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Antioch: The Church of Grace

Acts 11:19-30

January 7, 2018 • Michael Wilburn

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. What do you know about Antioch? What can 21st Century churches learn from the church that thrived in that city? Why is there no New Testament letter to the church at Antioch?

2. How can you see grace? What does it mean for Acts 11:23 (“And when he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad”) to describe the church at Antioch? How can the church today nurture a grace culture?

3. How many ethnicities are represented in Antioch? What applications should be made to churches ministering in multicultural, multiethnic communities?

4. What is the relationship between Barnabas in Saul while in Antioch? Why is the local church a great place for friendship?

Antioch: The Church for Weary Saints

January 28, 2018 • Michael Wilburn

Application Questions: 1. What did Paul and Barnabas do in the first visit to Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe? What did they do on the return trip? Compare and contrast the purposes for each trip. 2. How does a person enter the Kingdom of God? Why is the path littered with tribulation? 3. Who listens to Paul and Barnabas “declare all that God had done with them”? How does this story inform missionary accountability to their sending church? 4. After 18 months of aggressive travel and evangelism, Barnabas and Paul remained “no little time” in Antioch. What can be learned about seasons of work and seasons of rest?

Antioch: The Church of Doctrine

January 21, 2018 • Michael Wilburn

Application Questions: 1. What is the involvement of church members in Jerusalem and in Antioch? How does this influence the doctrine of congregational polity? Who makes decisions in the local church? 2. How should a church resolve conflict? What issues call for deference? What issues call for division? Who decided and lead on these decisions in Antioch? 3. What four abstentions did the Jerusalem letter prescribe? What significance do these have on Christian liberty? 4. How did the church at Antioch respond to the Jerusalem letter? What can be learned about submission to church authority from Antioch’s response?

Antioch: The Church on Mission

January 14, 2018 • Michael Wilburn

Application Questions: 1. How many prophets and teachers are listed for the church at Antioch? Does the New Testament teach a plurality of local church leadership? Why or why not? 2. Who are separated and sent from Antioch for global evangelism? What can a local church learn from this model of missions? 3. Have you ever fasted and prayed? What was the circumstance and the outcome? What spiritual goals are a Christian trying to accomplish through fasting? 4. When Acts 13:21 says the proconsul believed and was astonished, does that mean he was truly converted?