THE FIRST CHURCH

Poetic Interpretation of the Living Message
delivered by Pastor Brian Broadway on 10/11/20
​ 
The Disciples
were the first Followers of Christ;
they included the original 12
and so many more.

They were Hebrew Jews,
and in the Book of Acts,
division happened
because men like Peter
focused on ethnicity,
while people like Paul
focused on equality for all.

In the Letter to the Galatians
Paul writes,
"When Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch,
I opposed him to his face,
because he stood self-condemned; 
for until certain people came from James,
he used to eat with the Gentiles.
But after they came, he drew back
and kept himself separate
for fear of the circumcision faction. 
And the other Jews joined him
in this hypocrisy,
so that even Barnabas
was led astray by their hypocrisy."
Galatians 2:11-13 NRSV

A gospel of inclusion
was presented
to both the Gentiles and the Jews -
Paul says,
You foolish Galatians!
Who has bewitched you?
It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ
was publicly exhibited as crucified!  
The only thing I want to learn from you is this:
Did you receive the Spirit
by doing the works of the law
or by believing what you heard? 
 Are you so foolish?
Having started with the Spirit,
are you now ending with the flesh?  
Galatians 3:1-3

After Stephen was stoned in 35 AD,
Jews scattered to avoid persecution.
They traveled as far as Phoenicia,
which is the land of Sidon & Tyre,
and to Cyprus
and Antioch, which is north of Syria.

What the enemy planned for evil,
the Lord turned into good -
the persecution is what started
the spreading of the Good News.

The message of Jesus was so well-received,
that a great number of people believed
and turned to the Lord.
News of this reached the church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 
When he arrived and saw
what the grace of God had done, 
he was glad and encouraged them all
to remain true to the Lord
with all their hearts. 
He was a good man,
full of the Holy Spirit and faith,
and a great number of people
were brought to the Lord.

So do not believe
that the church started in Rome,
this is just another deception from Satan.

According to the Bible,
the first official Church of Jesus Christ
started in 42 AD in a place called Antioch.

Then we see,
Paul Barnabas and John,
whose surname is Mark
(yes, he is the author who penned
the Gospel according to Mark),
start planting other churches.

They started with Jews
and then went to the Gentiles,
which are really just non-Jewish people
who live among the nations.

Paul was highly educated,
He knew the Torah, inside and out,
and was able to speak eloquently
in the Synagogues.

He spoke to the Jews and the Gentiles
who were God-fearing men,
while they sat divided
by ethnicity, and were separated.

Yet, they all had access
to the same history lesson
that Paul shared
about the timeline of God.

Acts 13:14-52 shares the Gospel
that Paul used
to bridge the gap
between the Gentiles and the Jews.

He went back 1500 years
and spoke about bondage,
in Egypt,
and hard hearted men.
He showed them that Moses was sent
to echo a redeemer who would come
to rescue them.
He spoke about King Solomon,
and in all his wisdom
had learned the greatest part of existence
is living with a fear of the Lord.
He taught them that our prison
is related to the choices we make
and what or who we worship.
He showed that fear of the Lord
was necessary to be redeemed back
to God’s original intent.
Then Paul talks about John the Baptist,
and shares that he came
to pave the way for the Lord
and declare the good news
of Jesus Christ.

Yes, Paul speaks to both,
the Sons of Abraham - the true Jews,
and to the God-fearing Gentiles.

Acts 13:26 says that the Word
of this salvation
has been sent to all of us;
and Paul connects the Old Testament,
the Law and the Prophets to the New Testament.

Paul connects the all of the facts -
and we must do that too.
How can we press in to tradition,
but not obey the truth?

Every prophet pointed to Jesus,
but the Sons of Abraham,
condemned him.

Every Apostolic statement connects Jesus Christ
to the will of God
through four conditions:
He was crucified;
He was laid in tomb,
He resurrected from the dead;
and there is great evidence
through the testimony of many witnesses.

Romans 6:3 shows us
that when we are baptized
we are first put to death ,
and when we rise
we are made alive through Jesus Christ.

All of us,
black and white,
young and old,
male and female,
Jews and Gentiles.
have equality,
and access to Jesus
through the process of obedience
and accepting His truth.

Christian equality,
is more than just words of affirming,
it’s a heart decision to believe Galatians 2:20.
“I have been crucified with Christ
and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭

Do you not know that
God’s Church IS
the most powerful entity on the earth,
in the world.
Perhaps it is time we start living like it.

In 753 B.C.
Isaiah 53:1 prophesied
the Son would grow up
before the Father
as a tender plant
through the dry ground.

He had no form of attraction.
He was despised and rejected,
and carried many great sorrows;
He bore the griefs of everyone -
yet He was esteemed
as Stricken by God
and His own people would crucify Him.
He was oppressed and afflicted
yet he did not open his mouth.
They made His grave with the wicked,
and was counted as condemned.

We have to be carful
in what we believe;
we cannot base our truth on what
our human existence tells us,
But instead, we should acknowledge
the true truth of what the Word of God says.

Remember this -
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 
He was in the beginning with God. 
All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life, 
and the life was the light of all people. 
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it."
John 1:1-5