Introduction (Text – Acts 11:19-30; Acts 13:1-2)
Antioch was an important commercial and religious center of the Roman province of Syria with an estimated population of 500,000 people. It was the third largest city of the empire. The largest concentration of Jewish people living in Syria congregated in Antioch. Antioch had everything to offer. It had political prestige. But Antioch also had its dark side. It was known for its immorality. Corruption was the game to be played in Antioch politics and business.
Some unnamed migrants from Cyprus and Cyrene came to Antioch fleeing persecution in Jerusalem that followed after the martyrdom of Stephen. They were running for their lives with no idea that God had a plan for them in Antioch. His plans were much bigger than they would have imagined.
Now that they were in a foreign land, what were they to do?
The logical thing to do is to look for survival and build relationships with those like them who speak their language and whose culture they can understand. Whenever people move, they can be swept away by many pressures of life that can change them completely - pressure of change, pressure of temptations, pressure of competition, pressure of success, pressure of compromise, pressure of making impressions and making a name for ourselves. These men faced the same pressures but somehow they had made up their minds.
Paul tells the church in Philippi that “our citizenship is in heaven”. That means we are ambassadors of Christ here on earth. What do ambassadors do?
They carry their values.
We define these values as the shared convictions that guide the actions and reveal the strengths of the church. They are the values that represent the conscious and collective soul of our church because they express our most deeply held ideals. They define our ministry’s ethos. They are the constant reminder of what is most important to church.
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