Session 1

Share (Acts 13:4-8)

obstacles to Saul and Barnabas’s mission.

4 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit,
they went down to Seleucia,
and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.
They also had John as their assistant.
6 When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos,
they came across a sorcerer,
a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.
7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus,
an intelligent man.
This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer
(that is the meaning of his name)
opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

Key Place

Cyprus

Barnabas and Saul set out first for Seleucia,
the seaport that served Antioch.
From there, they traveled to Cyprus, where Barnabas called home.
The gospel was not completely unknown in Cyprus,
as some of the population was associated with the church in Antioch.
As with many islands, Cyprus had been ruled by Egypt,
Phoenicia, Greece, Assyria, Persia, and finally, Rome over the years.
As a province governed by a proconsul appointed by the Roman senate,
Cyprus provided the missionaries with the first of many opponents to their ministry.

Ask:

• How would a “hometown” connection be an advantage to the missionary team?

Discuss:

discuss the reasons Saul and Barnabas first went to Jewish synagogues.
Briefly highlight the role of John Mark.

Describe:

Summarize the opposition the believers faced in Paphos.
Note the background of Bar-Jesus and the trouble he caused Saul and Barnabas.

Ask:

• What arguments do opponents make against Jesus today?
• How does an effective testimony and the truth of God’s Word combine to overcome opposition? (p. 15)

Transition:

Although the sorcerer had a lot of influence, Saul had Someone much more powerful on his side.