Called and Sent: The Acts 13 Blueprint: Pastor Bonnie Rajoon

Aug 30, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Love That Walks Seven Days to Tell

The gospel isn’t content with staying put. Like Paul and Barnabas trekking across Cyprus for seven days, God’s love compels ordinary believers to share hope in homes, markets, and unfamiliar places. This love doesn’t wait for perfect conditions—it walks dusty roads, knocks on relatives’ doors, and speaks of resurrection power over coconut cakes. When opposition arises, it keeps moving, fueled by stories of healing and deliverance. The same Spirit that sent Antioch’s believers now sends us to declare: “I’ve seen what Jesus does.” [17:46]

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, ESV)

Reflection: Where is your “Cyprus”—the familiar place God is asking you to walk through, sharing stories of His work? Who needs to hear about the healings you’ve witnessed in your own life?

Day 2: Surviving Cities, Thriving Churches

Antioch’s church didn’t dissolve into its corrupt culture—it thrived like a flame in a downpour. Chariot races, temple prostitution, and greed surrounded them, but believers gathered daily to pray, worship, and sharpen one another. Their secret? Active expectation. They didn’t merely avoid darkness; they sought God’s presence so fiercely that their unity became a beacon. A corrupt city named them “Christ’s party”—not for their boycott lists, but for their radiant togetherness. [14:49]

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)

Reflection: What cultural currents threaten to dilute your faith community’s distinctiveness? How might daily habits of prayer or encouragement make your church unignorably alive?

Day 3: Confronting the Amazon Sorcerers

False prophets no longer wear robes—they sell Ouija boards on Amazon and call darkness “entertainment.” Like Elemas the sorcerer, modern deceivers peddle counterfeit protection through charms, games, and subtle lies. Paul didn’t ignore the threat; he named it. Believers today must discern cultural witchcraft masquerading as harmless fun, recognizing how even “black bead” superstitions erode trust in Christ alone. [26:22]

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11, ESV)

Reflection: What modern practices or media in your home subtly invite darkness? How can you replace fear-based rituals with declarations of Christ’s authority?

Day 4: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Encounters

The laundromat evangelist. The pre-k parent who prays. Antioch’s witnesses weren’t professionals—they were refugees and aunts who spoke Greek to Greeks. Janelle found Christ through Gail’s laundry-day courage; Diana and Richie came through playground conversations. Your “unremarkable” spaces are mission fields. The Holy Spirit doesn’t need degrees—He needs available mouths to say, “Let me tell you what I’ve seen.” [34:08]

“And daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” (Acts 5:42, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane place (laundromat, school drop-off, grocery line) is your current Antioch? Who needs to hear your simplest story of God’s faithfulness?

Day 5: Worship That Fuels the Send-Off

Antioch’s missionaries weren’t recruited at a conference—they were commissioned during worship. Fasting and praise became the runway for Paul and Barnabas’ mission. The same pattern holds: sustained worship softens hearts to hear “Set apart for Me.” Before confronting Cyprus’ darkness, they lingered in God’s presence. Our boldness grows not through strategies, but through adoration that reshapes our priorities. [16:03]

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” (Acts 13:2, ESV)

Reflection: How could intentional worship (fasting, extended prayer, sung praise) clarify your next step in God’s mission? What distraction keeps you from hearing His “send” command?

Sermon Summary

Acts 13 opens with a church that is alive in a city full of wealth, pleasure, corruption, and competing gods. The church at Antioch does not blend into that culture or let its idols creep in and compromise its faith. The believers gather, pray, worship, serve, encourage, and witness because they want the presence of the God who came in human flesh, was crucified, and rose again on the third day. The Holy Spirit meets that seeking church, sets apart Barnabas and Saul, and sends them out with the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The gospel goes out because God loves people to the moon and back, to the ends of the earth. Barnabas and Saul travel through Cyprus, preaching in synagogue after synagogue, taking every opportunity to tell people about Jesus. The word of God reaches Sergius Paulus, an intelligent governor whose heart is stirred to hear more. Elymas stands in the way because false prophets do not merely entertain. False prophets claim to speak for God without being sent by God, use deceit and trickery, seek influence near power, and lead people away from truth.

Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, sees Elymas for what he is: an enemy of everything that is right and a man perverting the right ways of the Lord. The confrontation shows that the gospel brings light into darkness and breaks chains that hold people in bondage. The enemy wants minds blinded, homes troubled, and souls kept from the assurance and peace of God. Jesus, however, comes to give life, and to give it more abundantly.

