Acts 11:22-24 News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
Today is the Feast Day of St. Barnabas, one of the leaders of the early Christian church. He worked with Paul, he cared for people and preached the gospel in those heady early days of the church. And his name is awesome. Barnabas. It means "son of encouragement." It's a great name for a Christian. Truly you are all a Barnabas or a Batnabas, which according to my rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew would mean "daughter of encouragement.
We are all Barnabas and Batnabas because we have been encouraged. We are here because we've been encouraged in faith and in life and in the decisions we've made. We've been provided direction and hope. God has worked through others to bring us encouragement, just like someone must have encouraged Barnabas at some point. And now, just like him, we are called to pass on those gifts.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9. Wednesday evening we will worship using Holden Evening Prayer at 7:30.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment