Head: Know God's Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God's Way

Read Acts 11:19-30

Head

As we read today, we see how more and more Christians began to share Jesus with more and more people —the kinds of people they’d never shared the good news with before! The Bible calls these people “Greeks” or “Gentiles” —this simply means, not Jewish. This was HUGE! Christians were beginning to understand that the Good News of Jesus was for everyone. The more they shared, the more people came to know, love, and follow Jesus.

News about what was happening reached the church in Jerusalem, and they were so happy! They sent a man named Barnabas to Antioch to see what was going on. When Barnabas got there, he saw how God was working in amazing ways. He encouraged the believers to keep following Jesus with all their hearts.

Heart

From these verses, we can learn a few important lessons:

• Share God's Love: Just like the Christians in Antioch, we can share God's love with others. We can tell them about Jesus and how much He loves them. We can also show kindness and help those in need as they did!
  
• Encourage Others: Barnabas encouraged the believers in Antioch. We can also encourage our friends and family to trust and follow Jesus —even when it isn’t the most popular or easy thing to do.
  
• Follow God’s Lead: The believers in Antioch listened to God’s voice and followed His lead. We can pray and ask God to help us to follow Him with all our hearts. We can read His Word and talk with safe, trustworthy adults in our lives who also follow Him. These help us make wise choices that honor God in our lives.
  

Hands

Who might you share God’s love with today? Is there someone you can encourage? Ask someone you trust about what they see God doing in your life and think together about how you might follow God’s lead.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, we thank You that we get to be part of Your mission to share God’s love with the whole world! Help us to share God’s love each day, to encourage others around us, and to look for the ways You are working in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.