I have been reading through the book of Acts in my Bible reading plan.  As I read Acts 11-13, I wanted to go to Antioch and hang out with the Christ followers there.  It seemed like a pretty cool place.  Here are some of my favorite things about the Church at Antioch:

1. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. (Acts 11:26)  This tells me that the impact that this group of believers was having on their community was BIG.  They were called “little Christ’s” which implies that their lives looked like Jesus’ life.  That is awesome.  How are you doing at being known as a Christ-ian?  Do people see the life of Jesus in you?

2. A bunch of people were getting saved. (Acts 11:21, 24)  There was probably a lot of passion for God because of all the newly saved people.  New Christians tend to have a contagious zeal about them that I always want to have in my life.  Get me around some new Christians!  How’s your passion for God right now?  Is it less than when you first were saved?

3. News about the revival was traveling fast. (Acts 11:22)  I guess this was more of a “vival” because there was nothing that had happened before this to make it a “revival”.  Are people in the community talking about what God is doing at your church?

We will continue this next week…

About the Author:
Jeremiah Stingl is one of the teaching pastors at Chapel Hill. He also oversees the FTC School of Ministry. Jeremiah and his wife, Bianca, have an adorable little girl named Makani. In his free time, Jeremiah enjoys reading, golfing, and hanging with his family. Follow @JeremiahStingl on Twitter.