SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON, FEBAURY 25, 2018 TOPIC: Evangelising in Asia

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON, FEBAURY 25, 2018

TOPIC: Evangelising in Asia

Memory Verse: Acts 14:27. When they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done to them, and he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles (KJV).

Lesson Text: Acts 13:14 through 14:28.

CENTRAL TRUTH: The gospel of Jesus Christ is for all nations.

FOCUS: To realize the gospel will prevail in spite of opposition, and persevere in proclaiming and teaching the word.

 OUTLINE:

1.     The Gospel Proclaimed in Asia

A.    Preaching in Antioch in Pisidia

B.     Preaching Jesus

2.     Preaching Though Opposed

A.    Opposed By the Jews

B.     Jewish Opposition Continued

3.     Believers in Christ Rewarded

A.    Miraculous Intervention

B.     Establishing Churches

Leaning Objectives

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1.     Identify the key elements in Paul’s preaching.

2.     Understand that sharing the gospel may result in persecution

3.     Determine to stay true to the gospel even when experiencing persecution

   

 Introducing the Lesson

QUESTION: What Kind of persecution for your testimony for Christ have you experienced?

      Most of your students have not experienced much persecution as a result of their faith. They may have experienced some ridicule, but not like the persecution we find in this week’s lesson.

1.        1. The Gospel Proclaimed in Asia

A.    Preaching in Antioch in Pisidia. Acts 13:14-17

     After evangelizing Cyrus, Paul and his companions headed for Asia ( Acts 13:13). Notice the change of name and order from “Barnabas and Saul” to “Paul and Barnabas.”

     Luke does not mention any ministry in Perga. Paul and Barnabas left Perga and travelled on a road called the Via Sebaste through Pamphylia and Lycia to Antioch in dangerous, mountainous travel. They went through several towns along the way, but Luke does not mention any ministry in these places either.

    After entering Pisidian Antioch, Paul went first o the synagogue, as was his custom (verse 14). Each synagogue had ruler who was in charge of the Sabbath services. He would assign someone to read from the Law (Pentateuch) and from the Prophets. Then he would choose someone to give a short homily on one of the texts. We don’t know if he knew Paul was a rabbi trained under Gamaliel, but we know the synagogue ruler invited Paul to speak ( verse 15).

     Paul readily accepted the ruler’s invitation ( verse 16).From his greeting, it is clear he was addressing more than just Jews. The phrase “Men of Israel” (KJV) referred to Jews by birth and possibly Gentile proselytes. There were also “Gentiles who worship God” (NIV; ye that fear God”, KJV). These are Gentiles who has not yet become proselytes but wanted to learn more about the One True God.

QUESTION: What is the significance of how Paul began his message?

  Paul began by rehearsing Isreal’s history. Because the Jews were familiar with their history, the mention of the Patriarchs would have reminded them that God promised to bless all nation through Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). Paul’s mention of Isreal’s deliverance from Egypt set the stage for him to tell about the deliverance from sin through Christ.

QUESTION: How can knowing something about the person or group you are telling about Christ Jesus help with your witness?

     Paul often found common ground with his audience ( see Acts 17:22-31). This helped him build a bridge for sharing the gospel. Looking for common interests when we share the gospel with others often helps open ways we can tell them about Jesus.

B.     Preaching Jesus.  Acts 13:24 -30,38-39,43

    The first part of Paul’s message demonstrated to his audience that God had promised a Saviour, and this Saviour is Jesus, the son of David, the promised Messiah (Acts 13:17-23). The next part of Paul’s message focused on Jesus’ earthly ministry, death, and resurrection.

QUESTION: Why was each element in Paul’s message important?

    First, Paul pointed to John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. His mission was to point people to Jesus ( verse 24-25). The Jews would have understood the prophetic aspect of John’s ministry ( see Malachi 4:5-6; Isaiah 40:3-5; Luke 3:1-6, 15-18).

    Second, Paul addressed his audience in endearing terms, yet he clearly stated that the message of Salvation was sent to Abraham’s descendants as well as God-fearing Gentiles (Acts 13:26). He linked God’s promise to Abraham ( Genesis 12:1-3; 13:15;24:7) with Jesus.

      Thirdly, Paul spoke of the Jews in Jerusalem as at the time of crucifixion (acts 13:27-29). Many of the Jerusalem Jews heard that the prophets read every Sabbath. Yet they didn’t recognize Jesus, but willfully ignored the truth. Instead of accepting Jesus, they fulfilled the words of the prophets by killing Him. The Jerusalem Jews , however, did not have the last word. God raised Jesus from the dead ( verse 30).

     After providing scriptural proof that Jesus was God’s promised messiah, Paul called his audience to repent ( verse 38-39). In the Old Testament, God provided forgiveness of sins through sacrifice in the tabernacle and the temple. God was now providing forgiveness of sin through the crucified and resurrected Christ. The forgiveness Christ offers went beyond the provision of the Law. The sacrificial system was inadequate because it could not provide complete forgiveness. Jesus provides total forgiveness. There is no sin outside of His forgiving power.

     After Paul presented his message, the crowd left the synagogue. Many of the Jews and the Gentiles were specially receptive to Paul’s words ( verse 43). Paul encouraged those who has turned to Christ to continue in their faith.

