In the middle of growth and unity and generosity in the church comes the miraculous deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. But what this extraordinary story should produce in us is an awareness of the seriousness of our sin and an awareness of the graciousness of our God.
We worship and serve an extraordinary God who uses ordinary people to accomplish His work in His world. May God give us the boldness to be His witnesses in His world.
Whenever the gospel is preached, the response is divided. In this passage, we see a great number of people come to the gospel and embrace Jesus, while Peter and John are arrested for preaching about Jesus. It is this hostile atmosphere in which we have the opportunity to live as Christians and to bear witness to Jesus.
Having just healed a beggar who was lame from birth, and seeing the awestruck crowds that now gathered around them, Peter seizes the opportunity to correct a misunderstanding and to bear witness to Christ. In this text, we are reminded of the blessings of salvation that come by faith in the name of Jesus.
Having just given his readers a glimpse of life in the early church, Luke turns his attention to one particular miracle that the apostles did involving the healing of a lame beggar. In this story, Luke reveals that our greatest need is not physical but spiritual, and that we can be confident in the salvation of our God and in the promised restoration that Jesus is bringing.
Luke records that those who received Peter’s words were added to the church, but he also records that this new community of believers in Jesus joyfully devoted themselves to doctrine and fellowship.
In Exodus 32, three thousand people died when they made a golden calf and worshipped it. In Acts 2, three thousand people were saved when they trusted in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. What shall we do?
After the miraculous event at Pentecost, Peter preached a sermon explaining the significance of the event as it pertains to the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
Pentecost was one of three pilgrimage festivals for the Jews. But for Christians it is the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church. This miraculous event is recorded for us in the book of Acts, and in it we see why we need the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 1:12-26, Luke introduces us to the eyewitnesses of all that Jesus said and did. Luke also tells us what they did while they waited for the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit that will help us in our seasons of waiting.