May 1, 2011

Scriptures for Acts 2:1:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
Theme: Witness to the miracle of resurrection; Song: He Lives UMH 310

Acts: Pentecost is a Jewish holiday, there were thousands of people in Jerusalem. Peter uses this opportunity to tell those people about Jesus. To tell that that Jesus has been resurrected and is alive. We will be reading Peter’s sermon for the 50 days of Easter. The church grew by leaps and bounds because of Peter’s testimony. The people wanted to hear the stories of this resurrected messiah. They say what faith did for Peter, and they wanted that faith for themselves. Peter reminds them that all of their other heroes, David, Moses, Elijah, did wonderful things in life, but they are dead now. Only Jesus does great things in resurrection! Jesus is still making miracles happen today.

John: Jesus makes several resurrection appearances to his disciples. They do not recognize his face, but there is something in his voice that makes the recognize him. When the disciples saw Jesus, they went home, they could not understand what it going on. Jesus appears to them in the upper room. Thomas needs proof that this is really Jesus, and he gets it. We may never see that proof for ourselves, but do we need it in order to know that Jesus Christ is Lord?

Questions: How do you recognize Jesus in your life today? What can we learn from the early church as far as telling our story and getting people to believe? What does resurrection mean for you? How do we help others to believe? What proof does the world need that Jesus is alive? Are we afraid to make the world see what we see? How do we inherit God’s power?