Lessons from a Model Church: Antioch

It doesn't hit till later.

We can make our way home safely.

And this is my first time actually being with you guys

since you've been here in this new location.

And so far, and I anticipate for the entire time,

Peg and I are just so ecstatic and enjoying our time

and getting to meet you guys

and really in it all to see the grace of God at work.

That's the thing that's amazing.

And maybe in some ways I offer a vantage point

that no one else quite has,

just haven't been part of this and working with the team

and watching God work in our church,

watching God work here in East Cambridge

and our sister churches

and watching God really put together this church

and watching the grace of God at work.

So I'm really excited to be here.

And I'm excited actually to speak from Acts 11 as well

related to the grace of God,

because that's what we see, that's what we heard

as we listen to Acts 11 read.

It talked about the grace of God at work

and forming a church,

and a church that in many ways is a model church for us.

God's given us his word,

given us the book of Acts for many different purposes,

but one is to paint a picture for us

of what the church looks like

or what the church ought to look like.

So that's what we'll be doing this morning.

It's just learning from this model church in Antioch.

Let me ask as I start out,

how many people here grew up going to church?

Just raise your hand.

Did you grow up going to church?

Wow, a lot of you guys.

That's excellent.

And how many here have been part of a church

at some point, I know it wouldn't be this church,

but like for five or ten years?

That's a lot of us.

Okay, great.

Now I'm sure for you guys

that those experiences growing up

and being part of a church

have influenced you,

have influenced you significantly,

and perhaps in all sorts of ways.

For Peg and for me,

our first church,

well, we grew up in Roman Catholic churches

and there's good things there

that certainly influenced us,

but our first church,

having come to faith,

was a church in the inner city.

It's still there, actually,

in Jamaica Plain.

At the time,

it was called Rock Hill Alliance Church.

It's called River of Life Church now.

And that was our first church

as a young couple.

And it's had a huge influence on our lives.

We still refer to it often,

our experience in that church

and the things that went on.

We got to see the Lord at work in many ways.

And kind of our picture and paradigm

of church life in many ways

was influenced by our time there.

I can just remember

just the relationships that were there,

the love that was there,

the friendship that was there.

And it wasn't just love and friendship.

You know, it was also this corporate experience

of God at work.

We were watching God work among us

and there were all sorts of things happening.

We saw people come to Christ.

We saw people coming out

of all sorts of backgrounds.

We saw God healing

and moving in believers' lives

in powerful ways,

breakthroughs happening.

We saw a lot of crazy stuff.

It was because we were in the inner city.

There's just a brokenness around us,

the brokenness in us as well.

And there were just all sorts of things.

And we just watched the Lord at work.

And I think for us,

that has influenced how we look at church.

And at this point in time even,

this is now 20, 30 years ago,

more than 30 years ago.

I'm getting old.

And it still influences us

in our sense,

in our anticipation,

in eagerness to see God work

amidst His people

and through His people

because of that experience.

Model churches,

this is our churches

that we were a part of,

even if it were negative in some ways.

Our experience in churches

really instructs us

and teaches us.

And thank God that,

I would assume for many of us,

we've had many positive experiences

that have shaped how we understand

the Christian life.

Well, I think God wants it to be that way.

He wants us to be influenced

and wants us to look back

and say,

wow, I learned this

and it was fantastic.

But even more importantly,

God has given us,

in His Word,

a model church.

And that's really what the church

in Antioch is.

It's a model church.

And I just want to draw some lessons

from this church this morning,

pointing out some of the things

that we can observe in the passage,

and then applying them.

Applying them here for us.

Actually, I need to,

sorry,

I need a clock to keep myself honest.

And this is my clock.

I'm going to put my Bible down.

So we're just going to go through.

Let me tell you a little bit

about the church in Antioch

that will help you understand

and kind of better absorb

what we can learn from Antioch.

That passage in Acts 11

is of the church in Antioch.

The time frame around

when that was happening

was about 45 AD.

This is about 15 years

after the church had started.

So the church,

I mean the whole church

started in Jerusalem

the day of Pentecost.

