Acts 15:36 – 16:5 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.
Barnabas took John Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him, Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders of Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
- In the beginning there is agreement to take another journey
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Disagreement comes when choosing helpers.
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In Lystra, Paul becomes a spiritual mentor to Timothy.
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Paul adamantly opposed circumcision for salvation, but he supports it as an act of love to reach Jews.
1 Corinthians 9:19-20, 22-23 Though I am free and belong to no man; I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews… To the weak (powerless in class), I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.
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Is the church strengthened in the faith by you?
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How are you promoting the church to grow?