The Word of the Lord Continued to Grow

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark opened Acts 12 on the same morning the congregation commissioned Anders and Brooke to Zambia, and those two things turned out to be exactly the right frame for each other. The chapter moves from a missionary sending, through death and deliverance and divine judgment, and back to another missionary sending, with a summary line at the end that holds it all together: the word of the Lord...

Read together

1. Acts 11:29-30 believers in Antioch sending relief to brothers and sisters in Judea through Barnabas and Saul
2. Acts 12:1 Herod laying violent hands on some who belonged to the church
3. Mark 10 James and John asking Jesus to sit at his right and left in his kingdom, and Jesus asking if they can drink the cup he must drink
4. Acts 12:2 James the brother of John executed with the sword
5. Acts 12:3-4 Herod arresting Peter during days of unleavened bread and assigning four squads of soldiers to guard him
6. Acts 12:5 the church praying intensely to God for Peter while he was in prison
7. Acts 12:6-10 angel striking Peter awake, chains falling off, passing guards, iron gate opening by itself
8. Acts 12:11 Peter coming to himself and recognizing the Lord had rescued him from Herod's hand
9. Acts 12:12-16 Peter going to Mary's house, Rhoda recognizing his voice and running back in, the gathered church disbelieving
10. Acts 12:17 Peter motioning for quiet and telling them to report to James and the brothers, then leaving for another place
11. Acts 12:18-19 soldiers in disturbance over Peter's disappearance, Herod ordering the guards executed
12. Acts 12:20 Herod angry with Tyre and Sidon, who came seeking peace because their country depended on his for grain
13. Acts 12:21 Herod in royal apparel taking his seat on the rostrum to deliver an address
14. Acts 12:22-23 people crying out the voice of a god, Herod not rebuking them, angel striking him because he did not give glory to God, eaten by worms and died
15. Acts 12:24 summary statement that the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied
16. Acts 12:25 Barnabas and Saul returning from Jerusalem to Antioch, taking along John Mark

Talk about it

1. The pastor mentioned that the steady, slow growth of the church tends to happen where God's word is proclaimed and Christ is lifted up. What does that kind of faithfulness look like in a local church, and how do you see it or not see it in your own life?
2. James was executed and Peter was miraculously delivered, and the pastor said both were God's will. How do you sit with that? What does it do to your faith when God's answer to prayer is not the one you were hoping for?
3. The church was praying earnestly for Peter, and then when Rhoda said he was at the door they told her she was out of her mind. Have you ever prayed hard for something and then been surprised or even disbelieving when God answered? What got in the way?
4. The pastor contrasted Peter, who was asleep and at peace even facing execution, with Herod, who spent his whole life needing to be seen and praised by people. Where do you find yourself on that spectrum, and what does it cost you either way?
5. The chapter ends with the summary statement that the word of the Lord continued to grow and be multiplied, through deaths, imprisonments, a king being struck down, and missionaries being sent out. What does that do for you when you look at hard or confusing circumstances in your own life or in the life of this church?