We're on a Mission from God

In one paragraph

The pastor opened Acts 5:12-42 by tracing a pattern he said appears three times already in the book of Acts: God moves with power, His word interprets what is happening, opposition arises and is thwarted, and the witness advances anyway. He connected that pattern to the early church in Jerusalem and pressed the congregation to find themselves somewhere inside it. Before reading the passage, the...

Read together

1. Acts 1 Jesus tells the disciples they will be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts
2. Acts 2 God moves with power at Pentecost, Peter interprets through Joel, Psalms, and Deuteronomy, opposition arises and witness advances
3. Acts 3 healing of the beggar, God moves with power, Peter points to scripture, opposition arises and witness advances
4. Acts 5:12-42 the main passage for the sermon, apostles imprisoned and released, Peter before the council, Gamaliel's advice, flogging and rejoicing
5. Joel 2 referenced as one of the passages Peter draws from in his address to the council
6. Psalm 106 referenced as one of the passages underlying Peter's words about God raising and exalting Jesus
7. Psalm 118 referenced as one of the passages underlying Peter's words about God raising and exalting Jesus
8. Isaiah 63 referenced as one of the passages underlying Peter's words about God raising and exalting Jesus
9. Jeremiah 17 referenced as one of the passages underlying Peter's words about God raising and exalting Jesus
10. Judges 2 referenced as one of the passages underlying Peter's words about God raising and exalting Jesus
11. John 16 Jesus promises his followers will have trouble in the world but to take heart because he has overcome the world
12. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 read during the Lord's Supper, the night Jesus was betrayed he took bread and the cup, do this in remembrance of me

Talk about it

1. The pastor opened with a pattern he says appears three times in Acts: God moves with power, His word interprets, opposition arises and is thwarted, and the witness advances. Where have you seen that pattern play out in your own life or in the life of this church?
2. Peter told the council 'we must obey God rather than any human authority.' John Stott's quote in the sermon said there is a humble way to do this. What does that look like practically, and where do you find it hardest to hold that line?
3. The pastor said the Sadducees were 'filled with jealousy' partly because they did not believe God moved actively in the world, yet here they could not deny what was happening. Have you ever found yourself resistant to something because it did not fit your assumptions about how God works?
4. The sermon pointed out that Gamaliel gave wise advice but 'did not go far enough' because he stopped short of actually believing and committing. What do you think it looks like to stop halfway, and what keeps people there?
5. Acts 5:42 says the apostles continually taught and preached Jesus as the Messiah in the temple and from house to house. The pastor called this 'sustained obedience' and said it is how the witness keeps advancing. What does that kind of sustained obedience look like for us specifically, in this church, right now?