April 18 - Acts 7

 

Key Verse: Acts 7:59
Big Idea: Sometimes the Church of Jesus is victorious in what looks like defeat.

Today's reading marks the first great tragedy of the church at Jerusalem. They had been beaten and rejoiced, they had faced sinners within and overcome, they had dealt with division and emerged stronger. Yet in Acts 7, we read about one of the first deacons who gave a bold testimony for Jesus and did not find himself rescued by an angel. No one stood up and talked the crowd down. After Stephen summarized the whole history of the nation, to show how Jesus and the people's rejection of Him was the culmination of the whole Bible, they grew furious instead of convicted. Stephen was given a special vision: he saw Jesus standing at the right side of the Heavenly Throne, and told the people so. They stuck their hands over their ears and screamed to drown him out. In a mob, they pushed him out of the city, picked up stones and threw that at him until he died. His crime was blasphemy, for suggesting a man who had been crucified could be at God's throne. The witnesses took their outer robes off to participate in the stoning and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul, who we will meet again.

After such a string of victories, was this finally the end of Jesus' assembly's success? No. It was through defeat that they would triumph. Stephen, even in His death, prayed for Jesus to receive Him and to forgive those who killed him. He overcame them, even in death, by refusing to crumble into sin. He overcame them because his prayer would be answered dramatically when the man overseeing his execution would be forgiven and used by God to write more books of the Bible than anyone else. In a powerful imitation of His Lord, Stephen was most powerful when he appeared the weakest.

Discussion idea: How can not defending yourself sometimes accomplish more than defending yourself? How does God make good out of a bad situation?
Prayer focus: Pray about a difficulty in your life, and ask God to use it to advance His Kingdom, no matter what the consequences for you personally.

Older kids might be interested in the way that stoning was legally carried out in Israel (at least by the late second century, the earliest detailed record we have). The first witness was required to push the person off a cliff of about 12 feet. Then the second witness was to drop a large stone on the criminal's chest, and if they survived, the crowd was to throw rocks at them until they died. The idea was that the witnesses were required to fully accept their status as murderers if they lied, and that like a firing squad, no one would know for certain who had delivered the lethal blow, making it an act of the community's justice rather than individual revenge. This is a far cry from the way stonings are carried out in some Muslim countries today, where it is designed as a form of torture.

April 17 - Acts 6

Key Verse: Acts 6:7

Big Idea: The biggest threat to the Church of Jesus comes from within. 

When persecuted, the body of Christ grew stronger. When some in the body lived in hypocrisy, the sin was removed and the body grew stronger. Is there anything that could stop the tremendous success of this church at Jerusalem? The one enemy that posed a serious threat was far more subtle. As mentioned in Acts 4 and 5, the church at Jerusalem was pooling their resources and living with all things in common. As the church grew, the logistics began to grow more difficult and the Hellenistic widows (culturally Greek) began to complain that the Hebraic Jews were being treated better than they were. The division in the church caused a grumbling that forced the apostles to intervene. What the outside could not do, the bickering within almost did.

They argued that they should not leave their real work - the Word of God - to settle disputed about food. The fundamental job of the apostles, like the job of pastors today, was to pray and apply the Word of God to people's lives. Being caught up in divisions in the church and micromanaging the physical needs would undermine that, so the church selected 7 men to focus on these needs. The forerunners of deacons, their primary job was to maintain the unity of the church, at least partially by making sure the vulnerable in the church were cared for. 

One of them, Stephen, became the first martyr when he was killed for preaching the truth about Jesus. But when he died, he prayed for their forgiveness just as the Lord did. The church was victorious again. The threat from within was handled, and the threat from without was overcome with faith.

Discussion idea: What kinds of division threaten churches today? What kinds of divisions threaten families?
Prayer focus: Pray to be a unifier and a peacemaker, for God's glory. 

April 16 - Acts 5

 

Key Verse: Acts 5:3
Big Idea: The Church of Jesus can only operate with integrity.

The continuing saga of the church at Jerusalem is interesting: God's people grew stronger when faced with external opposition. As they were rejected by the outside world, they were forced to depend on each other ever more intensely. They sold their property and lived with all things in common, probably because finding work when their Jewish neighbors considered them heretics was more and more difficult. But the greatest test to their fellowship yet was not beatings or mockery, but plain old human greed.

Older kids: What kind of temptation is more challenging for you to resist: direct challenge, or someone acting like a friend? Why?

Ananias and Sapphira were members of the church at Jerusalem, who sold their property, but held part of it back for themselves. They apparently wanted to live out of the community's resources, while still keeping something for their own luxury. It is obvious that if many people did this, the whole community would collapse. Maybe it is less obvious that the risk was much more than financial: a church can only function when she has integrity. Hypocrisy and self-serving attitudes undermine everything Jesus taught, and miss the point that God knows our hearts and wants us to belong to Him completely. Ananias, and then Sapphira, were struck dead for trying to lie to God (a silly claim), and the whole community was awestruck. God removed a bad witness, where their sin was undermining the gospel, and created a good one: God is holy, and cannot be deceived. The church at Jerusalem was protected, and Jesus' ministry continued to spread.

Younger Kids: Have you ever had to leave somewhere because of the way you were acting? Did your family still love you? If God took Ananias and Sapphira home to Heaven because of their actions, did He still love them?

Discussion idea: Why did God act so decisively in response to this sin? What are some similar actions today regarding the church which we might take lightly, but which God does not?

Prayer focus: Ask God to help you identify the subtle areas where you are most vulnerable and protect you from those temptations.

April 15 - Acts 4

Key Verse: Acts 4:20
Big Idea: For the Church of Jesus, the greater the heat the greater the expansion.

