Acts 14, 15, 16

Acts 14, 15, 16

Overview:  Paul and Barnabas continue their missionary journey and are mistaken for Zeus and Hermes.  Paul and Barnabas take up the Gentile question with the Jerusalem church and are backed by Peter.  Paul and Barnabas have a falling out and Paul continues his work with a new partner, Silas.  Paul and Silas put an end to a bad business plan (and are not thanked for it) and then they live through an earthquake while in jail which leads to the creation of a great Sunday School song.

Singing songs of praise,
Singing songs of happiness,
Dark the day,
Light your way,
Keep singing songs of praise.

Paul and Silas were in jail,
Bail they could not raise,
Jailers callin',
Walls start fallin,
Singing the songs of praise.

I'm not positive, but I think that's how the song went.  We used to sing this on a regular basis at Whirlybird and Jet Cadet meetings at Memorial Presbyterian Church when I was growing up.  One of the great things about so many of these Acts stories - many of them are visceral and fantastic - the kind of thing that appeals to the mind of a young person.  Plenty of adventure along with the reassuring message that God will take care of us.
Acts 14 features the story of Paul and Barnabas being mistaken for Zeus and Hermes.  Zeus or Hermes aside, I am always impressed by the way the followers of Christ in the book of Acts consistently point beyond themselves to Christ.  In an earlier passage it was Peter who was faced with being treated like a god and instead pointed beyond himself to God.  Pride must have been a great temptation especially when things were going well, the message was being well received and people were being healed.  The preachers and teachers of the early church kept ever before them that it was Christ's gospel that animated all that they did.  And because of their single minded devotion the church is here today with the same mission - point to Christ - now entrusted to us.