Acts 4

Intro

what are you praying about?

the apostles prayed that they might find themselves in the worst positions possible for the sake of Christ

Before the Council

in the same scene as last week

greatly annoyed- power is not theirs over the people anymore

tried in front of the leaders and the people

asking questions they know the answer to

a reference to a healing that Jesus did- is it lawful to do good?

getting to the heart of the matter- we did this in Jesus’ name

perceived that they were uneducated common men

charge them not to speak and are given a great answer

can’t do anything because of the mob

Before God

after this they gather together and pray

because of who God is

because of what God has done

because of what God will continue to do

they do not say thank you for saving us or hope that their lies are never in danger like that again

they pray for more of the boldness that got them in trouble

that they never lose sight of what is important

Before Each Other

because of their boldness the church continues to grow outward and inward

all things in common again

needs were all met

grace was upon them

Barnabas introduced

Application

your faith is not something the world is happy to hear about

most people would rather you not talk about it

in our culture it feels awkward to mention it

in our culture it feels awkward to mention it

loving God and loving others means not being too afraid to tell other people about the life you have in Jesus

even if that makes you seem strange or out of place or unpopular