The warning also reaches into subtle things that look harmless: good luck charms, objects worn for protection, occult games, spells, and cultural influences sold as entertainment. The god of this age seeks to blind minds so that people cannot see the light of the gospel. The church therefore needs eyes without scales, watchfulness for children and souls, and courage to confront darkness with the light of Christ.

The church at Antioch also proves that witnesses are not only missionaries, pastors, or people with degrees. Ordinary believers, scattered by persecution and led by the Spirit, speak about Jesus in ordinary places. The Lord’s hand upon them is the qualification. The call reaches homes, jobs, parks, schools, laundromats, neighbors, and every nation gathered in New York City. The church that worships, seeks God’s face, and receives the Spirit’s anointing becomes a church of difference makers, shining hope in a dark world.

Key Takeaways

1. God sends the gospel everywhere God’s love refuses to keep the good news inside Jerusalem or within one people group. The gospel moves toward cities, islands, communities, and every person who needs redemption. The church belongs to Christ’s party before it belongs to any earthly identity. [08:30]
2. A praying church can thrive The church at Antioch flourishes because it does not passively blend into its culture. Worship, fasting, prayer, service, and encouragement keep its heart set apart for God. The Holy Spirit directs a church that expects God to speak and move. [14:49]
3. False prophets protect their influence Elymas resists the word because truth threatens the power he holds over Sergius Paulus. False prophets seek access, attention, and control while turning people away from Christ. The true messenger seeks God’s glory and the salvation of souls. [22:37]
4. The gospel confronts spiritual darkness Paul confronts Elymas because evil must not be treated as harmless when it keeps people from hearing truth. Darkness can appear openly through occult practices or subtly through cultural habits that promise protection apart from God. Christ’s light exposes bondage so that people may receive life. [29:44]
5. Ordinary believers carry Christ’s light The believers who spread the gospel from Antioch are ordinary church members led by the Spirit. The Lord’s hand upon a life matters more than credentials, polish, or an impressive story. Homes, workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods become places where Christ can be made known.

## [33:46]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[08:07] - God Loves to the Ends of the Earth
[09:21] - The Holy Spirit Sends Barnabas and Saul
[11:38] - Antioch: The Church Called Christians
[13:28] - Thriving in a Corrupt City
[16:03] - Sent to Cyprus With the Gospel
[19:09] - Elymas the False Prophet
[21:23] - Marks of False Prophets
[24:23] - Light Against Darkness
[26:22] - Subtle Cultural Influences
[28:15] - Confronting Evil With the Gospel
[30:50] - Opposition and Courage in Mission
[33:28] - Ordinary Believers as Witnesses
[36:33] - Shining Christ’s Light in the Community
[39:16] - Prayer for Boldness and Worship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Acts 13:1–12

1. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. [09:30]

2. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. [09:51]

3. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. [10:08]

4. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. [10:14]

5. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. [10:28]

6. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. [10:38]

7. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. [10:46]

8. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” [10:55]

9. Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. [11:27]

John 10:10

10. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” [25:04]

Acts 11:19–21

19. Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. [34:16]

20. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. [35:30]

21. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. [35:42]

2 Corinthians 4:4

4. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. [27:40]

Observation questions

What was the church at Antioch doing when the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Barnabas and Saul?
As Barnabas and Saul traveled through Cyprus, where did they begin proclaiming the word of God, and what did they do throughout the island? [16:45]
What does Acts 13 show about Elymas’s relationship to Sergius Paulus, and what was Elymas trying to prevent?
In Acts 11, who helped bring the gospel to the Greeks in Antioch, and what was the result when the Lord’s hand was with them? [35:19]

Interpretation questions

Why might the Holy Spirit’s direction to send Barnabas and Saul have come as the church was worshiping, fasting, and praying rather than simply making plans on its own? [15:51]
Elymas used his position near the governor to turn him away from faith. What does this reveal about why false teaching can be spiritually harmful, even when it seems impressive, helpful, or entertaining? [22:58]
Paul confronted Elymas because he was keeping Sergius Paulus from hearing the truth. What might faithful, Christlike confrontation look like today without attacking people or calling them names? [29:56]
Acts 11 says ordinary scattered believers spoke about Jesus, and the Lord’s hand was with them. What does this suggest about what qualifies a person to be a witness for Christ? [35:45]

