Acts 11:19-26: First Called Christians

The Rev. Joe Cox, Director of Curriculum and Education at Lutheran High School South, St. Louis, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 11:19-26.

In the aftermath of persecution, a ripple of faith unfurls across the lands, transforming the city of Antioch into a beacon of hope. From these scattered seeds of belief, a new wave of Christianity takes root, penetrating the hearts of both Jew and Gentile alike. Amidst this divine awakening, Barnabas, a beacon of encouragement, fans the flame of faith, and the city thrives as a stronghold of new believers. In Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians.

The Book of Acts takes us back to the earliest days of Christianity, unveiling the incredible acts of the apostles and the growth of the early church. Acts offers a firsthand account how the Apostles and Jesus’ disciples respond to his death and resurrection. It makes us witnesses to the beginning of fulfilling Jesus’s command to spread the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. We encounter miracles and wonders, we see the church struggling to organize itself in the absence of Jesus, and we learn of the trials and tribulations the early Christians faced in a world that rejected them.