The Second Missionary Journey

Call to Worship

Psalm 117 LSB

Praise Yahweh, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness prevails over us, And the truth of Yahweh is everlasting. Praise Yah!

Elder: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you!

Reading of Scripture

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

The Second Missionary Journey

Acts 15:36–18:22

Introduction

Establishment of the Kingdom (Acts 1-2)

Witness in Jerusalem (Acts 3-7)

Witness in Judea & Samaria (Acts 8-12)

The First Missionary Journey (Acts 13-14)

Review on the map

The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)

Now the Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36-18:22)

This journey starts with a desire to return to the churches they visited in the first journey (Acts 15:36) and ends when they return to Antioch once again (Acts 18:22).

Our goal today is to take a birds-eye view of the second journey, highlighting some of the prominent adventures we will be looking at.

We will then focus our attention on where most people say the second journey begins: Acts 15:36-16:5. We will be looking at this more in depth next week as well.

I. Disagreements & Decrees

A. Paul and Barnabas Disagree  1. Acts 15:36-16:5  2. Division over John Mark  3. Strengthening the Churches with the Jerusalem Decree

About the characters

Barnabas - called Joseph, from Cyprus, a Levite. His name means, “Son of encouragement.” He brought the newly converted Paul to the Apostles in Jerusalem. He was sent to Antioch initially to minister. He accompanied Paul on his first missionary adventure. And he stood with Paul against the Judaizers in the Jerusalem Council. He and Paul have been through so much together.

John Mark - attributed with the Gospel of Mark. His mother was named Mary, and the disciples were praying in her house while Peter was imprisoned in Acts 12. He initially accompanied Paul (Saul) and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, but abandoned the mission early on in Acts 13.

Silas - Silas is called one of the “chief men among the brothers” (Acts 15:22) and he is called a prophet.

Timothy - is called the son of a Jewish woman, whose mother and grandmother were believers, who was catechized well by them. Two pastoral epistles were written to him (1-2 Timothy). His father was a gentile. He accompanied Paul on his second and third missionary journeys as well as on his trip to Jerusalem. He was left in Ephesus as a leader of the churches there. And, post Acts he is thought to have been the overseer/pastor of the work in Ephesus.

The Division

We see that there is a “sharp disagreement” over John Mark in Acts 15:37-39).

Luke does not give us an indication of which side was “correct.” And I could give a reasonable argument for both sides of this disagreement.

But, the first thing I want us to see is that despite everything that Barnabas and Paul had gone through together, this little spat was enough to separate them. And it goes to show that we cannot be too careful about how we are interacting in the body, with each other, even over small things. Even after we have established good rapport, we have shared communal experiences, there is still the danger of a church split over the color of the carpet. Guard your heart and spirit. These things ought not divide the church.

Secondly, This disagreement is not over sin. It is over staffing. Would it have been sinful to leave John Mark home? No. Was it sinful to take him? No. So, this is not a sin issue.

It would be like some in presbytery wanting to prioritize education, and other wanting to prioritize starting business. Both are good and right, but what will be the corporate focus? Education or business?

My question is, why do these need to be in conflict? It would have been better if Paul and Barnabas agreed to disagree and saw the benefit of their differing opinions as an unction from the Spirit that it would be better to have two teams rather than one team. Because of their difference of opinion, Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus, and Paul and Silas went to Syria and Cilicia. This is ultimate a good thing.

We must not be so committed to our vision or mission that we fail to see our brothers and sisters. We will all see different things in our body and needs in our society. We need to be able to practice how we express these things to each other.

Someone might see a need for starting supper at a particular time so that the food will be hot. And someone else may not see that as a particularly important thing to work your schedule around. Who is right? And I know right now that the ladies are saying, yes, the food being hot is what should be prioritized and many men are like, there are more important things.

How are we communicating the things that we see as important and want to be prioritized? Are we gracious, kind, patient? Are we exhibiting wisdom that is from above?

How are we dealing with people when they do not see what we see? Do we bullishly plow ahead anyway and stubbornly shriek about what is important to us?

Thirdly (lastly), despite this disagreement, Paul and Silas were still “committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord” and ultimately, strengthened the churches.

The end result of this “sharp disagreement” was the strengthening of the church. How much better would it have been if Paul and Barnabas had recognized that this disagreement could mean that the Spirit wanted them to go in different directions?

