Mere Christians: Barnabas the Encourager

Opening

Does anyone know what happened on July 20th, 1969? (take answers)

On July 20th, 1969, astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon—the first humans ever to do so! They had left earth four days before that and returned safely to earth four days after that.

Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong are famous. We hear their names in history books and on news reports. They are the only ones who actually got to get out and walk around on the moon. That’s super cool! But there’s a person in this story that we are missing…

You see, Buzz and Neil were part of a team of three. And without this third person, even if Buzz and Neil had still made it to the moon and walked around, they would not have safely returned to earth without their third teammate, Michael Collins.

Here’s what happened (use hands to demonstrate): basically, Apollo 11 was a two-piece spacecraft. So once the three of them got up to the moon and orbited around it, Buzz and Neil went down to the landing piece of the space craft and detached from the Command Center where Michael Collins remained to stay in orbit and to wait for them. So they go down and land and walk on the moon and all that. But when they came back up off of the moon, Mike had to bring the command vessel and reattach the landing vessel to the main part. Then, Buzz and Neil were able to come back up into the command vessel and make the trip home.

The landing vessel that they used to get down to the moon could not have safely returned them to the earth. Without the work of astronaut Mike, these famous astronauts who walked on the moon would not be famous (or alive). And yet everyone talks about the ones who walked on the moon and not the one who made it all possible.

The astronauts get the headlines, the pictures, and the history books—but someone else made that moment possible. In the Bible, it’s the same way. We remember the big names, but we forget the people who supported them, believed in them, and helped them grow.

So over the next year, we’re occasionally going to be looking at some of those people in the Bible. We are going to call them “Mere Christians.” If you’ve heard of C.S. Lewis (he wrote Chronicles of Narnia), this is his term. Mere Christians are ordinary people who choose to follow Jesus faithfully, even when they don’t get the spotlight. In this series, ‘Mere Christians,’ we’re going to talk about those people—the ones who weren’t famous, but were faithful.

Introduction

And today we’re starting with a guy famous for encouraging others. So let me ask you this:

Has there ever been a time where you didn’t feel confident, and someone else believed in you and encouraged you? What was that like? (take answers)

Personal Story

As you all know, my husband Caleb got hurt a few years ago and has been healing ever since. Well, especially when it first happened, I just cried all the time. I needed to be at home to take care of Caleb, but then I also needed to be at work to actually earn some money. I needed time alone to sleep or take a shower or eat. And I felt like I couldn’t do any of it. I was sick (literally) and tired and felt defeated in a lot of ways.

But constantly God reminded me that I was not alone. I would be having abad day where nothing was going right, and I would tell God, “I need help!” *snap* and right then I would get a text message. Friends, parents of youth students, coworkers, random people I didn’t know but who had read my blog or heard my story would send me a note saying how they were praying for me — or it would be a literal written prayer — or they would offer to bring me a coffee or tell me something encouraging that they could see in me or in my situation that I couldn’t see.

Those texts made a difference in my life! But get this:

no one knew that those people encouraged me except for me and them

nothing they said changed my situation; they just supported me through it

Here’s the point: those people aren’t well known or receiving praise for being Christians. They are mere Christians, and I needed them to be exactly that in my life. Here’s the main idea, and I’m going to keep saying it: Mere Christians are ordinary people who choose to follow Jesus faithfully, even when they don’t get the spotlight.

Transition

This is exactly the kind of person we’re studying about this weekend. He wasn’t the main character, but without him, some of the main characters in the Bible may have never become who they were!

So I want you to list some of the main characters in the Bible. (listen until someone says Paul)

Yes! Paul wrote most of the New testament. But Paul was Saul before he met Jesus, and he was literally killing Christians and throwing them in prison. So when Saul met Jesus and became Paul, he needed some support in his ministry. And one of Paul’s biggest supporters was a guy named Barnabas.

Teaching

Let’s meet Barnabas! We’re going to start in Acts 4:36-37

“Jospeh, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means, ‘son of encouragement’), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles feet.”

