Pentecost - Acts 2

Acts 2

1. What stuck out to me from this chapter?

What amazes me about this is how Peter went from a "foot-in-his-mouth" impulsive speaker while Jesus was around to deliberate, authoritative Bible teacher after receiving the Holy Spirit. All of a sudden Peter is pulling out "Old Testament" Scripture (which is what everyone learned from then) and tying them together to apply directly to Jesus. Even though some of his words were "warning them" about the "corrupt generation", his tone was very much "pleading with them". He wasn't putting himself on some self-righteous pedestal, condemning everyone as they walked by. He was persuasive and pleading with people to acknowledge the truth.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

This is really the birth of the early church. When the Holy Spirit comes, the church is given life. It's like when God breathed life into Adam and Eve. In fact, I've heard before that the word in Hebrew for "breath/breathed" is the same word that is translated at "Spirit". So when the "Spirit descended" it would be literally the same concept as God breathing life into the apostles.

3. What does this mean for me?

Verses 42-47 hold a lot of truth about what fellowship among believers could and should look like, but what really hit home personally for me was this: apart from the Holy Spirit and the work of God, ministry is lifeless. I need to be more patient more often for God to lead and guide and fill and strengthen me for personal ministry.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

One question I have about verses 44-45 is, "What does this look like today?" What does it mean to have everything in common?

There's Acts chapter 2. I'm excited about going through the whole book one chapter at a time. Please feel free to respond, even if you disagree with some things I say. :)