Lesson 4 - Growth Gives Rise to Opposition - In the Word with Michele Telfer

In the Word with Michele Telfer

Lesson 4 - Growth Gives Rise to Opposition

Acts 4:23–37, Acts 5

Acts 4:23-5:42. The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem became jealous of the church’s growing popularity. They resented the fact that God’s power was at work through the followers of Jesus rather than through them and so they threw the Apostles into prison and eventually had them publicly beaten in an attempt to put them off their work. However, the Christ-followers rejoiced in the fact “that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace” for Christ's sake!

Lesson 1 - Wait for God’s Promise

Acts 1

Acts 1:1-26. Jesus commanded His disciples in Acts 1 to wait for the promised infilling of the Holy Spirit to empower them to become His witnesses to the ends of the earth. One of the most amazing and uplifting observations about the early church is that a small band of ordinary people, who likely had never travelled outside of Judea before, somehow evangelized the whole world in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Lesson 2 - Filled with His Spirit

Acts 2

Acts 2:1-47. As Acts 2 opens Christ’s followers waited to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had instructed them. Luke records the miraculous events of Pentecost and how the believers’ effectiveness changed so radically as a result!

Lesson 3 - Learning to Walk!

Acts 3, Acts 4:1–22

Acts 3:1-4:22. God uses Peter and John to heal a man who had been lame since birth. What a remarkable miracle that was! It was extraordinary because the man was given the ability to do something he had never done before! The crowd marveled at what they saw, but surprisingly the religious leaders could not find it in their hearts to praise God for what had occurred!