Priscilla & Aquila: Partners In Ministry

PRISCILLA & AQUILA: PARTNERS IN MINISTRY

Acts 18:1-28

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: FINALLY GOOD MANNERS

1. "Grandpa, I'm really proud of you," said his granddaughter. "What's to be proud of?" asked the old man.

2. She replied, "I noticed that when you sneeze, you've learned to put your hand in front of your mouth."

3. "Of course," explained Grandpa. "How else can I catch my teeth???"

B. TEXT

Acts 18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 21 Then he set sail from Ephesus. 24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 27 Apollos…28 vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

C. THESIS

1. Tonight we’re looking at the impact that simple, unknown Christians can make with their lives. Sometimes we don’t feel like we can do much for God, but that’s not true.

2. We’re going to look at a couple who you’ve probably never heard of and we’re going to see how God especially used the wife to carry out a key role in the N.T. era.

3. The title of this message is “Priscilla & Aquila: Partners in Ministry.”

I. UNSUNG HEROES OF THE CHURCH

A. CELEBRITY CULTURE VS. REALITY

1. Today we live in celebrity culture. Our sports heroes are those who command outrageous fees.

2. Alex Rodriguez (baseball-Yankees), $27.5 million/yr

Sebastian Vettel (auto racing), $80 million/yr

Floyd Mayweather (boxing), $72 million/yr

Anthony Davis (basketball), $29 million/yr

Aaron Rodgers (football), $22 million/yr

3. Even within the church the celebrity culture dominates. We cater to people who woo the crowds, who are in sync with the culture, and have their ministries named after themselves!

4. The hard workers of the faith are ignored, overlooked or even considered non-essential.

5. Consider - most churches in the world are under 100 people (70-86 on avg.) and in America around 80% of the Christians attend churches considered small to medium size churches. (Churches 0-300).

B. UNSUNG HEROES’ REWARD

1. The gift of “helps” is not very glamorous and will never make millions of dollars. Can you imagine the shock when a superstar athlete appears before the Lord?

2. “So what did you do you for the Kingdom of Heaven?” “I played basketball or baseball!” Do you think the Lord’s going to be impressed?

3. But say this to Him – “I was a helper in the church – I served others!” For us this doesn’t sound like a big wow but for the Lord it is.

4. He will smile and applaud that kind of life and all of Heaven will rejoice along with Him! Jesus loves the unsung heroes of the church.

5. I think their reward will be greater in the Heaven than a person who lives in the limelight or had a public ministry of some sort.

6. That’s the kind of person we’re looking at today – Priscilla & Aquila!

II. PAUL’S CONVERTS TO JESUS

A. JEWS WHO BECAME CHRISTIANS

1. The Bible says they were Jews, not believers. Some scholars have assumed they were already Christian Jews before they arrived at Corinth.

2. But Luke doesn’t say that. If he’d meant that, he would have called them “believers.” Luke simply calls them Jews. 3. They were tentmakers, like Paul, so he started working and living with them every day for 18 months. The outcome was that they became Christians.

B. BECAME THOROUGHLY CONVINCED

1. For a Jew to become a Christian was a big deal, a huge shift in doctrine. Jesus was no longer just a man and a prophet, He was the Son of God, the Christ!