Day Ten

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 2:42-47

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

On these verses Tom Wright comments:

Luke is careful to point out the landmarks. In fact, Acts 2:42 is often regarded as laying down “the four marks of the church.” The apostle’s teaching; the common life of those who believed; the breaking of bread; and the prayers. These four go together. You can’t separate them, or leave one out, without damage to the whole thing. Where no attention is given to teaching, and to constant, lifelong Christian learning, people quickly revert to the worldview or mindset of the surrounding culture, and end up with their minds shaped by whichever social pressures are most persuasive, with Jesus somewhere around as a pale influence or memory. Where people ignore the common life of the Christian family (the technical term often used is “fellowship,” which is more than friendship but not less), they become isolated, and often find it difficult to sustain a living faith. Where people no longer share regularly in “the breaking of bread”…they are failing to raise the flag which says “Jesus’ death and resurrection are the centre of everything” (see 1 Corinthians 11:26). And whenever people do all these things but neglect prayer, they are quite simply forgetting that Christians are supposed to be heaven-and-earth people.[1]

➡      Of these “four marks” – teaching/learning, community, remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection and prayer – are there one or two you focus on more than the rest? What could you do to create a better balance?

➡      Challengingly, the believers hold their things in common. What examples within OH can you think of where people act inline with this? Are there ways that we could develop further in this? What about if we see the whole Christian community as part of our family – some of whom have hardly anything, materially speaking. What does it look like to share internationally as well as locally?

If you have a bit longer :-)

➡      “Everyone was filled with awe at the many signs and wonders performed by the apostles.” Is it just leaders who are able to perform signs? If not, is everyone equally gifted in this area?

➡      “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” There is something contagious – as well as awe-inspiring – about this early Christian community. The great relationship that OH has with the students’ union through Club Mission is, I think, in a similar vein. In what other ways does OH have a positive and attractive relationship with our local community? What as-yet-untapped potential is there for this?

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[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pgs. 44-45.

Day Nine

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 2:22-40

22 “People of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: “I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”  29 “Brothers and sisters, we all know that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Peter moves on from his confident assertions that today is a day of hope fulfilled to explain how this has all come about: through Jesus; the seemingly failed Messiah who, Peter argues, God has vindicated and raised up to be “the rightful king of Israel.”[1] In doing so, he brings two strands of OT prophecy together: the hope of God’s kingdom coming more fully and the slightly mysterious prophecies about a suffering servant; the one pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (see Isaiah 53). It is, Peter argues, through Jesus’ suffering and death – not despite it – that God’s presence can now be experienced so profoundly.

If you have a bit longer :-)

➡      How often do you reflect on Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection? Maybe we could all try to start each day thanking God for what he has done for us in Christ.

➡      Does Jesus’ suffering (and then restoration and vindication) encourage you in any way when you’re facing times of difficulties?

➡      “With many other words Peter warned them and pleaded with them…” Do we have this same passion and urgency when we’re engaging with those who don’t yet know Christ? How can we spur one another on in this?

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[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 36.

Day Eight

If you have 5 minutes!

Read the extract from Martin Luther King’s speech below 

& Acts 2:14-21

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!
(NB. It is well worth checking out the full speech on YouTube!)

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “In the last days,” God says, 
 “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. 
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, 
your old men will dream dreams. 
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, 
and they will prophesy. 
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 
21 And everyone who calls 
on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Particularly in times of great hardship, certain speeches or texts stand out as exemplars of hope. Martin Luther King’s speech, at a time of great racial oppression, is one of the finest examples of this. Similarly, within the Jewish tradition, there were certain texts that embodied Jewish hopes for the future: hope that God’s people would be set free from oppression, hope that God’s kingdom would come more fully on the earth, hope that there would be renewed intimacy with God and empowerment to live in ways that please him, hope that God’s power would be experienced more completely, hope that the nations would finally be blessed through Israel and so on. Joel 3:1-5 – which Peter quotes here, albeit with some interesting changes – was one of these texts. By starting with it, Peter is making one thing very clear: this time you’ve all been waiting for is now here! There are, however, now and not-yet elements to this[1] and so, for Luke, the giving of the Holy Spirit is not only a blessing for now but also a guarantee that “the great and glorious day of the Lord” – when everything will be as God always wanted it to be – will indeed come![2]

➡      Are there times in your life when you’ve struggled to have hope? How has this felt?

