(Sundaycast) Powerless Believers Have God With Them (Jeremiah 14:9; Acts 11:26)

The first Antioch mentioned in the book of Acts is the large city in Syria (Acts 11:19-30). Syrian Antioch was the Roman world's third greatest city with a population of about 300,000 people. It was a significant business center. Antioch stood 25km up river from its seaport Selucia, where the Crontes River entered the Mediterranean. The center of Christian ministry was here. Barbara’s came here to encourage believers. Realizing that he needed assistance with the burgeoning group of disciples, he made the three-day journey to Tarsus to find Paul. Their partnership began in Antioch and oversaw a growing congregation called “Christians” by their pagan neighbors. (Whether this term was meant to be pejorative is debated, but it stuck to designate followers of Christ, even through today.) The arrival of these apostles from Jerusalem prompted the first Christian cross-cultural act of relief.Several missionary outreaches left from Antioch. Antioch was also the center of a controversy involving Gentile Christians and Jewish law (Acts 11:19-22, Acts 15:22-35,Galatians 2:11-21).