WITH DETERMINATION...
      1. To send relief to the brethren in Judea - Ac 11:29
      2. To send via trusted messengers (Barnabas and Saul) - Ac 11:30; cf. 1Co 16:3
CONCLUSION
  1. The church at Antioch was where disciples of Christ were first called Christians - Ac 11:26; cf. Ac 26:28; 1Pe 4:16
  2. If our efforts are struggling, perhaps we need to rethink our approach to follow the scriptural example of the church at Antioch! - cf. Php 3:17

By Mark Copeland, expanded by Frank Walton

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"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).
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