Hey Everyone.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'm sitting in a coffee shop in North Tonawanda, NY, with my Black Friday shopping complete.
So tonight I'm going to continue to share from my study in Acts. As I studied through Acts 2, 3 and 4 I began to notice some things about Peter's messages. Here is what I mean: In Acts 2, Peter is speaking to the people of Jerusalem after a great miracle. (Everyone is hearing the message in their own language) He delivers a message how Jesus was given to them by God (2:22), they had killed him (2:23), but this had been God's plan (2:23) and then God raised him from the dead (2:24). He goes on to say that this fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament (2:25-35), that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah and they killed him (2:36) and that they should repent (2:38). This sums up Peter's message on the day of Pentecost.
In chapter 3 Peter and John are going to the temple. Peter performs a great miracle by healing a man born lame (3:1-10). He uses this miracle to preach another sermon that includes the following: Jesus was given to them by God (3:13), they had killed him (3:13-15), but this had been God's plan (3:18) and then God raised him from the dead (3:36). He goes on to say that this fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament (3:18, 24-25), that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah (3:20) and that they should repent (3:19).
Do you notice the similarities? It is almost the same message. The points are the same any way. It makes me wonder then, was this simply The Message. Peter and the other apostles had spent time with Jesus between the Resurrection and the Ascension, where Jesus explained things to them and prepared them for this ministry. This is just my speculation, of course, but I wonder if Jesus spent a lot of time explaining this message to them. It makes sense to me.
It makes me think, though, "What is my message?' Peter seemed to preach a fairly simple message of Jesus crucified and resurrected, and that this was God's redemptive plan all along. It times my message has been "Come, be a part of my awesome church," or "Come, be a disciple." These are important but they aren't the message. The message of Jesus crucified and resurrected drew a lot of people in Acts 2 and 3. It is still the message that draws. What is your message?
Tom
