The Church in Antioch (Acts 11:1-30)
Word has traveled back to Jerusalem. The apostles and believers there hear that Gentiles have also received the Word of God. When Peter returns, the circumcised believers criticize him directly: "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them." Peter explains everything step by step, from the rooftop vision to the moment the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius's household. He asks them simply: "Who was I to think that I could stand in God's way?" When they hear the full account, the room goes quiet. Then they begin praising God: "So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life."
Meanwhile, the believers scattered by the persecution after Stephen's death have been traveling and preaching. Some of them reach Antioch, the third-largest city in the Roman world. Here, for the first time, they begin speaking the good news to Greeks, not only to Jewish communities. The Lord's hand is with them. A large number believe and turn to the Lord.
News of this reaches Jerusalem, and the church there sends Barnabas to Antioch to see what is happening. When Barnabas arrives and sees the grace of God at work with his own eyes, he is glad. He encourages all the believers to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. Luke describes him as a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Because of his ministry, a great many more people are brought to the Lord.
Barnabas then travels to Tarsus to find Saul and brings him back to Antioch. For an entire year, the two of them meet with the church and teach large numbers of people. And it is here, in this city, in this mixed community of Jews and Gentiles together, that the disciples are first called Christians. During that same period, a prophet named Agabus predicts through the Spirit that a severe famine will spread across the entire Roman world. The disciples in Antioch, each giving what they can, decide to send relief to the believers in Judea. They send it by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
A Curious Question
Barnabas arrived in Antioch, looked at what God was doing in this brand-new church, and was glad. What do you think he saw that made him glad? What does "the grace of God" look like in a group of people, so that you would recognize it when you walked through the door?
Old Testament Connection
In Antioch, believers were first called Christians, meaning "those who belong to Christ." That name connects directly to the most important promise in the Old Testament. God told Abraham in Genesis 12 that through his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Think of that promise like a tree God planted thousands of years ago. The church in Antioch, Jews and Greeks worshiping and eating and learning together under the name of Christ, was the tree finally bearing its fruit. The apostle Paul would later write in Galatians that Christ is that promised offspring and everyone who belongs to Christ is part of Abraham's family. The prophet Isaiah described all nations streaming to the mountain of the Lord. Barnabas looked around that room in Antioch and was seeing a promise God had made to Abraham finally taking visible shape. That is why he was glad.
Discussion Questions
- The church in Antioch sent relief to believers in Judea even though they had never met them. They gave to people far away because they were family in Christ. What does that kind of giving require you to believe about who counts as your family?
- Barnabas went to get Saul because the church in Antioch was growing and he needed help teaching. Barnabas believed in Saul when others were afraid of him. What kind of person does it take to see potential in someone that others have written off?
- The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. That name was probably given to them by outsiders who noticed how much they talked about and looked like Christ. If someone were watching your life from the outside, what name would they give you based on what they observed?
"So What?" What Can I Do?
The Antioch church gave relief to people they had never met, because they were brothers and sisters in Christ. This week, find one way to give something to someone who cannot give anything back to you. It could be money in an offering, a bag of food for a food pantry, or a note of encouragement to someone you do not know well. Do it as a way of practicing what the Antioch church practiced: generosity that crosses the distance between people.
Memorize God's Word
Acts 11:26: "And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians."
Hand Motions:
- And in Antioch: Point outward and away from yourself, as if pointing to a distant city.
- the disciples: Hold up both hands with all fingers spread, representing a group of people.
- were first called: Cup one hand near your mouth as if announcing something important.
- Christians: Cross both arms over your chest, holding your own shoulders, as if embracing the name you bear.
Praying with Kids
Lord Jesus, thank You that the name Christian means belonging to You. Thank You for the church in Antioch, where Jews and Greeks sat together, learned together, and gave together because they belonged to the same Savior. Help us to be people who live up to the name we carry, not just in church but everywhere we go, so that when people watch us, they see You. In Your name, Amen.
Craft: My Christian Name Badge
Children make and wear a name badge to think concretely about what it means to carry the name Christian and what kind of life that name calls them to live.
Materials Checklist
Instructions
- At the top of the badge, have each child write "CHRISTIAN" in large, confident letters.
- Below that, have them write their own name.
- In the middle, have each child draw or write three words that describe what a Christian looks like based on today's lesson: generous, welcoming, teaching, giving, glad.
- At the bottom, glue the printed strip of Acts 11:26.
- Attach the safety pin or lanyard clip so children can wear the badge for the rest of class.
- On the back, have each child complete this sentence: "When people watch my life this week, I want them to see..."
Effective Teaching Techniques
Open the lesson with this question: "If someone followed you around for one week and watched everything you did and said, what name would they give you based on what they saw?" Give children thirty seconds to think silently. Do not call on anyone yet. Then say: "In Antioch, outsiders watched the believers and gave them a name. That name was Christian. Today we are going to find out what those outsiders saw." That opening question creates a personal stake in the lesson before the story begins.
Make sure to spend time on Barnabas seeing "the grace of God" and being glad. Ask children: "What does grace look like? If you walked into a room and saw it, what would you be looking at?" Let them answer with concrete things: people helping each other, people who look different sitting together, someone being forgiven, someone giving when they do not have much. That discussion transforms an abstract theological word into something children can recognize and practice. The most likely difficult question is about the famine prediction by Agabus. Acknowledge that the Spirit gave prophecies through specific people in the early church. The church's response is the important part: they did not panic or hoard. They gave. That is the application the text itself points toward.