๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข Recall a challenging situation that you couldnโt get out of. What did you do to move forward?
โข Have you ever been called out or confronted on something youโve said or done? How did you respond?
โข Whatโs one thing you canโt stop talking about? Why do you believe in or like it so much?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
โ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ข, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ.โ ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ญ:๐ด
๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ (๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด), ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ค ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฑ:๐ญ๐ณ-๐ญ๐ด
(Read also ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฑ:๐ญ๐ต-๐ฏ๐ฎ)
After the Holy Spirit filled and empowered the apostles and disciples, the gospel was preached, miracles were performed, and the church grew rapidly. However, it was not without opposition and challenges. The apostles would face persecution from the religious leaders of their time and were imprisoned because of their jealousy. But Godโs word cannot be stopped, even in difficult situations. Today, letโs look at how Godโs miraculous intervention opened the door for the gospel to spread to the rest of Jerusalem.
๐ญ. ๐๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น.
๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ช๐ง๐ฆ.โย ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฑ:๐ญ๐ต-๐ฎ๐ฌ
When the high priest heard that many sick people were being healed in Jesusโ name, he was filled with jealousy and had the apostles arrested. This may have seemed like a hopeless situation to the believers. But God turned this around in His favor and sent an angel to open the prison doors and set the apostles free. This miracle became a powerful testimony for the apostles and propelled the apostles to continue telling others about Jesus. How do you think you would have responded if you were sent to prison for believing in Jesus? How about if you experienced this miracle?ย
๐ฎ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ. . . . ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ.โ ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฑ:๐ฎ๐ญ, ๐ฎ๐ฑ
As soon as the angel instructed the apostles to preach about Jesus in the temple, they began doing so first thing in the morning. Even after facing persecution and prison, they were strengthened by God to immediately speak His word again. It is the first time the book of Acts records that the apostles publicly preached inside the temple, as they had initially preached on the temple steps and in peopleโs homes. What does Peterโs response in Acts 5:29 say about whose authority we should hold on to when placed in a similar situation?
๐ฏ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐๐น๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐บ.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฒ:๐ณ
Despite initial apprehension by the priests, the apostles did not stop preaching the gospel. Whether it was a corporate gathering in the temple or a family gathering at home, they continued to fellowship and speak about the redeeming work of Jesus. The church grew throughout Jerusalem that even some of the priests became obedient to the faith. From persecuting the apostles to proclaiming the gospel, they too became witnesses to the people around them. This was a fulfillment of Jesusโ promise that His name would be known to different kinds of people. Why do you think the early church continued preaching the gospel despite the dangers and challenges they faced? What challenges do we face as a church today and how can we learn from the example of the early church?ย
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Jesus encouraged His disciples to take heart even in the midst of tribulation (John 16:33). What does persecution look like in your community and world? How do you respond to this?
โข What are some possible challenges we may face in preaching the gospel? How do you think these challenges can be overcome?
โข Is there someone in your family or group of friends who is apprehensive about the gospel but needs to hear it? Ask God to empower you through the Holy Spirit to be His witness to them this week.
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God that the preaching of the gospel remains unhindered to this day, despite the challenges and persecution believers may face.ย
โข Pray that God would strengthen your faith in Him in both favorable and difficult situations. Ask God to help you trust in Him more and believe for greater things.
โข Ask God for the boldness in preaching His word to the people around you. Pray that God would empower you to be His witness through your words and actions.