So it's about 15 years later.

And the church is growing.

The church in Jerusalem is growing.

There's things happening.

But they're still trying

to figure out.

They're still trying to figure out

kind of what they're supposed

to be doing.

They know in some ways

but they're still figuring out.

And particularly related

to their mission.

And the particular items

of confusion or concern

were how do we do this thing

with people that aren't Jewish?

How do we do this thing?

How do we relate to the temple

and the Mosaic Law

and the truths

that we've learned from Jesus?

So they're wrestling through that.

And that's what you see happening

in the early parts

of the book of Acts.

And as that's going on,

God is at work.

And God is doing things

actually in them

and through them

that they didn't necessarily expect.

There was a persecution.

Stephen, who was a Greek-speaking Jew,

was bold

and he proclaimed the gospel.

He was kind of ahead of his time

in understanding the implications

of Christ's coming

and fulfilling the Old Testament,

the implications on the temple

and the law.

And he said some things

that were true about that

and even spoke prophetically

to the leaders in Jerusalem.

And as a result,

he was stoned.

He was put to death.

And then a persecution

broke out in the church.

And what happened

was the Greek-speaking Jews

who were living in Jerusalem

who had stayed

because they were part of the church

and they were watching God work,

they were scattered.

And they started going

throughout the Roman Empire,

really, at that point.

And we read about

how some went

only speaking to Jews

as they went.

They only would speak to Jews.

But there were these

Greek-speaking Jews,

Christians,

who went with the gospel

and started speaking to Greeks,

just regular old Greeks,

not Jewish Greek people,

but Greek Greek people.

And the word of God

started to have an effect

among those people.

And so that happened

in Antioch.

That was the place

it started to happen.

This exciting new development

that really had an influence

in the church.

What goes on

in the storyline

in the book of Acts

and in church history

is the center of Christian life

shifts around this point

from Jerusalem to Antioch.

And Antioch has,

just the grace of God

gets poured out on Antioch.

And we read about it.

And as a result,

Antioch grows

and is a vibrant church

and actually has an influence

on the church

that goes on for centuries

as a result.

So that's some

of the background here.

And that's why

this is a model church

to learn from.

This is why it's worthwhile

examining and looking

because of what God

was doing through Antioch

and what he did

in leading the church.

So we're just going to

make some observations.

First observation

I want to make

is just to note

how this church grew.

How it got started

and how it grew.

Did you see

as the passage was read

and as you looked

in your Bibles,

did you see

how it got started?

Did you see

what was going on?

Did they

kind of come up

with a church service

that offered something

for everybody in Antioch

and kind of invite people in?

You know,

you can find something

for everybody here.

Is that what happened?

Was that what

formed this church

and got this dynamic church

growing?

Did they have

like a really cool

children's program

that attracted

all the young families

in Antioch to come?

Is that what went on?

Did they have

this amazing Sunday service

that was entertaining

and inviting

and as a result

everyone just decided

I've got to check

this place out.

How did this church

get started?

What went on?

What grew this church?

It was the proclamation

of Christ.

It says in the passage

there were some of them

on coming to Antioch

spoke to the Hellenists also

that would be the Greeks

preaching the Lord Jesus

and the hand of the Lord

was with them.

So they went

and they proclaimed Christ

as they went.

They preached Christ.

They proclaimed the truth

of Jesus Christ.

Christ crucified and risen.

Christ as the God man.

God in the flesh

who had come to rescue us

and bring His kingdom.

Christ who had come

to create new creations

to make people's lives

new and different in Him

through the good news of Christ.

Christ, Jesus.

They proclaimed Christ

and the entailments of Christ.

They proclaimed the good news

what we call the gospel.

That's what was going on

in this church.

That's what God had started.

That's what grew this church.

The proclamation

of Jesus Christ.

Verse 20.

It says that a great number

believed and turned to the Lord.

A great number of people

through the proclamation of Christ.

That's how the church

got started.

That's how it grew.

They told their friends

and their neighbors

about Jesus.

And God blessed that.

The preaching of the word.

