And Now, a Word for Your Sponsor Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: And Now, a Word for Your Sponsor -------------------------- Date: 2/6/2001 Keywords: "Barnabas" "John Mark" "sponsorship" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Acts 15:36-41* 36. And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." 37. And Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also. 38. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39. And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. 40. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. 41. And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Background When Paul and Barnabas took the first-ever missionary journey (Acts 13-14), they took along a young man named John Mark, who happened to be Barnabas’ nephew. Somewhere along the way, John Mark "deserted" Paul and Barnabas. That led to Paul’s hard-line stance that John Mark should not be taken on the second missionary journey. Questions 1. Was it legitimate for Paul to exclude John Mark from the second missionary journey?   2. From the verses above, how did Barnabas react?   Practical help Barnabas and Paul split up after disagreeing how to deal with the young defector, John Mark. Paul’s decision to have nothing to do with John Mark can be defended. And so can Barnabas’ action of hanging tough with his nephew. Had it not been for Barnabas, who knows how John Mark would have turned out? He did commit himself to John Mark, though, and the young man turned out quite well! He wrote the Gospel we know as Mark — and towards the end of his own life, the apostle Paul wrote about how useful John Mark was in serving Jesus (2 Timothy 4:11). Here is the question for you: If you happen to be struggling with a porn appetite that you can’t seem to shake, can you see yourself as a "John Mark"? You have failed at quitting porn — maybe more times than you would care to admit. What you need is a sponsor, a Barnabas. Find one! Today! Don’t waste any more time fiddling with the mouse and wishing you were a porn-free man or woman. Help is probably only as far away as your closest church fellowship. Locate a church where the Lord Jesus is honored, the Bible is studied and "community" is emphasized. Then find a trusted brother (if you're a man) or sister (if you're a woman), and ask for help. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2001 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."