Opening: Have you ever returned to a triumphant homecoming?
Maybe after a deployment in the military or after you have been away from home
for a long time? Maybe after achieving a dream or an accomplishment? What was
it like? What were your feelings?
Scripture: Read Acts 4:23-31.
Insights:
- The believers had to be worried. They remembered that Jesus was arrested and was executed in quick fashion. Now Peter and John were arrested in the Temple, and no one had seen them since. Would these inner circle disciples meet with a similar fate as Jesus?
- One can see in the text the rejoicing in the Church when Peter and John return unharmed; they break out in praise to God. What a worship experience!
- The believers prayed for boldness and that God will heal people – the same things that got Peter and John arrested in the first place.
- Following their prayer, there is another manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The room shook, and they were all “filled with the Holy Spirit.” The text does not say how this filling was manifested; there is no evidence for or against the manifestation being limited to speaking in tongues as in Acts 2. On the contrary, the Greek text for verse 31 literally says, “…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and were speaking the word of God freely.” Therefore, a case could be made that being filled with the Holy Spirit resulted in bold witnessing.
Life Questions:
- The people of the new church prayed for courage. They did not pretend that they could face this in their own strength; they turned to a power that was not their own. Where do you need courage today in your witness?
