This past Sunday at The Family Church here in Gainesville, senior pastor Philip Griffin continued the series Everyday Heroes, spotlighting various figures from the Bible and how God worked through them to build his kingdom. This message was about Barnabas, whose story is told in the New Testament of Acts. Philip drew upon four different passages, which you can read in the New International Version via Bible Gateway through the following four links:
ACTS 4:36-37 9:26-28 11:24-26 15:37-41
Barnabas was an early Christian who played an integral role in Paul's ministry. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, his words and actions revealed this influence in his life as he gave freely of his possessions, valued people like Paul and Mark as he vouched for the former to those who still feared him for his past persecution of Christians and worked with the latter after Paul had given up on him. So how one deals with possessions, people, and problems reflects on one's spiritual state, as the pastor pointed out. Philip also emphasized that conflicts can be good, change can be productive, and confrontation can be healthy...but certain principles should be followed: in a confrontation, just keep it between the other and yourself, make it face-to-face, truth must be spoken in love and not anger, and the goal should always be reconciliation and not revenge. As for money and possessions he also noted that they can easily become the biggest God substitutes...i.e. idols...in our lives...
You can view Philip's message about Barnabas on the church's YouTube video website...here is a link to it: [link]. The Family Church meets each Sunday morning at 9:30 and 11. There is the weekly sermon, along with praise music and opportunities for prayer. The folks are friendly and the coffee is free! I wonder what the message will be next time around...
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