Application questions

The church at Antioch did not blend into the values of its city; they gathered, prayed, worshiped, served, encouraged one another, and witnessed. Which of these practices is strongest in your life right now, and which one needs renewed attention? [14:19]
God’s gospel is meant to reach people beyond familiar circles. Who is one person in your family, workplace, school, neighborhood, or regular routine who may need an invitation, encouragement, or a simple conversation about Jesus? [36:33]
The enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus gives abundant life. Where have you seen confusion, fear, bondage, or loss of peace in your own life or around you that needs to be brought honestly to Jesus? [25:04]
Some influences promise protection, luck, guidance, or power apart from God. Are there any objects, media, habits, or beliefs in your home or life that deserve a closer look in the light of Christ? [26:22]
Believers need clear spiritual sight so they can recognize what pulls their hearts away from God. What “scales” might be keeping you from seeing clearly, and how can the group pray for greater discernment? [28:05]
Witnessing does not belong only to pastors, missionaries, or people with degrees. What makes you hesitate to share your faith, and what is one simple way you could tell someone this week about God’s goodness in your life? [33:28]
A church that shines Christ’s light is known for encouragement, kindness, generosity, wise counsel, and hope in hardship. Which of these qualities could you intentionally show to someone this week? [37:43]

Sermon Clips

54s

#EverydayWitnesses

“And, you know, church, many times we read passages like these in scripture, and we cannot identify with a Paul. We cannot identify with a Barnabas. You're probably saying, Lord, I don't know enough to speak up for myself. My story is not that interesting. Who's gonna listen to me? I'll just leave the witnessing for the pastors and the missionaries. But I have great news for all of us today. You see the witnesses in Antioch, they were ordinary church members. Just like us sitting here today. They were willing to go into the marketplaces. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were able to confront needy souls with the message of salvation. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the church.”

50s

#HandsOfTheLord

“The Lord's hand was upon them. That's the only qualification we need church. Sometimes we think to be an effective witness, I need to go to bible school. I need to be knowledgeable. I need seminary. I need a degree. No. The hands of the Lord was upon them, and they were led by the Holy Spirit. They were led by the spirit of God. That's the only thing that we need. And I pray that every time we get together, every time we come to church, we say spirit of the living God, will your hands rest upon us? Will your presence come into our midst, into our homes, into our lives, oh, Lord Jesus? Because we need you.”

42s

#ThriveNotSurvive

“The church at Antioch is our model today. We at Grace should adopt that model. We're saying acts alive. It is our model in New York City, everywhere in the world today. They were not just surviving, but they were thriving. Sometimes I feel like we are just surviving. But we wanna thrive. As Christian believers, we wanna thrive today in the presence of God. He has given us everything, church, that we need for life. He has given everything that we need for godliness. Why just survive? Let us thrive.”

37s

#SentAndAnointed

“But the true messengers of God, we see Paul Barnabas, the group that went. They are sent and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We see Jesus sending them out. We see the church laying hands on them, anointing them, and sending them out. The true messengers of God, they operate in truth to break the chains of bondage. The true messengers seek the glory of God and the salvation of souls. The true messengers lead people into eternal life.”

52s

#BattleForSouls

“Do you understand that there's a battle for our souls and it wages every day. That battle, that war wages every day. And there's only one outcome for each one of us. We either live eternity with God or we die. Eternal separation from God. And God does not want people to perish. He loves the world and that is why he sends us, the church, into the world. Pastor Johann, missionaries, the children's church teacher, the grandmas, the moms. We understand that we should never tire of witnessing, reaching out to our family.”

45s

#DifferenceMakers

“And so we are praying again for families to come together. We are saying, what would grace look like? What would the church look like? Think of all the lives that could be transformed if we would shine the light of Christ wherever we go. Think of what would happen. Grace would be a church of difference makers. People would say, these are a people who encourage. These are a people who show kindness and generosity. These are people who give wise counsel. I don't understand what's different about these people, but I'm interested. I wanna know.”

30s

#PrayAndSend

“And sometimes, as I said, it's not very overt. You know, we have people say, it's okay. I don't need to come to prayer meeting. I don't need to go to church. I can stay home and pray. I can stay home and do this on my own. I can do everything on my own. But the church of Antioch grew and sent out people. The church of Antioch was a praying church that encouraged each other. They witnessed, and that's how the gospel was spread.”

57s

#BewareFalseProphets

“The false prophets operate with deceitful signs, trickery, and subtle demonic influences. False prophets seek personal gain and influence. They like to be close to people of power, so we see that Elemos, the sorcerer, was trying to keep Paul and Barnabas away from the governor because he thought maybe my influence wouldn't be as much as it was before. I wouldn't have influence over this man anymore. I lose my authority. I lose my power over him. So he tried to prevent them. And this is what false prophet do because they want the power for themselves. False prophets lead people away from the truth. But the true messengers of God, we see Paul Barnabas, the group that went. They are sent and empowered by the Holy Spirit.”

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