There Is Salvation in No One Else

In one paragraph

This message worked through Acts 3 and 4, following Peter and John from the healing of a lame man at the temple gate through their arrest, appearance before the Sanhedrin, and the prayer meeting that followed their release. Pastor Mark traced the thread of boldness and opposition that runs through these chapters, and kept returning to a simple question: who do we identify with in the story? Pastor...

Read together

1. Acts 1 Jesus tells the disciples they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part
2. Acts 2 summary of the holy spirit coming and the believers devoting themselves to apostles teaching, fellowship, meals, and prayer
3. Acts 3 healing of the lame man at the gate, Peter and John, faith in the name of Jesus
4. Acts 3:26 God raised up his servant Jesus and sent him first to Israel to bless them by turning them from their sinful ways
5. Acts 4:1-31 arrest of Peter and John, appearance before the Sanhedrin, and the believers prayer for boldness
6. Psalm 118 the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, cited as a messianic Psalm
7. Psalm 146 believers open their prayer with its language about God as creator and do not trust in powerful people
8. Psalm 2:1-2 why are the nations angry and why do rulers gather against the Lord and his anointed, quoted within the believers prayer

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl came back to the applications from last week and asked whether we should be identifying with Peter and John or with the healed man. Which one do you find yourself identifying with more, and why?
2. Peter told the council there is salvation in no one else and that God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. How do you personally wrestle with presenting that exclusive claim to people in your life who believe differently?
3. The council members recognized Peter and John as ordinary men with no special training, but they also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. What does spending time with Jesus look like practically in your own life?
4. When Peter and John were released, they went straight back to the other believers and told them what had happened. The whole group then prayed together for boldness rather than for safety or protection. What does that tell you about how the early church understood their situation, and how does it compare to what you tend to pray for when things get hard?
5. The believers prayed that God would stretch out his hand with healing power and do miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Jesus, and they got exactly what they prayed for. Is there something in your own life right now that you need to bring before God with that kind of expectation?