Can a church do it all? The church in Jerusalem experienced explosive growth, going from 120 to thousands in weeks and months. That kind of growth was not without its growing pains. They began with the twelve Apostles in leadership and they were administering everything. The church was threatened by the inability of the Apostles…
Destined to fail? The first church in Jerusalem experienced similarity with the ministry of Jesus. At first, their message seemed well received and they had favor with the people. It didn’t take long before that changed as they continued to preach openly and rebuke that generation of Jews for killing the Messiah. It might seem…
Have you heard the one about hypocrites in church? We’ve all heard the comments, complaints, and criticisms about hypocrites in church. It may shock you to find out, but hypocrites do exist, and some of them go to church. Nearly every church in the New Testament had this problem, including the first church in Jerusalem.…
Where are we going? Life in the church in Jerusalem is described at the end of chapter 2 and chapter 4. It’s an idyllic picture we would be hard pressed to beat if we were tasked with drafting the image of perfect church life. As beautiful as those passages are, they’re not the only passages…
How did the church respond to persecution? From the early chapters of Acts, we would have to include prayer as one of the characteristic marks of a true church. The fact that they prayed in response to persecution tells us something. What they prayed for also tells us something.
Arrested for Preaching Christ Acts 4 opens with Peter and John still speaking to the crowd at the temple about how the lame man was healed. Here the church begins to encounter opposition as Peter and John are arrested and questioned by the council.
What now? Peter has spoken to the large crowd at the temple who were inquiring about the healing of the lame man. He demonstrated from Scripture that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Servant of Yahweh, who was to come. He made plain their sin of rejecting and crucifying him. He proceeds in this passage to tell them what that means…
How did this happen? How could a grown man walk and jump around minutes after he had to be carried to the gate because he was lame? This was a notable miracle and the people wanted an explanation. Peter begins to explain how this miracle happened in this passage.
Why? Have you ever wondered why God does something, or maybe why he doesn’t do something? The reason we ask such questions, or think about such questions, is because we don’t know the answer. Many saints in the Bible have wrestled with these questions. We don’t have all the answers, but we know in general…
What should we do? Weeks after Jesus had been crucified outside Jerusalem, extraordinary events took place on the Day of Pentecost. While some scoffed at what was going on, others wondered what it all meant. Peter explained the meaning of the manifestation they had witnessed in terms of the purpose of God revealed through the…