RUSSELL SANDERS
7-17-2021
THE APOSTLE PAUL – LESSON 16
SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY – PART 2
Paul and his new ministry partner Silas were sent out from Antioch of Syria, the gentile center of missions’ activity. They preached and distributed the letters from Jerusalem to several churches in Syria and in Paul’s home province of Cilicia.
Paul returned to the province of Pisidia where he had established churches on his first trip. (Acts 16.) He went first to Derbe, then to Lystra and Iconium where he had gotten a lot of flak, even stoned. There was no trouble now in these cities of established churches.
At Lystra he took young Timothy to travel, learn and minister with them. The men of the area highly recommended the young man. Paul became Timothy’s mentor, and the young man became like a son to Paul (I Timothy 1:2 and 2 Timothy 1:2).
An interesting situation occurred. Although the Jerusalem council had decreed that gentile believers need not be circumcised, Paul had Timothy, the son of a gentile Greek circumcised to avoid any contention from the Jews. Perhaps it may have been in part that his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice were Jews.
However, Paul, Silas, and Timothy together now preached in the churches throughout the region and established new churches since the number of believers was increasing every day.
Now they were ready to go to the unreached areas with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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