And that's what started

and grew this dynamic church.

That's important to get.

That's important to note here

and that's important

to understand its implications.

It wasn't just actually

their initial proclamation either.

This was a church

that built itself up

in the word of God.

In the truth of the gospel

at the core

with the word of God.

So it says that

for a whole year

Barnabas goes and he gets Saul.

He recruits Saul.

Brings him to this church.

Barnabas is actually

a wonderful figure in scripture.

An encouraging leader.

A developer of younger leaders

it looks like.

And so he was always thinking

how can I develop a new leader?

He knew about Saul already.

Saul was a Greek speaking Jew

and he probably thought

this is perfect.

This guy's been waiting

in the wings for a while.

I'm going to go get him.

And he brings him to Antioch.

And they teach the church.

It says for a whole year

they met with the church

and taught a great many people.

So the church

not only got started

by the word of God

but it grew by the word of God.

the health of this model church

was grounded

in one thing above any other.

The spirit anointed preaching

sharing and teaching

of God's word

with Christ at the center.

That's

that's its strategy.

That's the key

to growth

for this model church.

Guys I say that

and you might be thinking

well duh

I mean

we know that.

But you know what

it's so easy to drift

from this simple

and straightforward truth

we see here at Acts.

It's so easy to drift

into other techniques

to grow a church.

It's so easy

to depend

on something else

rather than the word of God.

Now just to add

an important qualifier here

don't hear what I'm not saying.

This doesn't mean

that you

can just forget about

worrying about anything else.

Right?

Just preach Christ.

So you can show up here

on a Sunday morning

you know

don't comb your hair.

Don't iron your clothes.

You know

don't brush your teeth.

Don't set up the chair.

Don't try to have

an organized meeting.

Don't say anything

to your neighbors.

Don't be involved

in the community.

Don't do any of those things.

Just preach Jesus.

No I'm not saying that.

All those things

actually should follow

in line

with a heart

shaped by the gospel.

We should seek

to bless others

with all those other things.

But we can't depend

on those other things.

The tendency

is to drift

into depending

on how polished

your Sunday service is.

or how excellent

your program is.

Or how

you know

how in tune

you are

with the community

and the culture

which you should be

but to depend on that

as your means of growth.

That's not what we see

in Antioch.

It's the word

of God.

It's Christ

crucified

and risen.

That's growing

this church.

And guys

here at Trinity Cambridge

that's what

God is going to use

to grow you.

That's what God

has been using.

That's what God

will use to grow you.

That the word of God

the gospel at the core

that's your fuel.

That's what's going to

power you.

That's what's going to

bring life

to this church.

And that's what's going to

empower this church

to bring life

to others.

The gospel

the good news

Christ

and him crucified.

It's like the reactor

fuel for an aircraft carrier.

An aircraft carrier

runs on

actually nuclear fuel

and the gospels

like reactor fuel

for the aircraft carrier.

There's a lot that goes on

in an aircraft carrier

though.

There's a lot of aspects

to life on an aircraft carrier.

There's the planes

taking off.

There's planes

that escort planes.

There's maintenance facilities.

There's mess halls

and quarters.

There's all sorts of life

going on in an aircraft carrier.

But without the fuel

it's dead in the water.

And all those other

accessories

actually become burdens

without the fuel

to drive the aircraft carrier.

That's what the gospel is.

The gospel

is your fuel.

It empowers you

as a church.

It drives you.

And all those other things

are empowered

and directed

because of that.

So everything you do

is fueled

by the word of God

and by the gospel

at the core of that.

That's so important

to get.

So important

to remember.

I know you guys

are committed

to these things.

To keeping Christ

at the center of your church.

I see it in worship here.

I know from what I hear

about the church

this is what you guys

are committed to

and I want to celebrate that.

I believe God

is pleased

with how you are

doing things.

And I just want

to encourage you

in this.

I want to encourage you

to be steadfast

in this.

To not be distracted.

To not start putting

some other things

above the preaching

of the word.

To keep this

as the fuel

for the life

of the church here.

To continue

to do what you're doing.

