Continuing in Acts, Morning Praise (9)

In one paragraph

This message worked through Acts 4:23-31, the prayer the early believers lifted together after Peter and John were released and threatened by the Sanhedrin. The pastor connected that passage to a step of faith the congregation was being asked to take, and called First B to pursue boldness in proclaiming the gospel the same way those first believers did. When Peter and John were freed, they went...

Read together

1. Acts 1:8 Jesus tells the disciples they will be his witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts, cited as an encouraging affirmation rather than a command
2. Acts 2 report of what happened at Pentecost and Peter's recognition and bold proclamation of Jesus
3. Acts 3 Peter heals the lame man outside the temple and seizes the opportunity to preach Jesus
4. Acts 4:1-22 noted as the passage Carl preached the previous week, covering the arrest of Peter and John and the declaration that there is no other name whereby we must be saved
5. Acts 4:23-31 the passage preached through in this sermon, covering the believers' prayer for boldness after Peter and John's release
6. Psalm 2 quoted within the believers' prayer: why were the nations angry and why did they waste their time with futile plans, identified as a messianic psalm looking forward to the time of the Messiah

Talk about it

1. Peter and John responded to threats from the Sanhedrin not by asking for protection or for their enemies to be removed, but by praying for boldness to keep preaching. What does that tell us about what they thought mattered most, and how does that challenge the way we tend to respond when we face opposition?
2. The prayer in Acts 4 opens with 'O Sovereign Lord, creator of heaven and earth.' The pastor pointed out that wherever you land on the question of God's sovereignty and human responsibility, when you pray you are asking God to act. How does starting with who God is change the way you pray about hard or uncertain situations?
3. Acts 4:28 says that everything Herod, Pilate, and the others did to Jesus was determined beforehand according to God's will. The pastor called that a hard truth and said scripture affirms both God's complete sovereignty and human responsibility at the same time. Where do you feel the tension in that, and where do you find it comforting?
4. The believers prayed that God would stretch out His hand with healing power through their bold proclamation of the word, not through political maneuvering or strategy. What does it look like practically for a church or an individual to put bold proclamation ahead of trying to work the right angles?
5. The pastor shared that Dr. Larkin, even while dying of pancreatic cancer, said it is a mercy of the sovereign Lord to help people properly appreciate scripture. Thinking about people who have shaped your own understanding of God's word, what has their example shown you about what faithfulness looks like in hard seasons?