So his given name is Joseph! But he’s known as Barnabas.

Raise your hand if you have a nickname. Me too. I’ve had a lot throughout my life, but not to the point where strangers knew me by my nickname. But I dated a guy in college, and when I went to meet his parents, he introduced me to his step-dad Pete. It was weeks later when he said, “Oh yeah, his name is actually John. But as a kid, everyone called him Peter Rabbit, so he has gone by Pete his whole life.”

I also had a youth pastor who went by his nickname, but he never told us why he got the nickname.

But here’s how nicknames work: They represent something about us.

And with a nickname like, “The Encourager,” I think it represents something about Barnabas.

Barnabas isn’t a famous teacher or preacher. He is remembered for the way he encouraged others who were doing that ministry. We tend to praise the ones who come up with great ideas, invent things, or hold the microphone, but most of the time those people are only successful because of the people in supporting roles around them.

Here at the church, our main example is Melinda: when we have a big event like the chili cook-off, Melinda is the one who manages sign-ups, buys all the chips and toppings, sets up and cleans up. She is never up front and doesn’t make a fuss about things. She just faithfully supports the church from the background.

Barnabas did the same thing through encouragement. Let’s read an example of that: Acts 9:26-28

When he [Saul] came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord has spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

So here’s the deal: everyone is scared of Saul. I mean, he had been arresting and killing Christians so… it was reasonable. But then he met Jesus! And Saul started preaching the name of Jesus!

Barnabas saw the transformation happen in Saul and vouched for him in front of the apostles.

Saul would have never had the chance to become Paul without the training offered by the apostles, and the apostles never would have accepted Saul if Barnabas had not stepped in and spoken truth over what he saw happening in Saul’s life and how he thought God was using him.

Barnabas was not trying to promote himself. He took on the role of supporting the faith and life transformation of other people and let that be his main ministry.

Here’s the reality: we can’t all be the ones who are famous and get remembered. Almost all Christians ever to live are forgotten. But you and I are Christians today because some people before us lived as mere Christians and passed on their faith. We can serve God faithfully by supporting other people who will be famous and remembered, even when we won’t be. Our faithfulness makes a difference.

But we can only do this when we are secure in our relationship with God and we are trying to make HIS name great, not our own. Let’s read Acts 11:22-26.

“News of this [the growth of the church] reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Here’s what I want to highlight about Barnabas: you see, most of us would have the tendency of seeing something amazing happening and wanting to take credit for it, be a leader in it, be a part of it. Because Barnabas here is praised for his character, and it said he led a lot of people to the Lord, and yet he isn’t remembered for being some great evangelist or church planter. He’s an encourager.

So Barnabas saw what God was doing and praised God for it.

He then helped lead some more people to the Lord. But then he was like, “You know what this church needs? Paul. He can teach them better than I can.” And he went and found Paul and brought him in to be a part of what God was doing.

Barnabas didn’t get jealous. He wasn’t threatened by the way other people were gifted. He helped introduce people to each other so they could all grow and be more successful. It was never about HIM.

Transition

Being a Mere Christian means that you don’t make yourself the main character.

Reflection

We are wrapping up 2025 and looking toward 2026, and this is generally a time where people think about goals: Who do I want to be next year? What do I want to do?

And when we ask these questions, we think of big things! I want to be a straight A student or I want to be captain of my basketball team next year. But being a mere Christian means we pay attention to the smaller areas in life where God still wants us to be faithful: I will be kind to my sister by helping her with her math homework; I will encourage my teachers by writing them notes once a semester; etc.

Barnabas was known for encouraging. What could you be known for this year? What is something you can do every day to faithfully serve God right where you are… as a supporting character?

(give time for journaling reflection if time allows)

Closing Application (optional)

And before we go, let’s circle back around to encouragement, because that’s one of the ways we can do this! Who is someone in your life who could use some encouragement? What will you do to encourage them?