June 21, 2026

Acts 11:19-30

A Distinct Accent

Sunday Sermons

In Acts 11:19-30, the gospel reaches Syrian Antioch, the third-largest city in the ancient world. Believers scattered by persecution arrived, speaking the name of Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them. Something about their words and their lives set them apart, a spiritual accent the city had never heard. Their way of life was so unusual that the pagan city of Antioch had no category for them. Likely as a derogatory term, believers were called Christians for the first time.

Join Pastor Tommy as we consider what made this young church so unique: what they said, how they lived, and who they turned to. These believers were so captured by Jesus that their whole way of life pointed to another home.

Speaker

Tommy Bailey

Series

Acts of the Apostles

Go to Series

Scripture

Acts 11:19-30

Topics
Growth & Discipleship Worldview & Culture

Sermon Notes

Acts 11:19-30

A Distinct Accent

Pastor Tommy Bailey

 

“I remind myself and my church that a message of grace may attract people, but a culture of grace will keep them.”
Jared C. Wilson

Syrian Antioch in Church History

2nd Century

  • Iganatius (c. 35 – 108 AD)
  • Theophilus of Antioch (?-185 AD)

3rd and 4th Centuries

  • Lucian of Antioch (c. 240 – 312 AD)
  • Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 – 428 AD)
  • Chrysostom (c. 347 – 407 AD)

The Accent of the Church at Antioch

1. What They Said

“Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”
Proverbs 25:25

“The problem with stuffing the vastness of eternity into the cramped compartment of the human heart is that it doesn’t fit. What God has put inside us guarantees an enduring mismatch between what we want and what this world can give.”
Bobby Jamieson, Everything Is Never Enough

2. How They Lived

Christ-centered Character of the Church at Antioch

  • Remarkable unity out of diversity (vv. 11:19-20; 13:1-3)
  • Determined and sacrificial generosity (vv. 29-30)
  • Growing hunger to know more of Jesus (v. 26)

“Our hearts…are like existential compasses and embodied homing beacons: our loves are pulled magnetically to some north toward which our hearts have been calibrated. Our actions and behavior—indeed, a whole way of life—are pulled out of us by this attraction to some vision of the good life.”
James K. A. Smith, You Are What You Love

3. Who They Turned To

“I remind myself and my church that a message of grace may attract people, but a culture of grace will keep them.”
Jared C. Wilson

“God has designed and equipped the Christian life for perseverance that reaches beyond our own benefits…Our faithfulness isn’t just for us. It announces to the world that Jesus is worth every drop of our devotion.”
Glenna Marshall

 

Discussion Questions

  • Read the passage together: Before today’s sermon, what did you already know or believe about this passage? Did anything in your understanding shift after hearing the message?
  • Challenge and Reflection: Was there a part of today’s message that was particularly challenging or surprising for you? Why?
  • Unpacking the Message: Pick a quote from today’s sermon notes. Discuss what it means to you.
  • Personal Impact: What’s one specific way you feel called to change or grow after hearing this message?
  • Practical Application: What’s one step you can take this week to put today’s message into practice?
  • Connecting Scripture: Are there other Bible passages or stories this message reminds you of? How do they expand or confirm this teaching?
  • Gratitude: What aspect of God’s character stood out to you in today’s message? How does it inspire praise or gratitude?
  • Pray the Scripture: After hearing the message, is there a specific area where you feel led to pray? How can we pray for one another in light of today’s teaching?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs

“Come Christians Join To Sing” by Christian Henry Bateman
“Christ Our Hope in Life and Death” Music by Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker and Matt Papa, Choir and Orch. Arranged by John Langley and Paul Campbell
“Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me” by Jonny Robinson, Michael Farren, and Rich Thompson
“Give Me Jesus” by Fernando Ortega
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used with permission. CCLI License no. 2003690

Looking for our Hymns of the Week or resources to worship anytime? We’ve curated a playlist of hymns TVC Worship has led on our YouTube Channel!

Call To Worship: To God Be the Glory

Leader: To our God and Father be glory forever and ever!
People: My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

Leader: To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, The only God, Be honor and glory forever and ever.
People: I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God While I have my being.

All: To our God and Father be glory forever and ever! Amen!

Classic Prayer: John Baillie

O Holy Spirit of God, visit now this soul of mine, and tarry within it until eventide. Inspire all my thoughts.Pervade all my imaginations. Suggest all my decisions. Lodge in my will’s most inward citadel and order all my doings. Be with me in my silence and in my speech, in my haste and in my leisure, in company and in solitude, in the freshness of the morning and in the weariness of the evening; and give me grace at all times to rejoice in thy mysterious companionship.

TVC Prayer Ministry

TVC Ministry: AV & Production Teams
Vocation: Those who are unemployed or underemployed
Mission Highlight: Siloam Health
Praying for the Persecuted Church: Somalia

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