When you meet together

come together

to hear God's word.

To sing God's word.

To celebrate

the truths of God's word.

As you go out

to reach out

to others.

Be fueled by

the love of God

you understand

and know

through the word.

Be fueled by that

as you do

the things you do

like game nights

and ultimate frisbee

and all the different

things you guys do

in reaching out

to others.

It's wonderful

to hear about

and it's wonderful

to hear about

how God is using

you guys in relationships

and I know

those relationships

are driven

in your love

for people

because of the gospel.

It's wonderful

to hear about

things like baptisms.

You guys have had

baptisms already

adding members

and I know

that that's

because the word

of God

is fueling you guys

and driving

you guys.

I know that

he's sustaining you

in your life together.

Your love for one another

through the word.

That there's a quality

among you guys

of care

and love

through the word.

I just want to encourage you

to keep on

looking to the word.

To enjoy and celebrate

what he's doing

his grace at work

in your midst

but to look to his word

filling your minds

and hearts

look to the gospel

of Jesus Christ

to shape you

to animate your hands

and feet

to fill your minds

and your lips

to use you

to touch

the lives

of people

who don't yet

know Christ

and to tell them

the good news.

That's what's going to

be what makes

a difference

in their lives

when they hear

about Jesus.

That's how God

does it.

That's how God

did it in Antioch.

That's how God

continues to do it.

It's through hearing

the word of God

and I trust

that God's going

to give you

new believers.

He's going to give you

new life

as you build

relationships

and as you share

the gospel.

That's the power

of God

for salvation

the gospel.

And so what do you do?

You share the gospel

and then they come

to know the Lord

and then what do you do then?

You share the gospel.

You share the word.

You build them

into the word.

You build the word

into them

so that they grow

and grow in Christ

and grow together

with you as a church.

Colossians 3.16

says let the word

of Christ dwell

in you richly

teaching

and admonishing

one another

in all wisdom

singing psalms

and hymns

and spiritual songs

with thankfulness

in your hearts to God.

Trinity Church

Trinity Cambridge Church

look to the Lord

and his words.

Let the word of Christ

dwell in you richly

as a church.

Don't look to other

strategies for your growth.

Have a great Sunday

worship service

but make sure

the word

is most prominent

in your service.

Sponsor great

community events

but make sure

they are about

living out the word

and looking for

open doors

for the word.

Run excellent programs

but don't rely

on excellence

to reach people.

But the power

of God

through his word

build your church

on the word of God.

A healthy church

is built

on the word of God.

That's how Antioch

built.

Next observation

Antioch

reached

diverse people.

They reached

diverse people.

This church

was comprised

of very diverse people

and it got started

because people

crossed cultural barriers.

Not easy to do that.

But the gospel

has a way

of propelling us

in that doesn't it?

When we know

that God has crossed

an amazing barrier

to come and rescue us.

That he came

and lived among us

and bore our sins.

The God man Jesus

bore my sins,

our sins.

To pay for our sins

so they could be

completely forgiven

and we could be

reconciled and made

one with him,

invited into the

eternal love

of the Trinity.

When we recognize

that and see

that truth

we realize

what great lengths

he's come

to reach to us

and that empowers us

doesn't it?

It compels us

to go and to

step out

and cross cultural

barriers

to reach others.

And that's what

was going on

in Antioch.

the Greek-speaking

Jewish believers

didn't just stick

to their own kind.

They could have.

But the gospel

compelled them

to cross

and to speak

to those

that were Greek,

that were Greek

Gentiles,

not Jewish people.

And others.

And God did something

in bringing people

to himself

in this melting pot

of a city,

by the way.

Antioch was full

of people

from all different

backgrounds.

It really was

a crossroads.

one of the major

cities of the Roman Empire.

And so we read

in Acts 13,

actually,

about the team

that gets formed

and the team itself.

This is the leadership

team for this church

in Antioch.

And it says this,

Now they were in

the church in Antioch,

prophets and teachers,

and then list them.

Barnabas,

Simeon,

who was called Niger,

Lucius of Cyrene,

Menaen,

a lifelong friend

of Herod the Tetrarch,

and Saul.

