Summary
names of churches interest me I've always maintained that this church she has a great name living word why it refers to the word the Lord Jesus Christ it refers to Scripture it draws on the Hebrew verses there in terms of the word being living and active it is an incredible and wonderful name for a church some churches will designate themselves numerically sometimes you'll hear First Lutheran Church your second Baptist Church etc I came across recently a church and the name of the church was the tenth Presbyterian Church you have to do some serious accounting in a community there to make sure you've got your numbers right for that right today I want to use the numerical approach to naming a church and I'd like to name a church that we see in Holy Scripture it doesn't reveal this name to us in the Word of God but I think this name would be appropriate specifically the first Church of the Gentiles the first Church of the Gentiles and what we're going to see today is what occurred in the First Church of the Gentiles what they were called in the first Church of the Gentiles and what they did in the first Church of the Gentiles now to put this into a context for us you'll recall that in acts the tenth chapter you have it's an incredibly important chapter that's why we spent so much time in it in the tenth chapter of the book of Acts you have the message that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is not only for the Jew but it's for the non Jew it's for the Gentile in the 11th Peter goes and he goes back to the church in Jerusalem and tells them what God has been doing among the Gentiles and the response take a look at chapter 11 verse 18 when they heard this they were silenced and they praised God saying then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life you then have more witnessing to the Gentiles notice in verse 21 please chapter 11 the scripture says the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord Barnabas then comes from the church in Jerusalem he comes to encourage these new believers he calls and exhorts them to remain faithful and to be devoted and what you have here in Antioch is the birth of a church and the name I'd like to give it this morning the first church of the Gentiles the first church of the Gentiles so let's pick up our story let's go to verse 25 now chapter 11 then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch you remember Saul Saul had dedicated his life to the eradication of Christianity Saul said if I run across a Christian they're gonna be thrown into prison we're gonna kill these Christians we're gonna eradicate this movement God met him on the road to Damascus transformed his heart turned him into a believer and the last we heard about Saul was back in the ninth chapter and Saul was going guess where to Tarsus de Tarsus so Barnabas Barnabas knows exactly who he wants to help him here in Antioch and so he goes to Tarsus to look for Saul Galatians tells us that during that period from the ninth chapter of Acts to the eleventh chapter of acts that paul had gone into syria and cilicia we know from Scripture that churches were born certainly Paul would have founded them and now Barnabas is gonna team up with Paul team up and they're gonna minister to this new church the first church of the Gentiles just reflect on this a second that is quite a team isn't it that is quite a pastoral team for the church church for the first Church of the Gentiles in Antioch to have Barnabas and pull that's a strong team strong team what do they do there at the first church look please halfway through verse 25 so it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people they talked remember back in the sixth chapter of Acts when you had the food distribution to the widows and the Apostle says we need to bring together a team that can do this they said and we ourselves will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word they understood that their calling was to teach notice what happens look at chapter 13 verse 1 scripture says now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers so as the pastoral team ven of Barnabas and Paul Minister in Antioch as they're teaching who's born but more teachers right they're instructed and now they themselves will teach what occurred at the First Church of the Gentiles they taught and they talked and they talked that's why there's Sunday school for age three through adult that's why Sunday school never ends until the Lord takes you home that's why there's small groups that gather together and study that's why there's a men's group and a women's group and they study that's why when the youths get together they study that's why when the kids go in for music on Wednesday nights they study what it is that they're singing what the words are that's why they're taught the great hymns of the church they're taught how come this hymn has remained for centuries here they're taught how great hymns preach that's why pastor malonic and I are working on the formation of an Academy here at Living Word we're gonna roll it out in the fall this is an academy it's a three-year program some thirteen classes that we're gonna combine together and we're going to teach it's gonna be theology it's gonna be doctrine it's gonna be biblical studies it's gonna be Christian caregiving it's gonna be witnessing there is no other Church in the Metroplex that is doing this and our prayer is is that every single person will enroll in this Academy will go through this three-year program receive the certificate that other churches in the area will become a part of it this is like a mini seminary that we are putting together for the expressed purpose of equipping the Saints for the work of ministry and what's going to be at the heart of it we're gonna teach and we're gonna teach and we're gonna tee and we're gonna make teachers that then go out and in even greater ways defend the faith why when someone in our faith community when they move out of our service area often times they'll say pastor can you recommend a church to me sometimes I can other times I can't but in the times that I can't what I do is I share with them please do this when you go to choose a church choose the church based upon what she teaches what she teaches it doesn't matter whether it's large doesn't matter whether it's small doesn't matter what's medium or in the whole full range of how churches come choose the church I'll say based upon what she teaches don't choose it based upon program is you can have the greatest program and the life of a church since the Lord Jesus walked this earth but if the teaching is bad what does it matter don't don't choose it based upon friend lines his friends come and go people come and move away don't choose it because your next-door neighbor has a friend of your child and they go to this particular church don't use it that way don't use it based upon the demographics don't choose it for any