Luke/Acts for Beginners
Paul's Second Missionary Journey
Estrategia pedagógica
The focus of this lesson is the second missionary journey of Paul as he establishes and ministers to congregations of the Lord’s Church. Of special note is the interaction between Paul and his associates. The span of this lesson is from Acts 15:36-18:22.
Resultados del aprendizaje de los estudiantes
- Know: Comprehend the events of Paul’s second missionary journey and their importance.
- Feel: Value the teachings of Paul as he continued to establish and encourage congregations.
- Do: Internalize the teachings of Paul as we grow spiritually.
Cuerpo de la lección
Preguntas de discusión
A continuación se sugieren preguntas para utilizar durante la parte de debate guiado de la lección. También se sugieren respuestas a las preguntas para ayudar a los alumnos a comprender los distintos conceptos. Se proporcionan para ayudar al debate y no se consideran respuestas "correctas o incorrectas".
Paul and Barnabas disagreed about John Mark going with them on their next missionary journey. As a result, Barnabas takes John Mark with him and Paul takes Silas. Although this is described as a disagreement, it did not prevent their continued efforts at spreading the gospel. A disagreement does not necessarily mean that all the work had to stop. It simply means that there were different views of how to continue. The resolution was not only equitable between Paul and Barnabas, but it now meant that two well qualified mission teams were working to spread the gospel.
This represented a doubling of effectiveness and the multiplication effect was in place. As Acts 15:40 states, the Church grew and was strengthened. It is natural that we will have different views of how to fulfill our role in the Church. It does not mean that the work needs to come to an end, or does it mean we cannot continue to work together as fellow Christians. Our focus is on obeying and serving, not personal issues. We resolve the issues in a way that God can be glorified.
Although Timothy was already a Christian and circumcision had been deemed unnecessary as a result of the decisions at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), they would be ministering to Jews in synagogues as they traveled. Timothy would not be allowed access without going through this.
It demonstrates the need to remove barriers so that we can reach out to those needing the gospel. It also demonstrates that Timothy was willing to do what was needed in order to teach the gospel.
Paul had a plan to spread the gospel in the eastern regions, however, God wanted him to go in a different direction. Paul's response shows his submission to God's will rather than his own desires.
As we serve and spread the gospel, we must ensure that we are following God's will in every way we can. Although we will not receive divine intervention in our efforts, we can learn from Paul's example and follow the teachings of scripture as to where and what to do. We can stay receptive to what scripture says and to the needs of those with whom we come into contact. In this way God will reveal His will for our efforts.
Responses will vary but look for how the gospel was spread and the results on lives and the Church. The pattern we see in Paul's efforts is:
- Arrival and preaching
- Some believe, others do not
- The believers receive more teaching but the non-believers cause problems
- Paul is forced to leave to go to another location
It is natural that there will be disagreements among Christians as we work to obey and serve our Lord. We must not let these disagreements shift our focus. Or role is to make disciples for Jesus by baptizing them and teaching them to obey all He taught (Matthew 28:18-20). We must not become discouraged when we are not as successful as we wish. We are to sow the seed of the gospel and allow God to give the increase. It is for His glory that we work.