So you have Barnabas,

he's a Greek-speaking Jew.

He would have been

culturally Greek

in some ways,

but he's still Jewish.

He's from Cyprus.

There's Simeon,

called Niger.

So Simeon was probably

a dark-skinned man,

perhaps from Africa.

You have Lucius

from Cyrene,

that is in North Africa.

And then you have Menaen,

a childhood friend

of Herod.

So this guy is

from the household

of Herod.

I mean,

what a crew!

And then there's Saul

as well,

all together

in this leadership team.

What a diverse

leadership team.

But it really is

a picture of this church,

isn't it?

The picture of the

church in Antioch.

They're reaching

all sorts of people.

They've understood

the implications

of the gospel,

that the gospel

and the commission

our Lord has given us

calls us to go

to all peoples,

to reach people,

to reach out,

to cross cultural barriers.

And so God did

something beautiful

here in this church.

church.

There's a lesson for us.

And this lesson

is different

than what you might hear.

Some of the

conventional thinking

in church growth

and in church planting

is don't do

what we see here

because it just

makes it hard.

Don't do it.

Just go to your own kind.

And there's counsel

even saying

the lead pastor,

like you should expect

that's the sort of people

you should be reaching.

Reach people

like the lead pastor.

I'm so glad

that our church

is not full of people

like me.

I wouldn't want that.

We don't want

to follow that wisdom

but there's that trend

that conventional wisdom

that says,

well, reach out

to your own kind.

It's easiest.

It's easiest to do

church life then.

You don't have to cross

any of the barriers

and so there are churches

actually that are doing that.

They are purposefully

targeting only

a narrow segment.

But oh,

how contradictory

that is to the word of God

and the purposes of God.

God loves to show

the power

of the gospel

in a vivid,

glorious way

by uniting diverse people

and bringing them

into close unity

around the cross.

Doing that in such a way

that the world looks

and says there's something

going on there

that's really different

because the world

doesn't have a formula

to make that work well.

They're trying different ones

and none of them

are going to work.

But there is a formula

in the gospel.

God has reconciled us

to himself

and in reconciling us

to himself

we are reconciled

to one another.

We are brought near

to one another.

No matter who we might be.

No matter what background

we might have.

No matter what ethnicity

we might have.

No matter what

socioeconomic background

we might have.

We are brought near

in Christ.

We are brought together.

And it's glorious,

isn't it?

Just think in art.

How do you paint

a glorious picture?

Do you take a canvas

that's white

and then a white paintbrush

and draw a snowman

and a blizzard?

Just all white?

No one wants to see

a painting like that, right?

What makes a painting beautiful?

Diversity.

Different colors,

different textures

on a canvas,

together.

This diversity

put together

and united

along some theme, right?

Some picture

or some concept.

There's a theme.

But it's diversity

with a central theme.

That's what beauty is.

That's what makes art

beautiful.

And that's how God

makes things beautiful.

That's how he makes

his church beautiful.

He takes diversity.

He takes diverse

ethnicity

and backgrounds

and histories

and stories

and brings them

all together

in the power

of the gospel.

Brings them all together

on a canvas.

The central theme

of Christ

at the center

of our lives.

Rescuing us

and leading us

in his new kingdom ways.

That's the picture

of beauty.

And it's wonderful

to be here with you guys

and watch

what God's doing.

Bringing diverse folks

here together.

There are folks

in this room

from diverse

ethnic backgrounds.

And I trust

there'll be

even more and more.

It's glorious.

It's worth

the effort.

Yes, it takes effort.

It's easiest

just to relate

to people

who are just like you.

There's culture

and ethnic backgrounds

that we have

distinct ones

and it's easiest

to stay

with the people

that you're most like.

It takes work.

It takes the power

of the gospel.

It forces us

to run to the gospel

is what it does.

It makes us uncomfortable

because we're going

to be misunderstood

and we're going

to misunderstand others.

We're going to have

to ask for forgiveness.

We're going to have

to admit that maybe

my culture isn't superior

in every way

like I thought it was.

