May 12 recap

Hey everyone -
In this week's installment of the Big Story, Larry talked about the church at Antioch as described in Acts 13.  And on Mother's Day, he described this church as a "Mother Church" - one who was "pregnant" with the gospel.

This church was filled with people who were giving their lives for the gospel.  And the church consistently "gave birth"to new believers and new churches, as they sent out people from their own midst to spread the gospel throughout the world.  In this particular story, the church sent Paul and Barnabas out on a missionary journey.  The church at Antioch could have been selfish with their leaders and charged them with taking care of the local flock.  But instead, they had a kingdom mindset that led them to celebrate the movement of the Holy Spirit wherever it was to be found, and to make all their resources available to participate in the extending of Christ's kingdom.

Larry concluded with an exercise comparing and contrasting the church at Antioch with our hearts and our church.  And while there are many wonderful similarities, he also challenged us strongly to "close the gap" through the power of the Holy Spirit.  He called us to turn our primary focus away from ourselves and our own needs, and toward those of people outside the church.  If you missed the sermon, please check out the podcast and allow God's Word and Larry's sermon to inspire and challenge you this week!