Acts 2

On The Day of Pentecost, we find Christ’s followers enjoying the festival that we talked about earlier this week with their fellow Jews. Remember, the first “Christians” were Jews, Jesus was a Jew, we tend to forget this because we find our place in Christian history separated from the Jewish people and culture.So as the group is hanging out, enjoying the festival at someone’s house, a large rushing wind comes from the sky and focuses in on this house. The wind is the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Jerusalem is a very compact city so people in the neighborhood noticed what had just happened and came to see.What happens next is remarkable, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples are suddenly able to speak in all the languages of the people present in the crowd that has gathered.As an illustration of how these people felt, go check out a YouTuber called Xiaomanyc (I can feel Palmer and Sarabeth’s eyes roll…). He loves to learn languages and then go visit people who speak that language as their native tongue and surprise them when he can converse with them. The reactions he gets from people are priceless; I can only imagine what was happening on the Day of Pentecost was 1000x better!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofGqKirM8F0

We're going to spend a few days going through Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. For the first day, I want you to read through the sermon and then see all of the prophecy from the Old Testament that Peter references in the sermon.

We're going to spend a few days going through Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. For the first day, I want you to read through the sermon and then see all of the prophecy from the Old Testament that Peter references in the sermon.

We're going to spend a few days going through Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. For the first day, I want you to read through the sermon and then see all of the prophecy from the Old Testament that Peter references in the sermon.

We're going to spend a few days going through Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. For the first day, I want you to read through the sermon and then see all of the prophecy from the Old Testament that Peter references in the sermon.

On the Day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit comes and the crowd is confused, Peter stands and gives a sermon boldly declaring that Jesus is the Messiah the Jews had been waiting for. Peter explains that this is the fulfillment of prophecy from Joel. He points to Jesus’ miracles, death, and especially His resurrection as proof that He is the Christ.Peter uses Psalms written by David to show that the Messiah would rise from the dead and reign at God’s right hand. He argues that David wasn’t talking about himself because David died and stayed in the grave, but states that He and the others around him are witnesses that Jesus rose again. He concludes with the convicting statement that "God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).

After Peter's sermon, many in the crowd were convicted by what they heard. They realized that Jesus truly was the Messiah and understood the seriousness of rejecting Him. Because of this, they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What should we do?”Peter told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He continued warning and encouraging the people, calling them to turn to God instead of following the sinful culture around them.Peter's sermon and the crowds response is laying the groundwork for what we will read about tomorrow, the start of the church.

In Acts 2:42–47 we see the start of the Church that you and I are a part of today. These new believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, prayer, and gathering together in fellowship. Notice that their faith was not something they lived out alone, it was something they shared as a community with the other believers.One note, big 'C' church refers to all believers past and present throughout the world.One of the things that stands out to me about the early Church was how self-sacrificial the people were. They cared deeply for one another and were willing to give up their own possessions to help meet each other's needs. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 describes the Church as a body with it's many parts, the parts are ourselves and the gifts God has given us. When we share those gifts together the Church functions as one body. We see that play out in this passage. Each believer brought their different gifts, abilities, and resources, to be used by the group. Instead of focusing on themselves, they looked for ways to serve and support the people around them.Next, the believers regularly spent time together, shared meals, worshiped God, and genuinely enjoyed being with one another. Their lives were marked by joy, generosity, and gratitude for what God was doing.Lastly, in verse 47, we see that their love extended beyond the Church itself. "Having favor with all the people", meaning they treated others well and earned the respect of those around them, even people who were not believers. Their faith was visible in the way they lived, and as a result, God continued to add more people to the Church every day.All of these things are what we should mimic as members of the Church today.