Maybe there's aspects

that I can learn from

from other cultures

and other peoples.

And maybe together

with Christ at the center

we'll all grow in wisdom

and we'll all grow in unity.

And together

we will bring glory

to him.

Guys,

you might know this

but you know

there are 62

different languages

spoken in the homes

of Cambridge public school students.

62 different languages.

I'll say them really quickly

starting with the most common

to the least common.

English,

Spanish,

Creole,

America,

Bengali,

Arabic,

Mandarin,

Portuguese,

Korean,

Somali,

French,

Gujarati,

Hebrew,

German,

Tigrinya,

Nepali,

Japanese,

Tigre,

Urdu,

Italian,

Cape Verdean,

Hindi,

Norwegian,

Russian,

Tibetan,

Turkish,

Swahili,

Dutch,

Pashto,

Vietnamese,

Albanian,

Danish,

Greek,

Polish,

Serbo-Croatian,

Bulgarian,

Cantonese,

Swedish,

Armenian,

Zonka,

Tibetan,

Farsi,

Punjabi,

Tamil,

Catalan,

Chichua,

Finnish,

Hungarian,

Kiriwandu,

Macedonian,

Romanian,

Slovene,

Tagalog,

Telugu,

Thai,

Tongan,

and Tui.

62 different languages

spoken by Cambridge

public school students

in their home

and God has put you guys

right here

in the middle of all that.

Why?

Well,

for many reasons,

but one is to watch the gospel work

in 62 different cultures

and ethnicities and more

and watch it draw people together

to be united around Christ,

to love each other deeply from the heart,

to love Christ supremely

and to glorify him.

And I anticipate,

and I'm sure it's your prayer,

and if not,

would you make it your prayer?

God,

would you make our church

that diverse

and unified around Christ?

Would you make us

that canvas

full of all those colors

and textures

that paints a beautiful picture

of the power of the gospel

and the glory of God?

That's what went on in Antioch.

This was a church

that reached diverse people.

Next observation is

Antioch lived out the message.

It wasn't just a message

they said

and then didn't do.

It was a message

they lived out.

It had gripped their hearts.

It had changed

who they are.

And so it says,

in Antioch,

the disciples were first

called Christians.

A little phrase,

but it has a lot of meaning.

They were first called

Christians there.

What a fantastic credit

to the believers in Antioch

to be called little Christ,

followers of Christ.

And probably at first

it was to tease them.

You know,

that's what we do sometimes.

If someone's a follower

of something,

we add an ite on

the end of it,

you know.

You're a what ite?

Something.

A Luddite

or something like that,

you know.

You follow Mr. Ludd,

whoever that was.

So we do that.

That's what's going on here.

They are being called

Christians probably

to tease them.

But it's because

they were known

for being followers

of Christ.

It was unmistakable

that these people

were followers of Christ.

There was something

about them

that made it obvious

to their neighbors

and friends.

You're a follower

of Christ,

aren't you?

You are one of those

Christians.

And maybe at first

it was intended

to be derogatory,

but it became

standard description

for a follower of Christ.

To this day,

actually, right?

When we say

we're a follower,

what do we say?

We say we're a Christian.

It started here in Antioch

because of the quality

of their walk,

the quality of their life

together,

was distinct enough

that the culture

recognized something

was going on

and they were called

Christians.

There's another example

in the passage as well.

Agabus

makes a trip

to Antioch.

He's a New Testament

prophet from Jerusalem

and he prophesied

that there would be

a great famine

throughout the Roman world.

And the church in Antioch

responded to that.

How did they respond?

What did they do

when they heard

that there was a famine?

Wow.

We're in trouble.

We better

fill up our

cellars with food

and get ready

for this thing

and circle the wagons,

Antioch,

right,

so we can survive

this thing

and who cares

about the rest.

We just need

to get by on our own.

No, what do they do?

They determined

to send a gift

to the church

in Jerusalem.

Their hearts

are generous,

gracious hearts

affected by the gospel,

affected by the Lord.

And so they're outward.

And so they give away

things

with an approaching famine.

