Week 2 - Movement
This week in summary| Day 1 : Summary | Acts 8-9 |
| Day 2 : Within | Acts 10-11 |
| Day 3 : Mourning and Comfort | Acts 12 |
| Day 4 : Blessing | Acts 13 |
| Day 5 : Faith with Feet | Acts 14 |
Summary
Acts Chapters 8-14
Now what? People are dying, the cops are chasing them and Jesus’s followers leave town… except they forgot to lay low. Instead the spread the message everywhere they go and this movement is spreading. No big surprise that the authorities that executed Jesus would continue their bloody opposition but it seems their crack down turns against them. God uses the followers of Jesus to push the boundaries of his Kingdom on earth from Jerusalem to the surrounding regions. It’s just like Jesus predicted in Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”
As we read along, we note the continued imparting of the Holy Spirit to new believers. Particularly in chapter 8, the Spirit is given to the Samaritans at the laying on of the hands of the missionaries—continuing the expanding geo-cultural nature of the spread of the Good News (recall that Jesus had said they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (1:8)).
By contrast, the “Gentiles” receive the Spirit before anyone is even immersed in water (ch. 10)! His coming upon the Gentiles is directly akin to what happened in the opening of chapter 2. We see in these chapters, too, the Spirit's activity again in leading and guiding the Church. Miracles are performed. Healings occur. Boldness, prophecy, and a host of other marks of the Spirit's activity are witnessed.
Within
One of the many things that I love about God is that, each time I feel like I’ve got God figured out He does something mind-blowing.
In the pattern of God interacting with humanity, He progressively takes steps to get closer and closer and closer to us.
Then God took on human flesh and lived among us in the person of Jesus.
What!? God moved into the neighborhood and he’s hanging out at my barbeque? As mind blowing as the incarnation of all powerful God is, He took it another step closer: from living among us to living inside us. The Spirit of God came to live in us guiding us and giving us power to fulfill God’s plan for us.
God entered a symbiotic relationship with us. Hard to believe that some people around you have living in them the Spirit of all-powerful God, creator of gold, galactic super-clusters, the human genome, math and squirrels. He is pure awesome and he lives in some of us.
How can I receive that?
Mourning and Comfort
Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted
Those who mourn, who know and express their feelings, grieving the nature and effect of sin in themselves and in others.
Jesus’ disciples came to Him and He began to teach them. That statement from Matthew 5 tells me that these men followed Jesus. They knew that to learn from Him they must be with Him.
Jesus teaching continued with these words, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.”
Remember the word blessed here means happy. So here we go again, mourning and happy don’t seems to have any connection. When we think of mourning we think of loss and separation. As people we can be sad about the loss of many things. A job, a possession, a friend or loved one, either because they moved away or because of death, but we especially connect mourning with death.
Jesus says that when we mourn we will be comforted, we will receive comfort and that comfort will come from Him or more specifically from the Holy Spirit. In The Gospel of John Jesus tells His disciples that He has to go away so He can send the Holy Spirit to us here on earth. In this case Jesus actually refers to the Holy Spirit as the comforter. Think of it this way you are very cold and you wrap up in a huge goose down comforter. That is a tiny example of the comfort that Jesus has the capacity to offer.
Jesus mourned many things but what He mourned the most was when people rejected His offer of Love and salvation. Jesus wants us to experience His comfort. Comfort that has the ability to turn gloom into joy, sorrow into happiness and emptiness into the richest life we can possibly imagine. The biggest reason why life with Jesus is so rich and good is because He is in it with us, all the way wherever we go and whatever we go though.
Blessing Your Neighbors
Pray with your Family - Remember your neighbors by name during mealtime and bedtime prayers.
Prayer Walk - Walk by yourself or with family, roommates, and other neighbors who are believers. Pray over each home by name as you pass and ask God for opportunities with your neighbors.
Ask Open-ended Questions - How long have you lived here? What line of work are you in? What do you do for fun?
Ask Follow-up Questions - How did that test go? Are you feeling better? How was your vacation?
Enjoy a Meal Together - Invite a neighbor (or two) for a BBQ, order in Pizza, or have everyone bring a dessert to share.
Celebrate Special Occasions and Holidays - Bake cupcakes for birthdays. Send a casserole to new parents. Deliver Christmas cookies.
Serve While You’re Outside - Turn lawn chores into opportunities to serve: Mow lawns, water yards, etc.
Serve In Times of Need - Visit when a neighbor passes away or has a baby. Deliver flowers or a gift. Coordinate meals with other neighbors.
Share Commonalities - Hobbies such as golf, book club, bunko night, or a running/fitness group can all bring people together.
Socialize and Make Holidays Special - Enjoy recreational areas. Participate in yard sales and BBQs. Attend holiday parties.
5 People I will bless this week
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Faith with Feet
Based on Acts 8-14 What do you believe God wants you to do?
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What have you learned about God’s heart & values?
How did people follow God’s instructions?
What changes took place to society?
What parts of this story might apply to you?
Why is this story important for someone like you?