The story chapter 28 post sermon

Jesus gave us a commission. In light of that commissioning, read the words of Oscar Romero.
Prophets of A Future Not Our Own

It helps now and then to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of
saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession
brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives include everything.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one
day will grow. We water the seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of
liberation in realizing this.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s
grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the
difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not
messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.

— Archbishop Oscar Romero

The Story Chapter 28 Reflection Questions

In today’s terminology we would call them wimps or maybe men with no backbone. All the disciples, except the “Beloved disciple,” ran when the going got tough. Now Jesus was alive, they had followed marching orders and had waited in Jerusalem until “the gift” arrived. What would the gift look like?

They had no clue. They just knew that they would know it when it came. Scripture tells us it came with the rush of a mighty wind. Maybe it sounded like one of those deadly tornados that frequent the plains of the mid-west. Instead of hiding, as their pattern had been, they came out into the open. Then the most amazing thing happened to them. It seemed like tongues of fire were falling upon them, but it was the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

These men, who had literally been cowards were now empowered in ways they had never been before, and they were speaking in languages they had never learned.  The purpose of the languages–to share the Good News of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. They were empowered by the Spirit to build the kingdom of God.

The Good News doesn’t stop there. They the Holy Spirit continues to empower us today. Have you been baptized in the power of the Holy Spirit? Wonderful things can happen and gifts of the Spirit are given when you are willing to make yourself available for God’s use.

Use these study questions (taken from the Adult Study Guide) to enhance your reading this week.

1. Look up Ex. 3:2, 3:21, and 19:18. Why do you suppose the Holy Spirit was portrayed as tongues of fire that came to rest on each believer at Pentecost and how does His relationship to believers change after this event?
2. According to Peter’s Pentecost sermon (p. 325 or Acts 2:22-24, 36), who was responsible for Jesus death?  As a group, discuss the tension we experience between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will.
3. What marked the community life of the believers (p. 326, 328)?  Discuss ways your church and small group help foster a similar community.  Share what is most meaningful to you personally.
4. The church grew rapidly from the beginning even in spite of growing opposition and persecution.  What factors might account for such growth then?
5. God the Father was the most visible person of the Trinity in the Old Testament.  Jesus, God the Son, was most visible in the gospels and now God the Holy Spirit becomes prominent in Acts.  For most Christians, the Holy Spirit is the least understood person of the Trinity.   List all you learned about the Holy Spirit from this chapter. What did you learn about the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for your own life?
6. How did Stephen’s martyrdom help fulfill God’s mandate of Acts 1:8 (p. 323) beginning with Philip?  If you are comfortable, share an example from your own life of God fulfilling an Upper Story work out of a Lower Story tragedy.
7. What accounts for the dramatic change in Saul of Tarsus from persecutor to preacher?  Do you know anyone personally who has gone from being a Christ-hater to a Christ-follower?  (Please be sensitive to privacy by refraining from mentioning names.)
8. God intended to teach Peter something even more profound than a lesson about foods through the vision of unclean animals (p. 333-334).  What was it and why was Cornelius’ conversion such a big turning point in the life of the early church?  (See Acts 11:1-3, Acts 11:15-18, Rom. 10:12-13 and Eph. 2:11-13 for further insight.)
9. What did you learn about suffering from Peter’s flogging (p. 329-330) and imprisonment (p. 334-336), and Stephen’s martyrdom (p. 330-331) that you could apply personally?

 

The Story Chapter 28 Introduction

While in the church calendar year we are still in the Easter season until Pentecost, in The Story we fly through the resurrection appearances of Jesus to land on the day of Pentecost. While we might be moving quickly, you might want to pause to contemplate the resurrection appearances of Jesus. The appearance to the two on the Road to Emmaus happened on Easter Sunday itself. The Apostle Paul gives a list of those who saw the resurrected Jesus to the people of Corinth.

Prior to the ascension of Jesus, he gives instructions to those who are left behind, we often call this The Great Commission, “Go into all the world making disciples and baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus also told them to wait for the gift that would be given on what we call the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was a festival for which the faithful Jews would come to Jerusalem, so there were many from what is known as the diaspora there when the Holy Spirit fell upon the Apostles.

Here is the exciting part, the Holy Spirit empowered the believers to speak in languages they had never studied. The Holy spirit gave gifts of the spirit which were used to build the kingdom of God; The Holy Spirit continues to give gifts today for building the kingdom of God.

Sometimes it is hard for us to imagine that God continues to bless believers with miraculous gifts of the Holy spirit that are not learned and do not fall under our categories of understanding. That is the way God works. God is beyond being put into a box or fitting into our categories of understanding. We are told that if we pray to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit that God will bless us with them. What gifts can you use for the building of God’s kingdom; Prophecy, healing, wisdom, tongues? Pray for the baptism of the Holy spirit upon you. Open up your heart, God will provide.