Acts 15:22-35
What experience have you had in a church with a style or culture different than what you were used to?
The Council’s Letter to Gentile
Believers
22Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch
with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas
called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading
men among the brothers, 23with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria
and Cilicia, greetings. 24Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we
gave them no instructions, 25it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men
and send them to
you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26men who have risked their
lives for the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 27We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell
you the same things by word of mouth. 28For it has seemed good
to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29that you abstain from what
has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,
and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
30So when they
were sent off, they
went down to Antioch, and having gathered the
congregation together, they
delivered the letter. 31And when they had read
it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and
strengthened the brothers with many words. 33And after they had spent
some time, they were sent
off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. 35But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and
preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- Why would a letter and representatives from the Jerusalem church be a good way to communicate the apostles' decision?
- What is the tone of the letter? Its main points in Acts 15:22-29?
- How do Judas and Silas personally add to this letter? What else brings unity to the primarily Jewish church in Jerusalem and the primarily Gentile church in Antioch?
- How would things be different if those in Acts 15:5 had been successful?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- From the debate, the resulting letter, and the way in which it was delivered, what do you learn about the way to solve disagreements among Christians? What conflicts are active in your church? Is your church's style of handling disagreements similar to the way the issue was handled in Acts 15?
- In your community's churches, what are the ethnic, social and racial lines of division? What is your relationship like with believers in these different churches?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
No comments:
Post a Comment