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Remembering is the First Step Forward
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is and Read More
Katherine Willis Pershey | Read Acts of the Apostles 2:14, 22-32
Peter speaks these fiery words on Pentecost Day, but the theme of his address is pure Easter. The message Peter and his fellow apostles have for the Israelites (and, in good time, all the world) is extraordinary. Jesus died a horrible death, but God raised him up.
While Jesus’ crucifixion...
God of Easter, we hear the good news with glad hearts; make us witnesses with Peter. Amen.
Psalm 16 and Acts 2 fit together, since the latter quotes the former. Both celebrate God’s presence in human life and the powerful expression of that presence. In his Pentecost sermon Peter sees a messianic application of the psalm to the resurrection of Jesus. First Peter affirms that resurrection creates community, stressing the faith and love of Christians that arise without the experience of physical contact with Jesus. For later generations, belief and commitment are born out of the witness of others.
Read Acts 2:14a, 22-32. How should the reader (or preacher) acknowledge Peter’s troubling language of blame toward the Israelites without losing the point of the passage?
Read Psalm 16. In what way does God provide protection and refuge for you?
Read John 20:19-31. What does it mean for Jesus to bless “those who have not seen and yet have come to believe?”
Read 1 Peter 1:3-9. How do Peter’s words speak to Chris- tians who do not live with the threat of persecution?
Respond by posting a prayer.
