Priscilla and Aquila

Once upon a time, there was young cheesemaker. He had grown up in Alkmaar, a town in Holland widely renowned for the scrumptious cheese it produced. Throughout his childhood, various aged cheesemakers had instructed him in the ways of this fine art. Therefore, he was a very skilled cheesemaker, and his cheese always tasted nice. Since he was so passionate about his talent, he soon began to teach cheesemaking seminars. He was an eloquent speaker. Soon, he was one of the most outspoken teachers in all of Alkmaar. One day, however, two wise cheese-makers heard him speaking and realized that he was telling his attentive audience to salt the curds before separating them from the whey- a practice that would ultimately ruin the finished product.

Read Acts 18:18-28

You might find Apollos very similar to this young cheesemaker. Apollos had been “instructed in the way of the Lord”, and “taught accurately the things concerning Jesus”. However, he “knew only the baptism of John”. Apollos was knowledgeable, and was led by the Holy Spirit, but he was somehow missing a big chunk of something. The thing about only knowing of the baptism of John suggests that he didn’t know that Jesus had commanded the baptism of all believers after his resurrection. He possibly also didn’t know about Jesus’ death and resurrection, which is clearly an important part of the Christian faith.

Priscilla and Aquila were a Jewish couple who had come to Ephesus with Paul. Here, they heard Apollo speaking, and noticed that there were flaws in his teaching. Verse 26 says that “[Apollo] began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” “They took him” implies that Priscilla and Aquila didn’t just march up to the pulpit and announce that he was wrong. They took him aside, and in private “explained” to him more accurately God’s word. They didn’t yell at Apollos, or condemn him for being wrong. If you had been there, Priscilla and Aquila might have reminded you of your favorite teacher at school.
Later, when Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, where Priscilla and Aquila were well known, he was encouraged and supported by them. They wrote letters to ask the disciples there to welcome him. At Achaia, Apollos “greatly helped those who through grace had believed…showing by Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.” The loving support the couple has given him has not been in vain. However, we also have to learn from Apollos to be receptive, and to welcome teaching. Later, Apollos even returns to Ephesus, because when Paul writes 1 Corinthians from there, Apollos is with him.

During Refocus, speaker Jalon Chan emphasized that we, as a group of believers, are the Church. We are supposed to push each other to grow in Christ, to push each other to love Him more. We are supposed to keep each other accountable, and to welcome rebuke, teaching, or support when we receive it. Just look at Apollos- God does amazing things when we do this.

Friday: Pray for the Church (Big C)
Pray for world leaders- that God will use them for his purposes and that they will start or continue to seek God.