Intro:
So what do you do if you have faced up to the highest authorities in your land- and won?
Maybe you throw a party. Maybe you go out for a nice meal. Maybe you brag to your friends.
What do Peter and John do? They report back to their friends, yeah. And then they have a prayer meeting!
Peter and John are free!
They stood up to the religious leaders who told them to stop talking about Jesus. They made it plain that they would not be quiet. And now they are back with their friends.
So what happens next?
They pray. A prayer that goes like this:
“God, you are our King. You made heaven and earth and the sea and everything that is in them.
People go against you, but it doesn’t do them any good.
That’s what happened today, here in Jerusalem. We are just trying to do what you told us to do, but they are all against us.
So help us to be bold. Give us the courage to keep on speaking the words you give us. And, through the power of Jesus, continue to heal and do other miracles to show these people that you are with us.”
And when they finish this prayer, what happens?
The building where they are praying shakes! They are filled with the Holy Spirit. Then off they go telling the story of the resurrected Jesus. With boldness!
But they not only speak boldly, they live boldly, too!
They are committed to each other, as if one heart is beating in all of them. What they own, they own in common. So if someone is needy, someone else sells a piece of land to raise the money to meet that need. They hand it over to the apostles who distribute it according to who needs it most. And, in that way, everyone is cared for.
One of the men who does this is a man who comes from Cyprus called Joseph. He sells a field he owns and gives the money it to the apostles to share out with the others. And the apostles gave him a nickname - Barnabas - which means “son of encouragement”.
Outro:
So what does prayer accomplish? What does it do? Based on this story, it seems to have done a lot. Why do you think it was the first thing that Peter and John and their friends did? Does that change what you think about the reasons for praying? If so, how?
And what do you think about everybody owning everything in common? What are the advantages to that? What might be the disadvantages? What other questions would you ask the people in this fledgling Christian community?
