Acts 3
April Memory Verse: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 NIV
Read: Acts 3
Reading through Acts is so fun. We just read about Jesus’ ascension into heaven. We read about Peter preaching the gospel to thousands who came into a relationship with Jesus. And now we are reading about the beginning of the movement - the church.
It is easy to read through Acts and think “What would it have been like to be there?” but we often forget the movement is still going… and more than that we are a part of it here at CPC. WOW!
In Acts 3 we read about two main stories: (1) How God used Peter to heal the beggar which led to the praise of God & (2) Peter addressing the people in Solomon’s portico about this miracle… He shared the GOSPEL with them.
A couple things encouraged my heart from this passage:
1) THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IS A LIFE CHANGING TREASURE!
Peter brought life changing physical healing to this man through the power of Jessus… but he didn’t just receive physical healing. Look at verses 8-10 - He PRAISED GOD! Something in his heart changed as well. He received spiritual healing through his faith.
Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:7 that God has put this treasure in US so that we can bring hope to a broken and lost world like Jesus brought hope for us.
2) GOD USES US TO MAKE HIM FAMOUS!
I love how bold Peter was. He stood up and proclaimed the GOSPEL! He told them about who Jesus was. He pointed them back to Him. He stood on truth and showed them their need for God.
It was easy to see the lame beggars need… He was lame. But they were in as much need of God to show up in their life as he was… so are we.
God uses us as we faithfully proclaim truth. I think of 1 Corinthians 3 where Paul calls himself a SERVANT of God… a mouthpiece per say… but God brings the growth. This is encouraging because ultimately we follow HIM and point people to HIM!
This is what the movement of the church is about! It is about helping people know God and live for Him! God is working. God is moving. And we get to be a part of it!
How does this encourage you today? Why is it so easy to forget we are in need of God?
By: Nick Parsons
Read: Acts 3
Reading through Acts is so fun. We just read about Jesus’ ascension into heaven. We read about Peter preaching the gospel to thousands who came into a relationship with Jesus. And now we are reading about the beginning of the movement - the church.
It is easy to read through Acts and think “What would it have been like to be there?” but we often forget the movement is still going… and more than that we are a part of it here at CPC. WOW!
In Acts 3 we read about two main stories: (1) How God used Peter to heal the beggar which led to the praise of God & (2) Peter addressing the people in Solomon’s portico about this miracle… He shared the GOSPEL with them.
A couple things encouraged my heart from this passage:
1) THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IS A LIFE CHANGING TREASURE!
Peter brought life changing physical healing to this man through the power of Jessus… but he didn’t just receive physical healing. Look at verses 8-10 - He PRAISED GOD! Something in his heart changed as well. He received spiritual healing through his faith.
Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:7 that God has put this treasure in US so that we can bring hope to a broken and lost world like Jesus brought hope for us.
2) GOD USES US TO MAKE HIM FAMOUS!
I love how bold Peter was. He stood up and proclaimed the GOSPEL! He told them about who Jesus was. He pointed them back to Him. He stood on truth and showed them their need for God.
It was easy to see the lame beggars need… He was lame. But they were in as much need of God to show up in their life as he was… so are we.
God uses us as we faithfully proclaim truth. I think of 1 Corinthians 3 where Paul calls himself a SERVANT of God… a mouthpiece per say… but God brings the growth. This is encouraging because ultimately we follow HIM and point people to HIM!
This is what the movement of the church is about! It is about helping people know God and live for Him! God is working. God is moving. And we get to be a part of it!
How does this encourage you today? Why is it so easy to forget we are in need of God?
By: Nick Parsons
11 Comments
“I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
I read a story once that two Catholic Cardinals were walking around the Vatican admiring their beautiful buildings and adornments when one said to the other, “we can no longer say we don’t have any silver of gold as Peter said in Acts 3”. The second Cardinal responded “yes, but we can no longer heal the lame in the name of Jesus as Peter did.”
The point of this story is that “the church” in much of the world has become quiet wealthy and affluent yet lacks the power of the poor apostles who walked with Jesus. Look around our own city at all the multimillion dollar church facilities. I’m not saying there’s anything inherently wrong with building nice buildings in which to carry out ministry, but our focus must remain on THE MAIN THING! Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected, and the only source of salvation for sinful man. I’m glad to be part of a church that places no emphasis on buildings other than the basics so that we can gather to worship and be the hands and feet of Jesus to a lost world. Have a blessed weekend JumpStart readers!
Great word. Our mission is our priority.
I cannot comprehend the joy of the healed man the moment he stood up, the first time in his LIFE. He had been healed in the name of Jesus! His immediate reaction, all he could think about doing was “Walking, leaping, praising God”, he knew who had healed him. The reaction from his physical healing seems like an appropriate response when we truly understand how Jesus healed us eternally. We can’t help but worship by giving God all the worth and glory for saving us through his Son, by defeating the crippling sin which was directing us on the straightest path to eternal separation from Him. It’s more than life changing, it’s an eternal treasure! It’s convicting for me realizing that I don’t give him this worship he deserves every day.
Such a good word!
I love this story! It shows the power of the change of life in Peter. Boldness is a clear sign of the Holy Spirits work in you.
Such good insight, Nick!
This story convicts me of how I am not manifesting the full measure of the power of the Holy Spirit. I strive to accomplish this some day and pray that God will continue to reveal my shortcomings. It is so awesome how He changes us for His glory!
Yes! So hard! We have to live surrendered!
It is encouraging to see life change presented in the Word, and then also see how lives are still being changed today. In my life and in others around me.
To me forgetting that we are in need of God is easy because we take our eyes off of Jesus and how much greater He is than us. I forget that everything in my life is a gift from the breath in my lungs and blood flowing through my body to the car that I drive and school that I attend. I forget that I am weak and can do nothing without God. When I forget these things I am lying to myself that I have some sort of power. I am living in sin and need to repent and turn from my ways. This is a continual process and I constantly have to fix my eyes on Jesus.
Proud of you brother!!
It's amazing that we are part of that movement that started so long ago. Even today, we are the Church just like in Acts. It is encouraging to me that the God who was with that church, and was moving through that church in such big ways, is the God who moves through CPC, and so many other of His churches that make up the Church today. Thankful to be a small part of that Church, and that God moves today the same as he always has.
Yes! God is moving still today!