Week 21: Birth of the Church

Opening Question

If you had been one of the 120 gathered in the upper room between the ascension and Pentecost, what emotions would you have experienced – and what would you have expected to happen next?

Review

This week we traced the explosive birth of the church from Jesus’ ascension through the first five chapters of Acts. We witnessed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter’s transformation from a denier into a bold preacher, the healing of a lame man, the first confrontation with the Sanhedrin, the sobering judgment of Ananias and Sapphira, and the apostles’ joyful endurance of persecution. Through it all, one reality stands out: the risen Jesus, through his Holy Spirit, is the driving force behind everything the early church does and becomes.

Study Questions

1. The Ascension and the Promise (Acts 1): Jesus told the disciples they would receive “power” (dynamis) to be his witnesses. How does the kind of power displayed throughout Acts 1-5 differ from the kind of power the disciples originally expected (Acts 1:6)? What does this tell us about God’s definition of power?

2. Pentecost and the Reversal of Babel (Acts 2): The gift of tongues at Pentecost enabled people from every nation to hear the gospel in their own language. How does this event reverse the judgment at Babel (Genesis 11:1-9)? What does Pentecost reveal about God’s intention for the gospel’s scope and reach?

3. The Healing and the Sermon (Acts 3): Peter told the lame man, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you.” The early church was materially poor but spiritually powerful. How do you see this dynamic at work in the church today – and where has it been inverted?

4. Boldness Before Authority (Acts 4): Peter declared, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mankind by which we must be saved.” How does this exclusive claim function in a pluralistic culture? How can we hold this conviction with both firmness and humility?

5. Holiness and Hypocrisy (Acts 5): The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira produced “great fear” in the community. Why might God have acted so decisively at this particular moment in the church’s history? What does this episode teach us about the relationship between the Spirit’s presence and personal integrity?

Going Deeper

The early church in Acts 2:42-47 is often idealized as a golden age of Christianity. Consider the four marks of that community – the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. Which of these is most countercultural in your context? The radical sharing of possessions described in Acts 2 and 4 has been used to support everything from communism to monasticism. How do you distinguish between the principle behind their sharing (no one should be in need) and the form it took (selling property and pooling resources)? Is the principle binding even if the form is not?

Application

• Personal: Identify one area where you are tempted to project an image of spiritual commitment that exceeds your actual practice. Bring it before God this week with the honesty that Ananias and Sapphira lacked.
• Communal: With a friend or small group, discuss what it would look like for your community to embody Acts 2:42 more fully. Choose one of the four practices to intentionally cultivate over the next month.
• Missional: The apostles could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard. This week, look for one opportunity to share with someone what Jesus has done in your life – not as a rehearsed presentation but as natural testimony.

Prayer Focus

Pray for boldness – not for comfort, not for safety, but for the courage to speak and live as witnesses to the risen Christ. Pray for the Holy Spirit to produce in your community the kind of generosity, integrity, and joy that characterized the earliest church. Pray for those who face persecution for their faith today, that they would experience the same supernatural joy the apostles knew when they were counted worthy to suffer for the name.