Acts 4 feels like it could have been a scene from Luke. Jesus performs a miracle, the religious leaders don't like it and their conflict begins to ramp up. The only difference is that this time, Jesus is already seated in Heaven and is performing this miracle through the hands of His people. Peter and John were held overnight and questioned about what had happened. They did not cower to the pressure of the authorities, but used the opportunity to boldly talk about what Jesus had done for them.

When Jesus had been in Jerusalem, the religious authorities were nervous about what to do with Him: they could not leave Him to continue undermining them, but they knew if they struck out publicly, the people would side with Him. They faced the same problem with Peter and John: here was a public miracle, and a peaceful message. What could they do? They called them back in and threatened them. They were getting a warning this time, but if they continued to preach about this Jesus, there would be repercussions. Peter's response was simple: they had to money God instead of people, and they could not help talking about what they had seen. Through their boldness, the church's ministry to the outside world strengthened, and their connection to each other grew deeper. The work Jesus started could not be doused by opposition: persecution only seemed to make His people stronger.

Discussion idea: Why would times of peace be more dangerous than times of persecution?
Prayer focus: Pray for the skill to find gospel opportunities in difficulties, and lift a specific current challenge in your life up to God for His help in using it for His glory.

April 12 - Acts 3

 

Key Verse: Acts 3:6
Big Idea:  The Church of Jesus has treasure greater than what money can buy.

Outside the temple was a beggar. He had been unable to use his legs from the day he was born, and depended on the kindness of others to survive. His eyes facing the ground in shame, he reached out his hands and asked some men walking by for a little money to help him get something to eat. Instead, they gave him something much greater. The apostle Peter told him that, although they did not have silver or gold, they would give him what they did have, and by the power of Jesus, he healed the lame man. Instantly, the lame man had the strength and skill to walk and leap. But he had not yet received the greatest gift that Peter and John had to offer.

A crowd gathered to see this man's miraculous recovery, and Peter began to preach to them. It was not his own power or holiness that had healed this man, but his faith in the risen Jesus, who they (as a society) had handed over to Pilate to kill. That same Jesus had reached down and healed the lame man, and that same Jesus was ready to forgive them, if they would ask him. Far better than gold or silver and far better than the ability to walk: they offered the gift of eternal life.

Discussion idea: Do you think churches should help people with physical needs? How should that be tied to the priority of the gift of eternal life?
Prayer focus: Who are some people who told you about Jesus or taught you to walk with Him? Pray and thank God for them by name.

April 11 - Acts 2

Key Verse: Acts 2:47
Big Idea: The Church of Jesus is built by Jesus.

If we were to trace the story of the Church of Jesus, as an institution, we would need to begin with John the Baptist. All of Jesus' first disciples - and Jesus - submitted to John's baptism. From those raw materials, Jesus assembled His first church and promised that He was building an institution against which the Gates of Hell would never prevail. Indeed, His own death could not stop His assembly from being salt and light in a lost and dying world, because He rose again on the third day to be her eternal head. In Acts 1, we saw Jesus ascend up to be enthroned in Heaven, no longer physically in our midst. But the Church he established to be His body persisted, although she waited in Jerusalem until the promise of the Father was fulfilled.

At the beginning of our chapter, the Church that was built by Jesus and began operating during His life was hooked up to her full power supply, when the Holy Spirit came to indwell and empower her to fulfill her Great Commission - taking the gospel and its implications to all nations. They spoke in other languages they had never learned as a sign that God was now building an assembly not of physical ancestry, but of faith. Peter preached a simple sermon about what Jesus did for us and how He fulfilled the promise of the Old Testament, and thousands were pricked in their hearts, coming to Jesus by faith.

But, it was still Jesus building His church, just as surely as when He looked Peter in the eye and said: "Follow me." They did not win people by their powerful oratory (they were fishermen), fancy buildings (they met in homes, no Christian church buildings would exist for centuries) or the promise of popularity and wealth (they had persecution instead). They simply had the evidence of Jesus, both His resurrection and the change He made in their lives. It was enough because building the church was not their job - it was His. It was the Lord who added to them daily those who had been saved, and their baptism was merely God's people, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, publicly proclaiming what He had already done.

Discussion idea: How did Jesus place you in your church? What circumstances or individuals did He use to get you into the local body that He intended for you? [Parents of young kids: tell your salvation testimony and how God connected you with the church]
Prayer focus: Pray for God to keep adding people through our obedience and that we would have the same kind of unity that amazed the people in Jerusalem back in the first century.

April 10 - Acts 1

Key Verse: Acts 1:1
Big Idea: The church of Jesus continues the ministry of the Son of Man.

Luke opens the book of Acts with a brief introduction to Theophilus, the Greek man he originally wrote the book for. He explains that the first volume, what we call The Gospel According to Luke, was the record of what Jesus began to do and to teach. The book we call The Acts of the Apostles then begins with the ascension of Jesus, and describes the expansion of the early churches throughout the world. This might make the word "began" in Acts 1:1 seem strange, but it is a powerful truth. The work of the churches, Christ's body, is the continuation of His work. He lived a perfect life, doing good and spreading the good news and now He gives us the responsibility of carrying it on.

Our task is simply to be witnesses, at home, in our region and around the world. Because Jesus is our King and is enthroned in Heaven, it is our job to continue the work which He began. This Resurrection weekend, take the time to remember that Easter is not the end of the story, but the beginning.

Discussion idea: What are some of the specific things Jesus did which we carry on?
Prayer focus: Thank God for giving us the privilege of carrying on His work and the strength to do it. Ask for forgiveness for trying to live our lives as if they are our own story, apart from His. Pray for an opportunity to share the gospel.