If we hold our ideas of what should happen loosely in hand, not grasping. Saying, “I don’t know how this is going to work, but I will trust the Spirit. This is not how I would have envisioned things going. But, the Spirit will lead.” [And we are going to see that the Spirit will close more doors than he opens for Paul in the near future].

In summary, we may have built up the most stable rapport because of shared experiences and yet we are still in danger of having an emotionally driven disagreement which leads to separation. In this case, it was not related to sin, otherwise, the separation would be absolutely justifiable (and we must use wisdom to discern if it is a sin issue or a staffing issue). All the more reason for us to have care and tread softly. And, we must recognize that the Spirit often works in ways that are foreign to us. And if we are not careful, we will find ourselves in conflict not with each other, but with the Spirit of God.

So, my closing exhortation is this: Think before you speak, pray before you think too much, and let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for building up what is needed, so that it will give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you.

Let’s pray

II. Help in Macedonia

A. The Macedonian Vision  1. Acts 16:6-15  2. Call from Macedonia  3. Arrival in Philippi B. Ministry in Philippi  1. Acts 16:16-40  2. Lydia’s Conversion  3. Imprisonment and Miracle  4. Conversion of the Jailer C. Preaching in Thessalonica  1. Acts 17:1-9  2. Jealousy of the Jews  3. Response of the Thessalonians D. Witness in Berea  1. Acts 17:10-15  2. Noble-minded Bereans  3. Opposition from Thessalonica

III. Achaia

A. Arrival in Athens  1. Acts 17:16-18 B. Paul in Athens  1. Acts 17:16-34  2. Discourse at the Areopagus  3. Mixed Reception C. Ministry in Corinth  1. Acts 18:1-17  2. Partnership with Aquila and Priscilla  3. Jewish Opposition  4. The Lord’s Encouragement  5. Legal Challenge before Gallio

IV. Asia

A. Ephesus  1. Acts 18:18-21  2. Brief Ministry and Promise to Return

V. Homecoming

A. Return to Antioch  1. Acts 18:22  2. Conclusion of the Second Missionary Journey

Communion

Ephesians 4:11–16 LSB

And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

This is a progressive reality. Notice the language, “until we all attain...we are to grow up...causes the growth of the body...” These are things that happen progressively as we practice the basics: admit your faults and confess your sins one to another. This is how the body stays healthy and uncluttered. Be kind. Forgive. Speak the truth in love.

We are all working towards the unity of the unity of the faith in the full knowledge of the Son of God. We cannot be driven by every changing doctrine or allow ourselves to be deceived by deceitful men (and i’ll just say, that this is, I believe, more of a problem for women. Adam was not deceived, but Eve. Are you protecting your wives and children, men?).

We must love the truth and seek it ruthlessly. We must prioritize the truth over loyalty. We must prioritize the truth over feelings. But we also must speak the truth, and seek the truth, in love. Recognizing that in our pursuit, we will never have everything right. And we must be led by the Spirit, not by our emotional attachment to whatever it is that we are seeing right now.

So, as we practice being the body of Christ. Let us purpose to live lives characterized by love and building up of our brothers and sisters in the Lord. And as we come together to partake in the symbols of our unity, this is a great opportunity to meditate on how we have all participated in the body, and how we will endeavor to participate in the future.

Have we sinned? Yes. Will we sin? Yes

But thanks be to God that this table is for sinners. Sinners who confess their sins to God and their neighbor and who are raised to walk in newness of life.

If you are baptized and in good standing with the body of Christ, harboring no sin in your heart toward God or your neighbor, then we invite you to eat and drink with us in remembrance of Christ.

If you are not baptized, or if you are harboring sin in your heart toward God or your neighbor, then we would ask you to refrain from the supper, repent of your sins, and accept an invitation to membership in Christ’s household.

The Bread

Give thanks

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 LSB

...the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was being betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

Read during distribution:

Psalm 119:137-144

The Cup

Give thanks

1 Corinthians 11:25 LSB

In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.

Read during distribution:

Luke 19:1-10

1 Corinthians 11:26 LSB

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.

The Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:9–13 LSB

“...Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Matthew 6:14–15 LSB

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

The Commission

Matthew 28:18–20 LSB

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Numbers 6:24–26 LSB

Yahweh bless you, and keep you; Yahweh make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; Yahweh lift up His face on you, And give you peace.’