February 21st, 2010

Today’s scripture focus – Acts 5:12-42

In order to fully understand Acts, we must understand the early believers were convinced that Jesus’ return was eminent. It was their mission to prepare the people of Israel. We see in the earliest days of the church a single minded devotion to that mission. In the last chapter, Peter and John had been sternly warned to cease speaking in the name of Jesus by the Sanhedrin, the established religious authority. Because of the urgency of their mission, the believers prayed for boldness in the face of opposition. God gave them this boldness, and chapter five finds them back in the Temple, speaking in Jesus’ name with supernatural power.

The religious authorities (the priesthood and Sanhedrin) were the ultimate, unquestioned authority in all matters of life and faith, and to defy them was perilous. They were not used to being disobeyed. Yet, they had to act cautiously against the disciples, for their miraculous power could not be denied. They tried warning the disciples. When that didn’t work, they put the disciples in jail. When that didn’t work, they had them flogged. Still, the believers spoke the full message of salvation even more boldly, with the result that more people came to believe in the name of Jesus.

Alice Thompson lived with her parents in rural southern Illinois. Besides a house and a tool shed, the other building on their small acreage was a chicken coop where the egg-laying hens roosted. When young Alice found some matches, she took them into the chicken coop to see if she could figure out how to strike one. She did figure it out, and held the burning wooden matchstick until it got too hot, then dropped it. Instead of burning out, the bit of flame fell on a piece of straw, which came alive with fire. Determined that no one know about the matches, Alice covered up the flame with readily available material — a handful of straw For a minute, it seemed to work, but then the pile began to smolder. She decided to smother the whole thing, so she scooped up a full armload of straw to bury the evidence once and for all. Satisfied that she had finally taken care of the matter, she ran out into the yard to play. Soon the chicken coop had burned to the ground (1.)

The religious authorities thought they could cover up Jesus by putting Him in a tomb. These same authorities tried to cover up the message of His disciples. Throughout history and on into our present day people, powers, governments, and systems have tried to stamp out the name of Jesus. Yet, the more it is oppressed, the further it spreads. Speaking the name of Jesus in boldness always results in two things – opposition, and revival.

1. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2185

CrossGroups

• Go around the table and share prayer requests. Have someone lead in prayer.

• Let everyone who would like share anything exciting from their week.

• Ask these three questions. Let as many answer each one as would like.

1) Is there anything in today’s scripture that especially speaks to you?

2) What questions would you like to ask about today’s scripture?

3) What would it look like in our (nation, town, church, family) to obey God rather than people?