Encourage One Another" // Robbie Kubr // 8.30.26

Encouragement sounds simple, but it is about a lot more than making somebody feel good. Generic lines like “follow your dreams” or “you’ve got this” can be shallow, and sometimes they are not even true. Biblical encouragement has a deeper foundation. First Thessalonians says believers should encourage one another because Jesus died so that they may live with him. Encouragement helps people keep going and keep growing with Jesus.

Acts 11 puts that kind of encouragement on display through Barnabas. Persecution had scattered followers of Jesus after Stephen was killed, and the people who fled kept sharing the good news everywhere they went. Antioch became this incredibly diverse city where Greeks and others turned to the Lord. God used the very persecution meant to crush the church to spread the gospel, but that growth did not erase the pain. These believers had lost homes, jobs, family members, safety, and maybe even hope.

Barnabas arrived in the middle of that mess and “saw what the grace of God had done.” Barnabas saw grace when others may have only been able to see grief. He did not minimize suffering with an “at least,” and he did not offer false hope about things he could not know. He pointed to concrete evidence of God’s grace already at work. That kind of encouragement gives hurting people a reason to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

Barnabas also saw potential. He went all the way to Tarsus to find Saul, a man whose past made him an unlikely choice. Saul had helped launch the persecution these believers were fleeing, yet God’s grace had changed him. Barnabas recognized Saul’s gifts, brought him alongside, and spent a year teaching with him in Antioch. Encouragers do not merely fill ministry gaps or look for more volunteers. They see what God could do through someone and say, “Come serve God with me.”

Barnabas’s encouragement helped spark transformation. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch because their connection to Jesus had become obvious to people outside the church. “Those Jesus people” lived so distinctly that the world gave them a name. Encouragement rooted in Christ, grounded in grace, and willing to call out potential can have an impact far beyond what anyone sees in the moment. The cross and resurrection give believers both the reason and the power to help others keep going and keep growing with Jesus.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Encouragement points to Jesus’ finished work. Jesus’ sacrifice is the ground beneath real encouragement. Hard circumstances do not become easy simply because somebody says positive words, but Christ’s death and resurrection give suffering believers a solid reason to keep trusting him. Encouragement helps people remember that their life with Jesus is stronger than the trouble pressing in around them. [08:24]
• 2. Encouragers see grace in painful places. Barnabas did not deny the trauma, grief, and uncertainty in Antioch. He saw what God had actually done in the middle of it, and he named it clearly. Grace-filled encouragement does not lead with “at least”; it helps hurting people notice the real work of God without minimizing what hurts. [20:41]
• 3. Encouragers call out kingdom potential. Barnabas saw more than Saul’s ugly reputation and violent past. God’s grace had changed Saul, and Barnabas recognized gifts that could strengthen the church. Mature encouragement creates room for others to serve alongside, not merely take over a task. [28:39]
• 4. Faithful encouragement sparks real transformation. Antioch became known as the place where disciples were first called Christians because their allegiance to Jesus was visible. Barnabas likely did not see the full ripple effect of his faithfulness, but God used it to shape a community whose identity could not be missed. Small acts of Christ-centered encouragement can carry far bigger consequences than anybody expects. [35:24]
• 5. The cross makes encouragers possible. The Holy Spirit opens believers’ eyes to see God at work and to recognize how God has gifted others. Apart from grasping the gulf created by sin and the grace given through Christ, encouragement easily becomes empty positivity. The gospel gives both the vision and the motive to help others continue with Jesus.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:20] - Everybody Needs Encouragement
• [02:55] - When Encouragement Falls Flat
• [05:09] - Biblical Encouragement Is More
• [07:54] - Jesus Is the Foundation
• [09:12] - Keep Going and Growing With Jesus
• [11:42] - Persecution Scatters the Church
• [12:59] - The Gospel Reaches Antioch
• [15:19] - Growth in the Middle of Pain
• [16:20] - Barnabas, Son of Encouragement
• [18:04] - Encouragers See Grace
• [24:19] - Encouragers Spur Potential
• [32:17] - Encouragers Spark Transformation
• [36:39] - Pray for Eyes to Encourage
• [38:07] - The Cross and the Holy Spirit

Bible Reading

Acts 11:19-26

Verse 19: “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews.” [12:59]

Verse 20: “Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.” [12:59]

Verse 21: “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” [12:59]

Verse 22: “News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.” [16:20]

Verse 23: “When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” [18:04]

Verse 24: “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” [23:20]

Verse 25: “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,” [24:38]

Verse 26: “and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” [32:33]

1 Thessalonians 5:11

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” [05:36]

1 Thessalonians 5:10

“He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” [08:06]

Observation questions

1. In Acts 11:19-21, what was happening to the believers as they traveled, and what did they continue to do even while fleeing persecution? [12:59]
2. What did Barnabas see when he arrived in Antioch, and what specific response did that produce in him and toward the church? [18:31]
3. What does Acts 11:24 say about Barnabas’s character, and what was happening in the church while he was there? [23:20]
4. What did Barnabas do to involve Saul in the work at Antioch, and how long did they serve and teach there together? [27:28]

Interpretation questions

1. First Thessalonians connects encouragement with Jesus dying so believers may live with him. How does that truth make Christian encouragement more solid than simply saying, “You’ve got this”? [08:06]
2. The believers in Antioch were seeing God bring people to faith, but they had also lost safety, homes, jobs, and possibly family members. Why would it have mattered for Barnabas to recognize both the pain and the grace present in their situation? [15:19]
3. Barnabas encouraged the church to remain true to the Lord “with all their hearts.” What might remaining true to Jesus have looked like for people living with fear, grief, uncertainty, and practical needs? [18:31]
4. Barnabas brought Saul alongside him rather than treating Saul as a replacement or merely filling a ministry gap. What does this show about the difference between recruiting help and calling out someone’s God-given potential? [28:39]

Application questions

1. Think about a time when someone’s encouragement truly helped you keep going with Jesus. What made their words or actions meaningful—did they point you to Christ, notice God’s grace, offer practical help, or simply stay present with you?
2. When someone shares pain or loss with you, is there a temptation to respond with “at least…” or to promise an outcome only God knows? What could it look like to listen well and point to real evidence of God’s grace without minimizing what hurts? [20:41]
3. Is there a hard situation in your life right now where pain has made it difficult to see anything else? What is one concrete sign of God’s grace—however small—that you can ask God to help you notice?
4. Who in your life may need encouragement to remain true to the Lord right now? What is one specific, truthful way you could encourage them this week rather than offering a generic phrase? [22:26]
5. Barnabas saw Saul’s changed life and his ability to teach, even though Saul had a painful and complicated past. Is there someone whose potential you may have overlooked because of their history, reputation, age, or lack of experience? What gift or growth in them could you affirm? [26:53]
6. Where are you currently serving at church, at home, at work, or in the community? Who could you invite to serve alongside you, learn from you, or use their gifts with you rather than simply handing them a task? [30:16]
7. Encouragement flows from knowing what Jesus has done through the cross and from walking closely with him through the Holy Spirit. What would it look like this week to ask God to open your eyes to his grace at work and to the people around you who need encouragement? [38:07]