other reason than what the Church teaches because you see it's the teaching that forms us it's the teaching that God uses to transform us into who he wants to be it's the teaching that remains for your children it's the teaching that they then will pass on to the next generation when the church in Antioch the first Church of the Gentiles when they gathered they didn't gather to be entertained they didn't gather to have their ears tickled with cute stories from the preacher they didn't gather to have their opinions validated by the preacher they gathered they gathered to be taught because the teaching was paramount what they do in the First Church of the Gentiles what occurred they just taught and they just kept on teaching because that's by God's grace how mature disciples are born what were they called in the first church of the Gentiles look with me please at the last part of verse 26 and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians Christians the first place in scripture where Christians are ever referred to as Christians called a lot of things are called witnesses brothers and sisters followers of the way there's many different designations this is the first use of Christians and you know what the birth of this designation was not a compliment it was a form of derision it was born out of the derision of the pagans Christian honey the Greek word there means the party of Christ you belong to Christ so they said ah you belong to the party of Christ aren't you you are you're a Christian they'd say you don't belong to the party of Caesar like we do you belong to the party of Christ and so Christians was a term of derision derision the early Christians they wore that with a badge of honor badge of honor Becki the historian Eusebius says of an early martyr he turned to his torturers and said to his torturers I am a Christian I'm they belong to Christ they belong to him they didn't deserve that none of us deserve it we're sinners every last one of us we sin against him in thought word indeed what we've done and what we've left undone what we deserve is Hell itself but the Lord Jesus Christ has borne our sins on the cross his tomb is empty the sacrifice has been accepted God comes and claims us as his own in the waters of Baptism gives us the gifts of life eternal in faith and the Holy Spirit and eternal life he makes us a member of the family he says to us you're mine you're mine [Music] that's why Paul says in Romans the fourteenth chapter he says whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord's it's the Christian they belong to Christ they belong to him what occurred they taught what were they called Christians what they do what they do look when they please at verse 27 at that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch one of them named Agabus stood up predicted by the spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world and this took place during the reign of Claudius which is a little aside here Claudius reigned from 41 to 54 there are several historians secular historians from the day who recorded severe famines that affected Israel in 44 and 45 exactly as what was predicted exactly so what they do verse 29 the disciples determined that according to their ability each would send relief to the believers living in Judea this they did sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul that's what they do they loved in Jesus name and who they loved they loved the Jews the very people who for so long just hated them hated them didn't matter didn't matter they just loved them they gave proportionately those who had more gave more those who had less they gave less but both was proportional sacrifice they loved they had been claimed by the Lord Jesus Christ they were followers of him they belong to him Jesus Christ had given his all dying for them and rising for them and so as the act of service to the one who had served them through the cross and the resurrection they lived out their faith and they just loved they loved them they said here's help here's help they thought they were called Christians and they lived out their name they lived out their name today seven eighth graders are about ready to go through the rite of confirmation this is the time of year when you see a lot of gowns academic gowns they're gown is different this isn't a gallon of achievement it's a gallon of giftedness it's white because God has claimed them as his own in the waters of baptism and has given to them of the righteous garment of the Lord Jesus Christ this is not a gown of academic achievement this is a gown of rejoicing it's a gift when they rise they're not going to make their decision for Jesus today because Jesus has already made his decision about them in the waters of baptism when Jesus said calling them each by name you're mine you are mine no if ands or buts about it and he took his word 1 through the cross and the empty tomb and just washed the in the promises these confrim ends have been taught two years Wednesday night we've studied the small catechism of Martin Luther you see four years in Sunday school they learned the Bible stories and the doctrine and then they get the confirmation and they learned the doctrine and go right back to the Bible stories you see it comes out in both ways for two years studied they were taught and their gown today does not mean it's graduation day it's not graduation day from being taught it's a declaration that indeed the teaching of Almighty God goes on and on and on until that day when he takes us home and so when they rise we're gonna see people that have been taught and that continue to be taught when they rise we're gonna see Christians Christians and they wear that name proudly because they have been made one who belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ and that is solely God's gracious act on their life as he transformed them into believers when they stand these ones who have been taught they stand as Christians and when they stand that is a declaration to the congregation that indeed having completed this period of study in their life they are ready to take on a greater responsibility in the life of Christ's Church they are saying in a specific way to each one of us today that they're ready in in greater ways to live out who they are Christians call to love and serve in the name of Christ when they stand it is a reminder to us that the First Church of the Gentiles they were taught named and they lived out their name and in living word lutheran church in Grapevine Texas taught named and living out their name and the same thing that happened in the First Church of the Gentiles by God's grace happens right here right here amen [Music]
Video citations
- "Christians" May 12, 2019 Sermon — names of churches interest me I've always maintained that this church she has a great name living word why it refers to the word the Lord Jesus Christ it refers to Scripture it draws on the Hebrew…