Join
Our ZOOM Sunday School Classes - 26 September at 10:00 AM
Meeting ID: 848-9423-0612
Passcode: 6689872
Celebrating In Unity
(Believers Praise God)
Printed Text – Acts 2:32-33, 37-47
Bible Background - Acts 2:32-33, 37-47
Devotional Reading - Psalm 134
|
Daily
Bible Readings |
|
|
Keep in Mind:
“They devoted
themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and the prayers." (Acts 2:42, NRSV).
Lesson Aim:
UNDERSTAND the role of Christ and the Holy Spirit in our lives,
DISCERN how the Holy Spirit inspires believers to share a life of
worship, and
PLAN opportunities for people to begin a relationship with Jesus through
our ministries.
Background
The
events in our lesson today take place after Jesus had appeared to the apostles
and specifically instructed to wait for the promised Holy Spirit, which would
be given to them so they might have effective witnessing. In obedience to Jesus
‘command, the apostles went to the upper room in Jerusalem and devoted themselves
to prayer and supplication.
Lesson Commentary:
The Call to Community (Acts 2:32-33, NRSV)
32This Jesus God raised up, and
of that all of us are witnesses.
33Being therefore exalted at the
right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy
Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.
Peter has been giving
his audience the full story of God's history-spanning plan of salvation. He concludes with the exciting news, only 50
days old: Jesus Christ is risen, and ascended to glory, power, and honor. The Father gave Him the Spirit to pour out on
His followers. This is the explanation
for the speaking in tongues that had astonished everyone.
In this explanation, we
see that the very basis of Christianity is grounded in community between the
Persons of the Trinity. Each has a role;
each affirms the others' powers. It is a
communion of love that naturally calls others to join in its love.
1. What
is your response to hearing the Good News of verses 32-33?
2. Are
you willing to sacrifice and share for the improvement of the entire church
body? What are some elements of what
makes a great church?
The Community Forms (Acts 2:37-43, NRSV)
37Now when they heard this,
they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles,
"Brothers, what should we do?"
38Peter said to them, "Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins
may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39For the promise is for you, for
your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God
calls to him."
40And he testified with many other
arguments and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this corrupt
generation."
41So those who welcomed his message
were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
42They devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43Awe came upon everyone, because
many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.
After listening to Peter's
convicting message, the Scriptures affirm that the people were ready for a
change in their lives (v. 37). In essence,
they tell Peter, "Whatever that is you have, we want it in our lives
today." The apostle tells the
people that all they have to do to receive God's power is repent of their sins,
receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, and they will receive the precious Holy
Spirit.
Many people believe
that Peter's words were only applicable to the people whom he addressed. But Peter makes it clear that the promise of
God's power is available to all who would believe in Jesus Christ throughout
this age ("unto you, and to your children") and the age to come
("to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall
call"). The Holy Spirit's presence
and power for the believer did not cease at Pentecost (Acts 8:5; 10:44-46). The Holy Spirit is the birthright of every
true born-again believer in Christ (Joel 2:28; Matthew 3: 11; Luke 24:49).
Those in the crowd
whose hearts had been "pricked" by Peter's words accepted his call to
repentance and were baptized that same day. On the birthday of the New Testament church,
3,000 people were converted to Christ and formed the first Christian community.
Once the people had received Peter's
word, they continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine. It is evident that the people needed to be taught
how to live for God and how to effect change in the lives of their community,
and they were willing to sit at the apostles' feet to feast on the Word of God.
1. What
keeps the modern church from such diligent fellowship and discipleship in
Christ?
The
Community Grows (Acts
2:44-47, NRSV)
44All who believed were
together and had all things in common;
45they would sell their possessions
and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46Day by day, as they spent much
time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with
glad and generous hearts,
47praising God and having the
goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those
who were being saved.
The 3,000 new converts
joined together with the original 120 believers (Acts 1:15) to form a community
of believers who "had all things [in] common" (2:44; 4:32). This meant that everyone in the community was
ready and willing to sacrifice for the good of the whole. They shared a commonality of participation,
prayer, and purpose. They regarded their
material blessings as a means of being a blessing to others. All their possessions, talents, and time were
dedicated to furthering the mission of the Church and meeting the needs of the
brothers and sisters.
The group continued to
meet daily in the Temple and at various homes after the services to share meals
and companionship. The table of
fellowship provided members of the early church with an opportunity to gather
together in small groups and discuss the day's teachings.
As the church was
faithful in its mission, God demonstrated His faithfulness to the church. Not only did God continuously provide for the
needs of His people, He "added to the church daily such as should be
saved" (Acts 2:47). The church did
its job, and God did His.
1.
What
helped the early church grow so quickly?
2.
The
church assumed the responsibility of meeting the needs of its less fortunate members.
Should our modern-day churches assume
this responsibility? If so, how should
this ministry be funded? Should this
ministry be more than just a "giveaway" program? If so, what programs would you suggest?
3.
Lifestyle
and active evangelism were key elements of the early church. Do you believe that every Christian is called
to active evangelism, or are some people called on just to let the light of
their lives shine?
Lesson in Our Society
During the
reconstruction period and through the period of Jim Crow segregation, the
church was the spiritual, social, and political center of the Black community. In modern times, the church has become far
less influential. What are some of the
social and political factors that may have contributed to this decline? What are some of the implications of the
church's decline in influence? What can
the church do to improve its relevance to Black society? To society in general?
Sources:
Achtemeier, Paul J. Harper's
Bible Dictionary. 1st ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985.
Biblical Studies
Press: The
Brown, Raymond E., S.
S., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S. J.; Roland E. Murphy, O Carm. The Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1968.
Dummelow, J. R., M.A.
Rev. The One Volume Bible Commentary.
New York: The Macmillan Company Publishers, 1961.
James Orr, M.A., D.D., International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Electronic Edition, Parsons Technology, Inc., Cedar
Rapids, Iowa 1998.
Keck Leander E., The New
Interpreter's Bible Commentary, Acts, Introduction to Epistolary Literature, Romans, 1
& 2 Corinthians, Galatians, New York: Abingdon Press, 1996.
Morris, William, ed., Dictionary of the English Language,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981.
Polhill, John B., New American Commentary Volume 26,
Acts: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture.
Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992.
Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Hrsg.): The Pulpit Commentary: Acts
of the Apostles Vol 1. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004
Strong, James, Strong’s
Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, Electronic Edition STEP Files, QuickVerse, a
division of Findex.com, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska. 2003.
Vine, W.E. Vines
Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Edited by
Merrill F. Unger and William White Jr., Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1996.
Next
Week Lesson: 3 October
Only You
Bible Background: Psalm 100
Devotional Reading: Psalm 66:1-7
|
Daily
Bible Readings |
|
|