Barnabas and Saul, sent out from the church in Antioch, travel first to Cyprus where an encounter with a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet whose message has just enough truth in it to snare the ear of a Roman proconsul teaches them two lessons:

• We must never see Christ as a means to an end
• We must be all things to all men to save some

It’s often assumed that Acts 12:25-13:3 marks Paul’s call into missionary activity. However the truth is that he had been working as a missionary for over a decade. This is not the beginning of missionary work, this is the beginning of an unprecedented period of growth in the Church. That growth is …

• Growth out of Preparation
• Growth through Apprenticeship
• Growth by Sacrifice

Acts 12:1-24 is both a profound wound to the church, and a glorious victory for the church, as …

• One Dies
• One Lives
• One is Lost