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The Message and the Opposition The Church is gaining momentum and would need God inspired catalyst for more growth. The catalyst would come in the form of persecution and imprisonment of the apostles. God would have to send His angel to release the apostles from prison for the sole purpose of preaching the gospel. “19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20"Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life." Acts 5:19-20. God was determined to get the gospel of life to all mankind. Nothing could stand on the way as Jesus said that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Even within the opposition and persecution, God would even inspire some to work for His purpose. Let’s see case of Gamaliel. Acts 5: 27-42 (Please read entire chapter 5) 27Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28&

Un-Transformed Lives – Ananias & Sapphira If you are like me, you will be thankful to God for his mercies and grace after reading today’s account in Acts. Like you, I have lied before but God spared me and did not allow me to die immediately for lying. What is it about God’s word that transforms us and why is it that some people are not transformed even after hearing God’s word? The Scripture says that the things that are written are for our “examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (1 Cor. 10:6). The case of Ananias and Sapphira is a case for us to learn that there is no room for hypocrisy and deceit in the life of a believer and the Church. Acts 5: 1-11 1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet. 3Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled

Transformed Lives What brings transformation in lives and societies? What does transformed lives look like? In documenting the establishment and spread of the early church, Dr. Luke shows us what transformed lives look like among the disciples of the early Church. In Acts 4, we see this picture of a functioning and living community of believers even in the midst of persecutions. Keep in mind Peter and John had been arrested for healing a lame man and preaching the gospel that resulted in 5000 people believing in Jesus and being added to the Church. The authorities had forbid Peter and John not to preach the name of Jesus. Of course, they said, "no way". Acts 4: 23-37 23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and ever

GOD or Man? Have you done any good that later came to bite you? In other words, has a good deed you performed been used against you? Well that is the case with the apostles as we study the aftermath of the healing of the lame man. God has used Peter and John to heal a man who from birth has been lame for forty years. The people saw it and marveled and God used it as a platform to allow Peter to preach the gospel and as a result, five thousand people believed in Jesus. (Acts 4:4). We can now see God’s purpose in healing the crippled man so that many would believe and turn to God. There is God’s purpose in every healing. What God was doing did not sit well with the Jewish authorities who had opposed Jesus and aided in his crucifixion. Now they want to stop the work of the Holy Spirit that is now establishing the Church of God. Opposition has come. Peter and John have been arrested and put in jail. Will the disciples obey God or Man? We all must face this choice in life. Maybe you a