That's crazy.

But that's what

Jesus looks like, right?

That's what his people

look like.

And that's what

this church looked like.

They determined

that they would

send a gift

to relieve the brothers

living in Jerusalem

because they knew

that it was especially

hard for them.

It was an impoverished

part of the Roman Empire.

And these were

their brothers.

And so they determined

to send a gift

down to them.

They were gracious.

They were generous.

Their hearts

were full of faith

in God,

the faithful supplier

and compassion

for others.

That's what

characterized them.

And they were

living out the message.

Again,

the gospel

propels us in this.

We know the love

of God

through Christ.

And we know

the compassion

he's had for us.

So it empowers us

and compels us

to do the same.

To love God

and to love others.

To care about others.

To give ourselves

and our resources

away

for others.

And you guys

are doing that here

at Trinity Cambridge.

Cambridge.

It actually

looks kind of crazy

to be doing

what you guys

are doing here.

You guys

have decided

to start a church

in probably

one of the most

expensive cities

in the whole country.

I actually

looked it up.

Boston is like

number three.

And I know

Cambridge is more

expensive than Boston.

So you guys

might be like

number one

or number two.

That's crazy.

Why did you do that?

Because there's

people here

who need to know

about Jesus.

And there are

believers here

who need a good church

to grow with

and to serve with.

You know

with the culture

going the way

it's going

and going away

from Christendom

or from a

Christian influenced

culture

it would have

made more sense

just to have

found a good church

just to stay

at King of Grace.

Circle the wagons.

Just try to survive

the storm

of cultural

decline.

Right?

That makes sense.

But when we

understand the gospel

when we're gripped

by the love of God

when we love people

we don't care

a whole lot

about our own safety.

We don't care

about our comfort

as much.

And we're willing

to go to places

that are costly.

Costly in different ways.

Financially

or just

moving from a home

you've known

or a church

you've known.

We're compelled

by the gospel.

We're affected

just like the people

in Antioch

and you guys

are doing that here

and it's wonderful.

It's wonderful

to watch

what's happening

watching you guys

sacrifice

and serving

and giving

and trusting God

and laboring

and loving each other.

You guys live

the message

among yourselves

as well

so there's no

inconsistency here.

Right?

There's an integrity.

I can say that for you.

You might feel awkward

patting yourselves

on the back

but there's an integrity

here.

So what started

you guys

on this mission

has sustained you.

There's a quality

of love

for one another

and a love

for the community.

So when you guys

reach out to the community

and you just hang out

with them

and you play

ultimate frisbee

or invite them

to games

it's not bait and switch.

You're just being

yourselves

because you

have been

compelled by the love

of God.

You love one another

and you love people

and you're just

inviting them

to be a part

to at least observe it

and then Lord willing

to join in

and experience it.

I know this goes on

in your midst

and I'm sure

there's lots of stories

caring for each other.

Just this week

you guys probably know

Sean and Hannah

got in a very serious accident.

I found out

during the week.

I was actually texting

Sean about some

this I think this time

and he let me know

like wow

forget about

what you need to do.

I'm glad you guys

are okay.

So they're okay.

A highway accident

just miraculous

that you guys

weren't hurt

so thank God

for that.

But then your care

hearing about the care

for them in that.

Someone drove down

to pick them up

somewhere down

in Connecticut

wherever you guys were

Sturbridge

Omas

okay

almost Connecticut

to pick them up

to bring them back here

and then just the care

and the care

I know in other situations

making meals

for each other

loving each other

walking through sorrow

and trial together

there's a sincerity

there's a love

there's a living out

of the message

that's going on here

and it's glorious

and it's like Antioch

and I just want

to say that

to encourage you guys

to encourage you in it

to keep up the good work

to keep walking

in these things

to keep living

like Antioch

more and more.

A couple more observations

real quickly

and then we'll finish.

Antioch developed

and sent their very best.

Part of the storyline here

is that they developed leaders

they developed leaders

and they deployed leaders.

