Church School Lesson: Celebrating In Unity

Sunday, September 26, 2021 at 9:30 AM

"Celebrating In Unity"

September 26, 2021

Background: Acts 2:32-33, 37-47; Print: Acts 2:32-33, 37-47;

Key Verse: Acts 2:42; Devotional: Psalm 134


 

Acts 2:32-33 (NCV)
32  So Jesus is the One whom God raised from the dead. And we are all witnesses to this.
33  Jesus was lifted up to heaven and is now at God's right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to Jesus as he promised. So Jesus has poured out that Spirit, and this is what you now see and hear.

Acts 2:37-47 (NCV)
37  When the people heard this, they felt guilty and asked Peter and the other apostles, "What shall we do?"
38  Peter said to them, "Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each 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  This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself."
40  Peter warned them with many other words. He begged them, "Save yourselves from the evil of today's people!"
41  Then those people who accepted what Peter said were baptized. About three thousand people were added to the number of believers that day.
42  They spent their time learning the apostles' teaching, sharing, breaking bread, and praying together.
43
The apostles were doing many miracles and signs, and everyone felt great respect for God.
44  All the believers were together and shared everything.
45  They would sell their land and the things they owned and then divide the money and give it to anyone who needed it.
46  The believers met together in the Temple every day. They ate together in their homes, happy to share their food with joyful hearts.

47  They praised God and were liked by all the people. Every day the Lord added those who were being saved to the group of believers.
 

Acts Chapter 2 (Commentary)

2:32 God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. The frightened disciples (see John 20:19) had been transformed by the Holy Spirit to risk their lives by boldly and publicly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. How could they have done that unless they were telling the truth? If they were intentionally fabricating the whole story, what explains their transformation and willingness to face persecution and death? The only sane answer is that they were truly witnesses to the resurrected Jesus.

2:33-36 This risen Messiah who had been exalted to the right hand of God had poured out the promised Holy Spirit. That, Peter told them, is what they were seeing and hearing (2:33). He then quoted David (from Psalm 110:1), who overheard God the Father telling the Messiah, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool (2:34-35; see commentary on Ps 110). That Scripture had been fulfilled in Jesus. God [had] made this Jesus . . . both Lord and Messiah (2:36).

2:37-39 When the crowd heard Peter's words, they were pierced to the heart. They were convicted of their sin and asked, What should we do? (2:37). That was exactly what Peter wanted to hear, and he was quick with the answer: Repent and be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (2:38).

Now don't misunderstand this. The New Testament is clear that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ apart from works (see Eph 2:8-9; Rom 4:4-5). But repentance and baptism are to accompany faith. To repent is to turn from sin to God. As Paul will later tell the Ephesian elders, he preached "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus" (Acts 20:21). And to be baptized in the name of Jesus is to obediently go public with a profession of faith in him. But baptism doesn't save, as Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 1:17.

Since the goal of repentance is to reduce or remove the consequences of sin, Peter was calling on the Jews who had witnessed and endorsed the crucifixion of Jesus (in identification with their Jewish leaders), to publicly renounce their actions via baptism. By doing this, they would disconnect themselves from the perverse generation that was about to experience the temporal wrath of God when Rome destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in AD 70.

2:40-41 With this sermon and Peter's exhortation to be saved (2:40), the church age began. This evangelistic campaign resulted in three thousand new believers (2:41)! The church of Jesus Christ was off to an amazing start.

2:42-47 So what did the fledgling church do? Luke says the early church was known for four activities that should be foundational for every kingdom-minded local church. First, there was devotion to the apostles' teaching (2:42). The church was learning divine truth from God's Word (only the Old Testament was written at this point, but in the years to come the apostles would be inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what would become the New Testament). You cannot grow beyond what you know. The teaching of the apostles was to give believers God's perspective on every matter so that they could learn, obey, and experience spiritual growth and make kingdom impact.

Second, they devoted themselves to fellowship (2:42)--mutually sharing the life of Christ within the family of God. We are not to live as Lone Ranger Christians but to engage in the life of faith together. We are called to "love one another" (John 15:12), to "carry one anotherââ?¬â?¢s burdens" (Gal 6:2), to forgive one another (Eph 4:32), to "encourage one another" (1 Thess 5:11), and the list goes on. A disconnected Christian is a disobedient and unfruitful Christian. Each of us is an integral part of the body of Christ (see 1 Cor 12:12-26; Heb 10:23-25).

Third, the church regularly prioritized worship, reflected in the breaking of bread (i.e., Communion or the Lord's Supper) and prayer (2:42). Worship is the recognition and celebration of who God is, what he has done, and what we are trusting him to do. The church is called to make a big deal about God because this is what he deserves.

Fourth, the church was clearly engaged in outreach because every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved (2:47). Everyone was involved in evangelism. They weren't merely letting the apostles take care of it. All of the believers were living out their faith publicly (2:44-47). Such public love, devotion, joy, ministry, and testimony convinced unbelievers to trust in Jesus Christ.

As a result of these activities, everyone in the church was filled with awe and experiencing wonders and signs . . . performed through the apostles (2:43). The Holy Spirit will cause amazing things to happen when the church is unified in its devotion to God and to its members in fulfillment of God's kingdom program.

Event Location

Palestine Missionary Baptist Church • 15787 Wyoming Avenue • Detroit, MI 48238 • US

Contact Information

Contact: Rev. Ronald Burks
Phone: 313-341-7605
E-mail:
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