The Big Meeting in Jerusalem

In today’s lesson, we’re going to talk about a big meeting Paul attended with important church leaders. Many of the leaders in the church were fighting over one particular issue; who were the insiders in the church and who were the outsiders. Back then, the Jews thought they were the insiders. They knew God’s law and followed all the rules. But, when Jesus came, a lot of different people started following him, not just Jewish people. And, Jesus’ message was that he came to die for everyone. But, some of the leaders in the church forgot that part of Jesus’ message and wanted non-Jews to become Jewish in order to be a part of the church. So, Paul went to this meeting to fight for the outsiders. He reminded all of the leaders that to be saved from sin, all a person had to do was put their trust in Jesus. It didn’t matter if they were Jewish or if they followed the Jewish laws. The leaders were convinced and from that day on, non-Jews, or Gentiles, were welcome in the church. Jesus came for everyone and that includes you and me!