Listen to consider how we respect the presence of God's Spirit in the church from Acts 4 and 5, and the grave consequences when we don't.
Lesson Nine Handout
When it's scary to share God's Word, it is important that we turn to God in prayer. Join us as we study this beautiful prayer of the early church and learn how we can pray in times of fear.
As Peter and John share the powerful good news of Jesus as Savior, some repent and others resist. Through this intense resistance, Peter and John make it clear that they must keep proclaiming the power of Jesus' name, because His name alone provides salvation.
In Acts 3, Peter and John display some power. They heal a lame man and a crowd gathers to see more! Peter explains that the power is God's, and it's at work through faith in the name of Jesus. Come and see that God is working powerfully through faith in Jesus Christ, and learn with us exactly what that means for our lives today.
In Acts 2, we see the explosive growth of the church in its infancy! As we consider the account of this early growth, we will see clearly that God uses the message of Jesus and His Spirit to grow a vibrant church, and we'll understand how God wants us to participate in that growth.
God has made one fact - one truth - more obvious than any other: that Jesus is God and Messiah. He's the Savior. And yet, many can be blind to that truth and its implication. The sneaky thing about blindness is that we are often blind to it. We aren't aware of what we aren't aware of. This blindness is exactly what Peter seeks to fix in his sermon in Acts 2.
Here in Acts 2, God keeps His word and completely empowers the disciples to fulfill the mission He gave them. Their inadequacy only highlights the all-sufficient power of God to accomplish His purposes. Take heart! God keeps His Word. He fulfills His promises, and He completely empowers us to accomplish His mission for us.