Two Issues, One Mission

In one paragraph

The pastor walked through two connected problems from Acts 15-16: a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark, and the question of why Paul circumcised Timothy right after the Jerusalem Council had ruled that circumcision was not required for salvation. Both situations, he said, come down to how believers treat one another when they see things differently. The Jerusalem Council...

Read together

1. Psalm 103:1 opening call to worship before singing
2. Galatians 1:8-9 Paul's warning that anyone preaching a different gospel should be anathema
3. Galatians 2 coincides with Acts 15 in describing the Jerusalem Council
4. Acts 13 John Mark leaving the party at Perga and returning to Jerusalem
5. Acts 15 the Jerusalem Council and its findings carried forward by Paul and Barnabas
6. Acts 16:3 Paul circumcising Timothy before taking him along
7. Hebrews 10:24 the positive use of paroxysmos, stirring one another up to love and good works
8. Leviticus 17:7 prohibition against sacrificing to goat demons, basis for abstaining from things sacrificed to idols
9. Leviticus 17:8-9 anyone who offers sacrifice outside the tent of meeting shall be cut off
10. Leviticus 17:10 prohibition against eating blood, God setting his face against those who do
11. Leviticus 17:13 instruction to drain and cover the blood of any animal caught while hunting
12. Ephesians 4:3 closing benediction on maintaining unity of the spirit in the bond of peace
13. Romans 15:5-6 closing benediction that God grant harmony so believers glorify God with one voice

Talk about it

1. The pastor described both Paul and Barnabas as motivated by good in their disagreement over John Mark. When you have been in a conflict where both sides had legitimate points, what made it hard to see the other person's position as valid?
2. The pastor said that in the sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, what resulted was 'a solution that allowed the advance of the gospel to continue by cell division.' Have you ever seen a disagreement in ministry or church life end in a way that actually multiplied the work rather than damaged it? What made that possible?
3. The pastor mentioned that Paul voluntarily surrendered his own position on circumcision out of love for the Jewish community he was trying to reach, calling it 'downright Christ-like.' Where in your own life do you find it hardest to set aside your rights for the sake of someone else coming to know Jesus?
4. The pastor said at the end of the sermon that he was wrong in one of his two sharp disagreements that week, and it took him two days to realize it. What tends to get in the way of you recognizing when you are wrong in a conflict, and what has helped you get there?
5. The pastor said, 'Not every issue is worth starting a war over,' and asked how we discern which principles are worth standing for and which ideas we are elevating to an importance they do not deserve. How do you personally try to make that call when you are in the middle of a disagreement?