They developed

some really great leaders

real diverse leaders

but good leaders

this is a healthy church

full of good leaders

it's got Barnabas

and Saul

in the church

and again

it would have made sense

just to kind of

circle the wagons

let's just kind of

keep on building up

our leaders here

make a really strong leadership

but no

they send out

their very best

the Spirit of God

actually speaks to them

and says do it

you better do it

when he speaks that way

but they send out

their best

they deploy leaders

it says in Acts 13

while they were

worshiping the Lord

and fasting

the Holy Spirit said

set apart for me

Barnabas and Saul

for the work

to which I have called them

then after fasting

and praying

they laid their hands

on them

and sent them off

so being sent out

by the Holy Spirit

they went down

to Seleucia

and from there

they sailed to Cyprus

and then they went

with their team

Barnabas and Saul

John Mark

probably others

on the team

they went

throughout the Roman Empire

and planted churches

and changed the world

as a result

this is a church

that developed leaders

for the health

of their own church

but also to deploy them

there's a lesson here

in Antioch

and I know this is

in your heart

to be a church

that develops leaders

and it's just great

to hear so early on

in your church life

actually

it's amazing

it's amazing

and it's unusual

that God is

raising up leaders

here

you guys have

three small groups

and leaders

for your small groups

at this early stage

fantastic

I know that

there's a leadership team

and future elders

being raised up

I know there's

a number of deacons

male and female deacons

being raised up

to lead things here

that's great

for the stage

of your church life

to have that happening

is wonderful

and so keep on

doing that

keep on celebrating

the grace of God

keep on being

a church that does that

I would trust

that God would

use you guys

as a leader

factory

but not just

for your own good

but to send out

your very best

when the time comes

to send out

your very best

when the time comes

I would

trust that God

would

even in the next

five years

send out a church

plant through

Trinity Cambridge

maybe your first step

is just something

nearby

somewhere in

Boston itself

Boston

another part of

Cambridge

around here

somewhere

so that would be

maybe your first one

and if you just

dream with me a little

bit if I can do that

with you

maybe your second

one

is to some place

where there is no

church at all

some place in the

world that's

under

under

unreached

and unengaged

there's 3,000

people groups

out there

that are

not only

unreached

but they're

unengaged

so they're

another category

and what I mean

by unengaged

there's no

church there

there's unreached

people that are

not effectively

reached

but that have

believers working

there

but there are

3,000 groups

3,000 different

ethnic groups

in the world

unreached

and unengaged

and there are

great cities

throughout the world

that have hardly

any Christian witness

so maybe your

second plan

from the leaders

you raise up here

would be to send

them to one of

those places

to be like

Antioch

to watch God

do what he did

in Antioch

true Trinity

Cambridge

finally

Antioch was a

church that

experienced the

grace of God

this is the most

important thing I

want to leave you

with

they experienced

the grace of

God

all these other

things were

happening ultimately

because God

chose to pour

out his

glorious

divine favor

his undeserved

favor on

this city

and its people

God is a God

full of grace

and mercy

he's a gracious

God who's at

work

and he loves

to rescue

undeserving

sinners

he loves to

bring them

near and bring

them near to

each other

he loves to

put them in

a body

and cause that

body to shine

for the glory

of Christ

and to enjoy

all the blessings

of life in

Christ

God

had been

gracious

it says

here that

Barnabas

came and

people heard

the church

in Jerusalem

heard about

what was

going on

and it says

the hand

of the Lord

was with

them

and then

Barnabas

was sent

and it says

when he came

and saw

the grace

of God

he was

glad

Barnabas

came and

he observed

what was

going on

the church

in Jerusalem

was saying

what's

happening

we don't

know how

to handle

this

there are

Greek

people

coming to

Christ

there's

a church

being formed

there in

Antioch

what's up

with that

so they send

Barnabas

Barnabas

he's at

work here

and he

celebrates

that

and he

serves

that

what God

is doing

through his

grace

there's

grace

God's grace

is being

poured out

his mercy

and kindness

and nearness

have been

poured out

on this

church

and that's

what

makes all

the difference

in Antioch

and guys

that's what

makes all

the difference

here