Acts is the story of the church on mission. Our Lord gave us the mission to be his witness in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth. We often break up the book of Acts according to these natural developments. In Acts 1-8 we find the church on mission to Jerusalem, chapters 9-14 Judea and Samaria, and then 14 to the end of the book the remotest parts of the earth.
But with any man designed outline there are limitations. What we do see is the mission to make disciples and plant churches expanding region by region. In our current study God has directed Paul’s missionary team to head to southern Europe. As they were obedient congregations were established in Greece. Even so the mission isn’t complete. There is much of the Roman empire that had yet hear the good news.
God in his sovereign direction will lead the Apostle Paul to proclaim the gospel to kings and those in authority—all the way to Rome.
In our study this fall we observed the church “On Mission to Europe.” It began with a conflict that divided the missionary team, thus multiplying their missionary outreach. Barnabas headed to Cyprus and again to Syria. Paul went back to Galatia, and then by God’s direction he traveled to Europe.
We find Paul spending over two years in the city of Ephesus. This was a very productive ministry. The whole region around this city was exposed to the good news of Christ. Ephesus became one of the hubs of Christianity alongside Jerusalem and Antioch.
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