22.  Preaching, though Opposed.

A.    Opposed by the Jews. Acts 13:44-52

    Throughout the week that followed Paul’s message, people likely talked about what had taken place in the synagogue. A large crowd, likely composed mostly Gentiles, went to hear Paul (Acts 13:44). The Jews, in response were jealous ( verse 45). Scripture says they were contradicting and blaspheming’’ (KJV) in reaction to Paul and his message. The Jewish leaders tried to prove Paul wrong. They may have also blasphemed Jesus since He died on the cross ( See Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

    These Jews though Paul’s message does not agree with Judaism in their eyes, it may seemed Paul was teaching the Law is not important when he was advocating Gentile could become Christians without coming first through Judaism. The Jews were defending their religious heritage. But it’s clear that they may have also been concerned about their social standing with the Romans ( Acts 13:50)

QUESTION: Why do people resist the gospel, and try to defame the Bible and Christainity?

     Some today try to discredit the Bible twisting its teaching by taken them out of context. They do not want to yield their life to Jesus and will try to keep others from doing the same. As believers, we must be ready to answer those who distort the Bible.

    Paul did not back down from his message. He replied boldly to the Jews’ attacks. He had determined to preach the gospel to the Jews first (Roman 1:16). When they rejected him and his message, he turned to the Gentiles ( Acts 13:46-47). God had planned from the beginning that Salvation would come to the Gentiles ( Isaiah 42:6;49:6). As a result, many Gentiles came to the Lord and the gospel spread throughout the region.

     Because of this, the Jews turned violent. They stirred up persecution, getting devout men and women of the city involved. Their persecution forced Paul and Barnabas to leave the area (Acts 13:50-51). They shook the dust off their feet as a sign of rejection (Matthew 10:14-15).

   But persecution did not destroy the new church in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:52). In spite of the persecution, the church experienced the joy that comes from turning to Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

B.     Jewish Opposition Continued. Acts 14:1-7

     The persecution at Antioch did not stop Paul and Barnabas. They travelled east to Iconium and continued their practice first preaching in the synagogues, with great results (Acts 14:1). The Jews who had rejected the gospel reacted against the results of Paul’s ministry ( verse 2). The phrase “made their mind evil affected against the brethren” (KJV) indicate they turned the Gentile against Paul and Barnabas and the new believers. Yet this opposition did not stop Paul, as a result, he spent considerable time there (verse 3) as God was working through him with miracles. These Miracles strength the apostles’ position in the city, which may have been the reason they were able to stay longer in Iconium.

     As Paul and Barnabas continued to preach and performed miracles, the opposition increased (verse 4-5). In Jewish tradition, Jews stoned false teachers. When the plan surfaced that Paul and Barnabas were going to be mistreated or seriously injured by stoning, they fled (verse 6).

    There are times when Paul stood firm in persecution: at other time, he fled. In this situation, he left to share the gospel in nearby towns( verse 7).

QUESTION: What can these verses teach us about how we should respond to persecution?

33.     Believers in Christ Encouraged

A.    Miraculous Intervention. Acts 14:19-20

      Paul and Barnabas had fruitful ministry in Lystra (Acts 14:8-18). But the Jews from Antioch and Iconium were not content with driving Paul from their communities. They wanted to prevent him from preaching in their region (verse 19). They came and incited the citizens of Lystra to stone Paul. It is amazing that a short time before the crowds had wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas because of a miracle (verse 10). Now the crowds wanted to stone them.

   Thinking Paul was dead, the crowd dragged him out of the city. But the disciples gathered around Paul. In all likelihood they prayed for him, and Paul got up and walked back into the city. The next day they left for Derbe, about 100 miles from Lystra (verse 20).

B.     Establishing Church. Acts 14:21-28

  Luke did not spend much time elaborating on Paul’s ministry in Derbe. He did, as Scripture indicates, lead many people to the Lord (Acts 14:21)

      After Derbe, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, and encouraged the disciples to continue in the faith. The persecution may have subsided a bit since Paul left the city, but these new believers would probably still experience persecution as they proclaimed the gospel in their communities. The mention of “much tribulation” confirms this ( verse 22, KJV).

     During this time they were ordaining elders in every church (verse 23). Evidently, these new believers had grown in the Lord and had leadership skills to lead these churches.

   As they continued on their journey back to Antioch in Syria, they preached in Perga (verse 24-25)Luke did not record any ministry in Perga on their first visit, but this time Paul preached the gospel there.

    Since the church at Antioch had sent them on missionary journey, it was important that they return and give report (verse 26-27). The good news was that God had done a great work among the Gentiles. God was not done with them yet (verse 28). They continued to reach people with the gospel in Antioch.

DISCIPLESHIP IN ACTION

As Christians, we do not seek out persecution. But when we take a stand for Christ, we may suffer persecution, clearly seen by the persecution happening around our world.

Ours is a society that increasingly attacks Christians, the Bible, and the bible moral standards. As we take a stand for biblical values, those who reject the Bible will become increasingly vocal and active in their stand against Christianity. Some people will revile us privately as well as publicly.

Encourage your students to understand the arguments these people and groups use to attack Christianity. Encourage them to prepare a defence of the gospel. Help them realize the importance of having a biblical and loving response toward those who attack Christianity.

As they share the gospel, they may experience ridicule. Help them see the importance of remaining steadfast even when others revile them.

MINISTRY IN ACTION

The gospel is for all people. Challenge your students to look for opportunities to share the gospel with unsaved family and friends. Encourage them to continue sharing the gospel even if people reject the message.