Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Opening: Have you ever had an experience in life that you were anticipating, but when it occurred, it was a surprise, or at least more than you imagined? Maybe it was the birth of your child or grandchild. What is it like when your world is radically changed for the good?

Scripture: Read Acts 2:1-13.

Insights:

• Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, and the beginning of the era of the Holy Spirit. It is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promises from John 14:15-30 and 16:5-15. This was also a fulfillment of John the Baptist’s words about the Holy Spirit’s baptizing with fire. 
• Why tongues of fire? Tongues symbolize speech and the communication of the Good News. Fire symbolizes God’s purifying presence, which burns away the undesirable elements of our lives and sets our hearts aflame to ignite the lives of others. On Mount Sinai, God confirmed the validity of the Old Testament law with fire from heaven (see Exodus 19:16-18). At Pentecost, God confirmed the validity of the Holy Spirit’s ministry by sending fire. At Mount Sinai, fire came down on one place; at Pentecost, fire came down on many believers, symbolizing that God’s presence is available to all who believe in him.[1] 
• While we speak of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we are not saying that the Holy Spirit came into existence at Pentecost. That is not so; God is eternally Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In fact, Acts makes that quite clear. The Holy Spirit was speaking in David (Acts 1:16); the Spirit spoke through Isaiah (Acts 28:25); Stephen accuses the Jews of having opposed the Spirit all through their history (Acts 7:51). Now at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit becomes the dominant reality in the life of the Church. 
• Those that first heard the coming of the Holy Spirit were devout Jews living in Jerusalem but were from other countries. They would have known the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that was commonly spoken in Jerusalem, yet the Holy Spirit uses the spiritual gift of tongues to communicate the message. God certainly has a flare for the dramatic! It was quite an attention getter, and set the stage for Peter’s sermon (tomorrow’s devotional).

Life Questions:

• The Holy Spirit came in a powerful way on the day of Pentecost. Has some kind of manifestation of the Holy Spirit ever occurred in your life, in your presence, in your family? (It doesn’t have to be speaking in tongues!) 
• How is the coming of the Holy Spirit different than the coming of Jesus? 
• Has there ever been a time when God was working through you, but others ridiculed you? What was your reaction? How did you handle it?

Prayer: For the Holy Spirit to use us in powerful ways to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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[1] From “Life Application Study Bible”, Acts 2:3-4

Monday, September 03, 2012

Opening: Have you ever been part of a conversation or had an initial impression of someone that later you realize you were missing the point or way off on your assessment? Or have you ever done something just because that’s the way it has always been done, only to realize that doing it the old way was really the wrong way?

Scripture: Read Acts1:9-26.

Insights:

• The Ascension of Jesus is briefly described in Mark 16:19-20 and Luke 24:50-53. Look up these verses and compare them to Acts 1:9-10. 
• Certainly, Luke is telling us that the disciples were engaging in more prayer than usual (that is, more than several hours a day, maybe in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit) or he would have no reason to mention it. Read Acts 1:14 in as many translations as you can to see how this verse is translated (go to www.biblegateway.com for additional translations). 
• It is interesting to note that Jesus’ family is here with the company of the disciples. During Jesus’ lifetime, they had been among his opponents (see Mark 3:21). It may well be that for them, as for so many others, the death of Jesus opened their eyes. What they could not understand before the Cross, they understood now. 
• Matthew 27:1-10 records the account of Judas’ suicide. Acts 1:18-19 collaborates the story as well as adds some fairly graphic information. The text also indicates that this was well known in Jerusalem, adding credibility to what Luke was now writing (and would write) to Theophilus.

Life Questions:

• Prayer was vital for the post-Ascension believers. How vital is it in your spiritual life? 
• It would seem that the apostles are struggling to know what their focus. In verse 6, they pester Jesus about politics. In verse 10, they strain to catch a final glimpse of Jesus until the angels interrupt their tunnel-vision. Finally, in verses 21-26, they insist on filling the opening left by Judas with Matthias, who is not mentioned again in the New Testament. Without the leading of the Holy Spirit, they are a little lost. Have you ever felt this way, or experienced this lack of focus and spiritual leading? How about now? 
• How many disciples were there before the coming of the Holy Spirit? 1 Corinthians15:16 says that Jesus was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time. Where are the rest? What might have happened? Have you ever seen anything similar in your experience?

Prayer Focus: For a clear direction and leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of our church.

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Opening: Think back to a time when you had to wait for something. Maybe it was to go to grandma’s for Christmas or on a vacation. Name as many emotions as you can think of that you experienced. Now think about a time when you were going somewhere or doing something that you really didn’t to go or do. Maybe it was a surgery or a court date or a parent-teacher conference. What were those emotions?

Scripture: Today we start our readings in the Book of Acts. Read Acts 1:1-8.

Insights:

• Luke wrote both his Gospel, and now this book of Acts. Look back at Luke 1:1-4. What was Luke’s purpose in writing? 
• This book is in some places called “The Acts of the Apostles.” A case could be made that it should be called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” 
• It has been suggested that Theophilus is merely a generic term for all Christians (the name means “loved of God”), but the epithet “most excellent” implies Luke was writing to a definite person, probably a Roman official, whom Luke held in high respect. 
• In the Gospels, the Twelve are called the disciples. Now in Acts, the term “apostles” is used to refer to those original members, while the term “disciples” refers to the ever expanding group of Christ followers. Disciple means “follower or learner,” and apostle means “messenger or missionary.” The apostles now had the special assignment of spreading the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection. 
•  Jesus clearly commands the apostles to remain in Jerusalem. Why?

Life Questions:

• How would the apostles recognize the coming “gift of God”, the Holy Spirit? How have you recognized the Holy Spirit? 
• Jesus told the apostles to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes, then be witnesses “in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Has there been a time you stayed? Have you been willing then to go?

Prayer Focus: For a fresh coming of the Holy Spirit, and the power to be Christ’s witnesses.

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Opening: What was your first paying job? Not your chores at home as a child, but the first time someone chose you and said, “I will pay you to do a job for me.” What do you think was one thing you learned from that experience?

Scripture: Sunday’s message is our text today. Please read Luke 5:1-11.

Insights:

• We know that Jesus grew up in Nazareth. But at the beginning of His ministry, he moved to Capernaum (see Matthew 4:13). It would become His base of operations for His Galilean ministry. Remember that whenever you read about Jesus’ travels. 
• In our passage, we find the third reference to Peter (scan back to the previous chapters of Luke to see the previous encounters of Jesus with Peter). And our passage occurs prior to Jesus naming the Twelve Disciples (see Luke 6:12-16). Clearly, Jesus is focused on establishing a relationship with this fisherman of Galilee.  Some commentators believe this is these disciples’ “second” calling. After the first call (see Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20), Peter, Andrew, James, and John had gone back to fishing. They watched Jesus as He established His authority in the synagogue, healed the sick, and drove out demons. 
• In our passage, He established His authority in their lives – right where they lived, right where they worked. And when He had established His authority over the “everyday,” He called them to something greater. Instead of fishing for fish; they would be fishing for men and women.

Life Questions:

• Jesus instructing you to do something? Giving you a command? Is it something that you have already tried but He is asking you to try it His way? 
• Have you ever gone back to an old way, activity, attitude of your past before you began to really follow Jesus? Did you find that your nets were empty?

Prayer Focus: For tomorrow’s worship celebration, that we would truly and meaningfully worship the Christ who brings abundance, and that we would hear Him call us to fish for men and women.

Tomorrow’s Message Title: “The Church is like a… Fishing Trip”