Acts 3

When we lived in Texas, there was a gym just a couple blocks from our house. After a few years, I decided it was time to get in shape. When I joined, they offered a free personal training session. The real goal was to show you how out of shape you were so you would buy more sessions. I wasn’t planning on that, but I figured I’d take the free one.

The trainer pushed me harder than I’d ever pushed myself. I went home feeling good until the next morning. Every muscle in my body was on fire. Even lifting a fork felt like I’d been in a boxing match. But that soreness wasn’t failure… it was growth. Muscles grow by being stretched and torn a little, and as they heal, they become stronger.

That’s how spiritual growth works too. God often grows our faith through stretching, through seasons that are uncomfortable. It’s not pleasant, but it’s how He builds endurance and teaches us to rely on His power instead of our own.

In our last series, Empowered, we saw the Holy Spirit transform a fearful group of believers into bold witnesses. Over the next five weeks, in Growing Pains, we’ll see that same church continue to grow stronger through resistance, discomfort, and dependence on the Spirit.

Today we start in Acts 3, where God uses an ordinary moment to launch an extraordinary story that pushes the church into deeper faith and bolder witness.

Acts 3:1 ESV

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

This is 3:00 pm in the afternoon, one of the typical times of prayer for devout Jews. Even after coming to faith in Jesus, the early believers continued to participate in temple worship and prayer. So Peter and John were just doing something ordinary and routine. And yet it’s in the middle of that everyday faithfulness that God is about to do something extraordinary.

Isn’t that often when these moments shows up? In the middle of faithful, everyday obedience. Peter and John didn’t set out to perform a miracle that day… they simply showed up, and God met them there with an opportunity they could have never planned.

Acts 3:2–3 ESV

And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.

The man was carried to his usual spot to beg. Day after day, people had walked by him… maybe even Peter and John before this. But today would be different.

The man was placed there because it was a strategic spot. Those coming to the temple would have been especially mindful of their responsibility to honor God, not just through worship, but through acts of mercy. People heading to pray were thinking about obedience and devotion, and generosity to the poor was part of that. So this was the ideal place for someone in need to appeal for help.

Acts 3:4 ESV

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”

Most people probably dropped a coin without ever making eye contact. But Peter and John wanted this man to see them, to know that what was about to happen was personal. God’s power wasn’t distant or mechanical. It was relational. Before healing his legs, they gave him dignity, inviting him to lift his eyes and really see that something different was about to happen.

Acts 3:5–6 ESV

And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

The lame man was expecting coins. Something that would help him survive the day. But Peter offers something he doesn’t even know to ask for. Peter had something far better than money… he carried the presence and authority of Jesus. What this man needed most wasn’t charity, it was transformation. And Peter knew that the power of Jesus’ name could do for him what all the generosity in the world never could.

Acts 3:7–11 ESV

And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s.

The healing wasn’t slow or partial. It was instant. Strength filled his legs, and he did what he’d never done before… he jumped up and started praising God. What happened physically was a picture of what Jesus does spiritually. He restores what’s broken and brings life where there is none.

In that moment, Peter does what Spirit-filled people do… he points the attention away from himself and back to Jesus. The miracle opens the door for the message. What began as a simple act of compassion now becomes an opportunity for proclaiming Jesus. Peter stands up, not to explain his own power, but to declare that this healing is proof that Jesus really is alive and still at work.

Look at his sermon, starts in verse 12…

Acts 3:12–16 ESV

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Peter immediately redirects the crowd’s attention. They’re amazed, staring at him and John as though the power came from them. But Peter makes it clear… this miracle wasn’t about their ability or holiness. It was about Jesus. The same Jesus they handed over and rejected, God has now glorified. The One they crucified, God raised. And the proof that He’s alive is standing right in front of them. This man was healed through faith in the name of Jesus, because there’s still power in that name.

Acts 3:17–21 ESV

“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Peter moves from confrontation to invitation. He acknowledges their ignorance, but he doesn’t leave them there. Now, because of God’s mercy, the door is open for them to turn back, have their sins wiped away, and experience “times of refreshing” from the presence of the Lord. Peter’s message is clear: repentance is the path to renewal and restoration.

Repentance literally means to change your mind and direction. It is turning from sin and turning toward God. It is not just feeling bad about what you have done; it is reorienting your life around Jesus. The lame man did not just get stronger legs, he walked in a whole new direction. That is a picture of repentance. Jesus does not just heal. He changes where we walk.

Repentance is not a one-time decision. It is the rhythm of a growing believer’s life. It is how both the unbeliever begins and the believer continues in renewal. Being a Christian does not rest primarily in your opinions about God, morality, or faith. It resides in the devotion of your life to Him. True belief is seen in the turning, in the way your steps begin to follow the path of Christ.

When Peter says that our sins are “blotted out,” he uses a word that means to wipe something away completely, like erasing ink from a page. In Christ, God does not keep a running record of our failures. He removes them so completely that they are no longer visible to Him. If you are a follower of Jesus, repentance is how you keep growing stronger. If you are still figuring out faith, repentance is how you start fresh, with your sins wiped clean and your soul refreshed by the presence of God.

Acts 3:22–26 ESV

Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Peter roots the gospel in the story of Scripture. Whether Moses or Abraham, every promise and prophecy pointed forward to Jesus. He is the prophet like Moses, the fulfillment of the covenant, the source of blessing for all nations. God sent Him first to Israel, not to condemn, but to bless them by turning them from their sin. The same God who raised up His Servant is still in the business of raising up people, turning hearts, restoring lives, and spreading His blessing to the ends of the earth.

Friends, the story in Acts 3 isn’t just about a man who couldn’t walk. It’s about a God who still restores what’s broken. The same Jesus who made that man’s legs strong is still making people whole today. He is still calling His church to step out in faith, to see people who are hurting, and to offer more than silver or gold, to offer the hope and healing that come through His name.

So here’s the challenge for us: do not overlook the people around you who need the good news of the Gospel. The ones who seem stuck, overlooked, or too far gone. God may want to use your ordinary obedience to bring extraordinary grace into their lives. And when He does, point the attention back to Jesus. Every act of compassion, every word of truth, and every moment of courage exists to make Him known.

Maybe for you, the next step is simple but uncomfortable. It might mean praying for boldness or asking God to open your eyes to the needs around you. It might mean repenting of something He has been convicting you about. Or maybe it means finally trusting Jesus, not just with a part of your life but with your whole life. He died and rose again to blot out your sin, to make you new, and to fill you with His Spirit.

Growth rarely feels easy, but that is where God’s power shows up. As we stretch, He strengthens. As we obey, He renews. And as we keep turning toward Him, He makes His church a living witness to His grace and power in the world.