➡      Hope isn’t just something for the future rather, as we see in Acts – and actually with Martin Luther King as well – hope has a powerful impact on the present. What in your life might be different if you had more hope?

➡      How can we encourage one another to be people of hope? How can we best spread hope amongst are neighbours, work colleagues, family, friends…?

If you have a bit longer :-)

On verses 17 & 18, Tom Wright writes:

This work of God is wonderfully inclusive, because there is no category of people which is left out: both genders, all ages, all social classes. But it is wonderfully focused, because it happens to all “who call on the name of the Lord” (verse 21). Here, once more, “the Lord,” which in Joel meant Israel’s God, YHWH, now seems to mean Jesus himself. And with this Luke introduces a vital and complex theme in his work: “salvation.” All who call on the Lord’s name will be saved.” “Being saved” doesn’t just mean, as it does for many today, “going to heaven when they die.” It means “knowing God’s rescuing power, the power revealed in Jesus, which anticipates, in the present, God’s final act of deliverance.” Peter will now go on to encourage his hearers to “call on the Lord’s name,” and so to know that “salvation,” that rescue, as a present reality as well as a future hope.[3]

➡      What could you do today to outwork your “salvation” in the present and bring God’s kingdom closer to earth?

It is pertinent that Peter starts his speech (well Luke’s summary of it anyway!) with a quotation from Scripture and we may want to conclude that all evangelistic talks should begin in this way. It is important, however, to remember that Peter was speaking to those within the Jewish faith who would have been familiar with these texts. Interestingly, later on in Acts (17:16-33) when Paul is chatting to non-Jews in Athens, he starts by reading an inscription from one of their idols (albeit to prove to them their own ignorance!) and then quotes one of their own poets.

➡      Within our evangelism, how can we, like the Christians in Acts, maintain faithfulness to the truth of Scripture whilst communicating these truths in culturally appropriate and penetrating ways?

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[1] See Acts notes from last week (“Day Four”) and Tom Wright, “Acts,” pgs. 32-33.

[2] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 77.

[3] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 34.

Day Seven

If you have 5 minutes!

Re-read Acts 1:8 & Read Acts 2:5-13

“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.” 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

In taking the opportunity to speak about Jesus to the international community present in Jerusalem at that time, the disciples started to fulfill the different parts of Jesus’ commission (Jerusalem…ends of the earth) all in one go! Although they are only engaging with those within Judaism at this stage. There are potentially some interesting connections between the outpouring of the Spirit and the fact that, at the time, people were celebrating Pentecost (a harvest festival that took place 50 days after Passover and which, later on, became an anniversary of the giving of the Law at Sinai – thought to have taken place 50 days after the Exodus).[1] However, it could also be that Luke simply includes this detail to explain why so many people from so many different places were all in Jerusalem at the same time![2]

➡      There are currently people of many different nationalities living in Loughborough. How proactive are we in seeking to reach those whose culture and nationality is different from our own? Is there anything you could do differently in this regard? (For some ideas on this, check out “Claire’s 24-hour Mission Trip!”)

If you have a bit longer :-)

As Beverly Gaventa observes, the outpouring of the Spirit was “no private event,” rather the disciples were immediately cast into the public arena.[3] Moreover, not all those present received them well! Rather, as Tom Wright challengingly notes, then – as “again and again in Acts” – there is “opposition, incredulity, scoffing and sneering at what the apostles say and do, at the same time as great success and conviction.”[4] In this regard, I am pretty certain that I’d experience more of the latter if I were more willing to risk the former.

➡      Looking back over the past week, have there been times when you’ve not said or done something that would have helped people see more of Christ through you because you were worried what they might think? How do you feel about this?

➡      Maybe we could all try to do or say at least one thing this week that helps someone who doesn’t know Christ find out more about him, even if there’s a risk they might think we’re a bit odd?!

➡     Are there any public Christian figures that are on your heart for you to pray for? If not, maybe ask God if there’s anyone you could be supporting in this way. Those I can think of would include: the Archbishop of Canterbury, Steve Chalke, the Pope, the Bishop of London, Alister McGrath (a theologian)… (you probably know of others!)

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[1] See John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 62.

[2] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 74.

[3] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 74.

[4] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 29.