Bible Stories for Adults

Paul’s First Missionary Journey

Acts 11:19-30; 13-14

Next Week - The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)
Bible Words to Remember:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Romans 1:16

When is the first we hear of Saul?
Acts 7:54-58
Was Saul just a bystander to Stephen's stoning or was he involved in any way?
Acts 7:59-8:1a
How did Saul react to what he had seen from these Jesus followers, and why?
Acts 26:4-5, 9-11
How was Saul’s focus significantly changed?
Acts 26:12-18

How did Saul respond to this change in plans?
Acts 9:20-22
What happened after preaching 3 years in Damascus and the surrounding area?
Acts 9:23, 25
Where did he go and how was he received?
Acts 9:26-28
Why did he leave after only 15 days?
Acts 9:29-30

What was God’s plan for this new church?
Acts 1:8
How well did the early believers respond to this calling?
Acts 5:42
How did God intervene to complete His plan despite the believers’ stationary approach?
Acts 8:1, 4-5, 14
How did God intervene to push the believers to the ends of the earth?
Acts 11:1-5a, 9, 15, 17-18

How effective were the believers who had been scattered by the persecution?
Acts 11:19
Did anyone understand that “God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life”?
Acts 11:20-21
How did the mother church in Jerusalem react when word arrived of Gentile believers?
Acts 11:22-24

Antioch - 3rd largest city in Roman empire (after Rome & Alexandria), over 500,000 population
Called "Antioch-on-the-Orontes" since on Orontes River, also Syrian Antioch
Seleucus Nicator established 16 Antiochs around 300 BC in memory of his father
300 miles north of Jerusalem, 20 miles east of Mediterranean Sea, 80 miles from Tarsus
What did Barnabas do when he saw that he needed help in this large city?
Acts 11:25-26
Why does this verse say their ministry only lasted a year?
Acts 11:27-30

Who else returned with Barnabas and Saul from Jerusalem to Antioch?
Acts 12:15
How do we see that John-Mark was well acquainted with Peter and the Jerusalem church?
Acts 12:9, 12, 16
Note: Early sources state that Mark recorded the story of Jesus as told by Peter (Gospel of Mark)
What story does Mark record at Jesus’ arrest that many believe refers to him?
Mark 14:50-52
Why might Barnabas and Saul taken John-Mark with them to Antioch?
Colossians 4:10

How was the church in Antioch able to operate while Barnabas and Saul were in Jerusalem?
Acts 13:1
Was God satisfied with the ministry these men were doing in Antioch?
Acts 13:2
How did this church respond to God’s call for this birth of “foreign missions”?
Acts 13:3

Where did Barnabas and Saul head first?
Acts 13:4
Why might they begin there?
Acts 4:36
Where did these Christian Jews focus their missionary efforts on Cyprus?
Acts 13:5

What non-Jew did God lead them to as they reached the other end of the island?
Acts 13:6-7
What did Bar-Jesus (“son of Jesus”) do when this teaching threatened his relationship with S. Paulus?
Acts 13:8
How did Saul respond, playing on his surname, his magical powers & his claim to be a religious light?
Acts 13:9-11
Did this have any effect on Sergius Paulus?
Acts 13:12

What transition did Luke make in the story we just read that highlights a new focus to Gentiles?
Acts 13:9a
How does Luke also point out that the leadership of this effort changes from Barnabas to Paul?
Acts 13:13a
Was anyone bothered by this change in leadership?
Acts 13:13b
Was Paul upset by John-Mark leaving?
Acts 16:36-41
Were Paul and Mark ever reconciled?
2 Timothy 4:11

Where did Paul and Barnabas head for our next story of this journey?
Acts 13:14
Antioch - 110 miles from Perga past Taurus Mountains, 4000 ft elevation
Why did Paul always begin his ministry in a new city by going to the synagogues?
Acts 13:15-16

Luke recorded two examples two examples of Paul’s typical sermons - Acts 13 (to Jews) & 17 (Greeks)
What components did Paul include in a typical sermon to Jews?
Acts 13:17-22
Acts 13:23-25
Acts 13:26-29
Acts 13:30-31
Acts 13:32-37
Acts 13:38-39
Acts 13:40-41

How did the listeners respond to Paul’s sermon?
Acts 13:42-43
Did they still want to hear more the next week, or was their request just excitement of the moment?
Acts 13:44
How did the members of the synagogue feel about this heavy attendance of all sorts of people?
Acts 13:45

How did Paul and Barnabas respond that became typical in other cities they visited?
Acts 13:46-47
Did Paul change his ministry to focus primarily to the Gentiles (non-Jews)?
Romans 1:14-16
How did the Gentiles feel about what Paul said?
Acts 13:48-49
Did the Jews in Antioch just ignore Paul & Barnabas from that time on?
Acts 13:50-52

Iconium - Important crossroads & agricultural center in Galatia, Now Konya in Turkey
How were Paul and Barnabas received in Iconium?
Acts 14:1-3
Was the opposition in Iconium as strong as it had been in Antioch?
Acts 14:4-5
What happened?
Acts 14:6-7

What kind of faith did Paul and Barnabas find in Lystra?
Acts 14:8-10
Why does verse 9 say “he had faith to be healed”?
Matthew 9:28-29; 13:58
How did the people of Lystra respond to this miracle?
Acts 14:11-13
Lystra legend was that Zeus & Hermes had visited and were recognized only by an old couple
Zeus was the patron god of Lystra and his temple was there

How did Paul and Barnabas react to being called gods?
Acts 14:14-18
How were the people eventually convinced that Paul and Barnabas were not gods?
Acts 14:19-20

Were Paul and Barnabas effective in Derbe?
Acts 14:21a
Where did Paul and Barnabas go after leaving Derbe?
Acts 14:21b-25
Did they go back through Cyprus?
Acts 14:26
What did they do in Antioch?
Acts 14:27-28
Note: First journey understood to have taken about 2 years, Stayed 2 years before second journey