Brothers and Sisters Pete Kersker - Aug 27, 2026 Paul and Barnabas enjoyed a "home church" in Antioch. It's the first gathering of believers where Jews and Gentiles came together as Christians. They enjoyed good fellowship (friendship) until someone came up from Judea (the region around Jerusalem) and started teaching things that threatened to divide them again. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. (Acts 15:23 NIV). Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem with this division-teaching man to find out what others in the region taught. They found out that there was not unity in the church at that time. This led the servants of the church to consider the Scriptures and to approach God in prayer. They reached unity with one another when they all moved to the "same page" with God. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. (Acts 15:24-27 NIV). God defined for them what was good and bad, right and wrong. God empowered them to walk by the Holy Spirit to be holy as He is Holy. God reminded them that they are all in the same boat: made in the image of God, accountable for their own sin, forgiven and reconciled by the blood of Christ, and adopted children (brothers and sisters) with Jesus. They affirmed all this to their adopted brothers and sisters in Antioch as well. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell (Acts 15:28-29 NIV). Did you know that other Christians, even far away, are your adopted brothers and sisters with Jesus? Does this information change how you care about them? How you interact with them?