Saul’s Story

At the beginning of Acts 9, Saul is a really bad dude. He is in hot pursuit of any followers of the “Way” (Christians) and has authority to put them in prison.

On his way to Damascus, Saul was blinded by a light, fell to the ground, had a conversation with Jesus, didn’t eat food for three days, met up with Ananias, and got his sight back. Then Saul started preaching about Jesus to people! They were kind of freaked out at first because the guy who had been the ultimate bad guy was now a good guy, but could they really trust him. But he was good.

God knew what he was doing. Saul, who would later be named Paul, was going to be:

“…my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15 NLT)

What’s your story?

This story recounts how Saul/Paul met Jesus. How did you meet Jesus?

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King Herod got a little excited that the Jews got a little excited when “he had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword” (Acts 12:2 NIV), so he proceeded to seize Peter also.

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5 NIV).

And then something miraculous happened. An angel of the Lord showed up and released Peter from his chains and walked him through the guards, unaware, and out into the street.

“Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating” (Acts 12:11 NIV).

The power of prayer is amazing!

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The story of Cornelius and Peter is super important. It is the crux of the realization that God’s kingdom is available to whole world instead of just the Jewish people.

Jews are God’s special people for the expressed purpose of showing the world what God is like and being living examples of the kind of humanity God wants the world to live. Israel had had this vocation for quite some time (all the way back to the Exodus… even the patriarch Abraham).

To a Jew the world was divided into two categories: Jews and non-Jews (or Gentiles).

Peter’s vision of unclean food now being clean and the evidence of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius’ household was a realization for Peter (thus the whole, young Jesus movement) that Jesus died and rose again not just for God’s special people, Israel, but actually the entire world.

This application of the efficacy of Jesus sacrifice has huge implications from this point forward, not the very least being Gentiles can be saved from judgment, too!!

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Philip is preaching and teaching about Jesus in Samaria.

Last week, Philip encountered Simon the Sorcerer in Samaria. This week, Philip is divinely directed to a location in which he ends up meeting an Ethiopian Eunuch who had some questions about Isaiah 53:7-8. After a fruitful conversation, the Eunuch ask to be baptized. Philip did and then was miraculously whisked away to another part of the country!

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In Acts 8, a man named Simon, known in Samaria as “The Great One” or “The Great Power” believed and was baptized. When Peter and John arrived, they realized these new converts in Samaria did not receive the Holy Spirit. So they laid hands on people and they received the Holy Spirit.

Simon desperately wanted this power and offered to purchase this gift, much to Peter’s chagrin. Peter chastised Simon the Sorcerer and encouraged him to:

“Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart” Acts 8:22 NIV

Simon asked Peter to pray to the Lord for him.

That’s it. That’s all we know, biblically, about Simon the Sorcerer. There are further legends about Simon that are worth reading and researching. It’s interesting.

Simon the Sorcerer [y3_w31]

Story Lesson (364.28kb, pdf)
Audio File (13.12mb, mp3)
Video Link (4.1.12 @ vimeo.com)
Video Link (4.5.09 @ vimeo.com)

This post is part of the ongoing Main Street Teaching series. Click here to view a list of the other posts in this series.

Stephen is described as a man full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3). He did “great wonders and miraculous signs among the people…[and] men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke” (Acts 6:8, 9-10).

Stephen was dragged before the Sanhedrin and gave an account of the Hebrew/Jewish people’s history. At the end he called them: “uncircumcised hearts and ears…who always resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51). To this the Sanhedrin were furious and rushed Stephen, dragged him out of the city and stoned him.

“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1).

We threw paper “rocks” at a student who stood in for Stephen… it was great!

Stephen’s Speech and Stoning [y3_w30]

Story Lesson (303kb, pdf)
Audio File (12.4mb, mp3)
Video Link (3.25.12 @ vimeo.com)
Video Link (3.29.09 @ vimeo.com)

This post is part of the ongoing Main Street Teaching series. Click here to view a list of the other posts in this series.

Things have been going well for the young church Jesus started and the Holy Spirit was empowering. Even though Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin and told to stop it, things were relatively serene for this young movement.

Until a married couple named Ananias and Sapphira attempt to lie about what they sold their property for. They both end up dying, and a “great fear” swept the church.

Furthermore, more and more miracles via the Holy Spirit were occurring which caught the attention of the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) again. Through an interesting series of events, the disciples ended up being flogged and told not to speak about Jesus again. To which the disciples were overjoyed because they suffered for the sake of Jesus Christ.

“We must obey God rather than men,” is what they said! Incredible.

The young movement dubbed “The Way” is experiencing a little persecution… however, this is nothing compared to what is to come…

Ananias and Sapphira [y3_w29]

Story Lesson (453kb, pdf)
Audio File (14.86mb, mp3)
Video Link (3.18.12 @ vimeo.com)
Video Link (3.22.09 @ vimeo.com)

This post is part of the ongoing Main Street Teaching series. Click here to view a list of the other posts in this series.

What if it was illegal to clean your room? I know… that would be so cool, wouldn’t it?!

But then someone came along and shared with you the Gospel of Being Clean, or the Gospel of Not Being a Slob. And you think: “Yeah, I want to clean my room.” But that lands you in jail for an illegal offense.

This situation is similar to the one Peter and John found themselves in, although the Gospel they were proclaiming has more far-reaching implication to all of life!

Peter and John got in trouble with the religious leaders of the day when they healed a man in the Temple and were preaching that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and you should follow Him. Even though they were told not to continue teaching and sharing about Jesus, Peter and John were overjoyed that they has suffered for Jesus like Jesus had suffered.

Did you get that? They were excited!! Interesting. This Jesus movement was unlike any the religious rulers of the day had encountered thus far. And we know, because we’ve got 2,000 years of church history to look over, but persecuting them would only fuel their fire all the more!!

Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin [y3_w28]

Story Lesson (272.74kb, pdf)
Audio File (10.12mb, mp3)
Video Link (3.11.12 @ vimeo.com)
Video Link (3.15.09 @ vimeo.com)

This post is part of the ongoing Main Street Teaching series. Click here to view a list of the other posts in this series.

So the promised Holy Spirit had arrived, and with it had come the power of tongues–the ability to hear and understand the Gospel of Jesus in one’s own language (without a barrier). Amazing.

Along with the gift of tongues came the power of healing that Peter soon discovered when he and John were walking into the Temple one afternoon to pray. A crippled man sitting by the Temple gate called Beautiful asked Peter and John for money. Peter said he didn’t have any money, but what he did have he would give, which was the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth! And Peter said: “Walk.” And the man did! And not only did he walk, but he ran and jumped! Amazing!

Peter Heals the Crippled Beggar [y3_w27]

Story Lesson (216kb, pdf)
Audio File (9.33mb, mp3)
Video Link (3.4.12 @ vimeo.com)

This post is part of the ongoing Main Street Teaching series. Click here to view a list of the other posts in this series.

After Jesus gave his disciples their very important job description, he left. Which was difficult for his people. But, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come and empower them to do his work (because they wouldn’t be able to change the world, without the Holy Spirit).

Kathy and the Main Street students act out what happens when the Holy Spirit shows up shortly after Jesus departed.

Holy Spirit Comes @ Pentecost [y3_w26]

Story Lesson (711.06kb, pdf)
Audio File (5.98mb, mp3)
Video Link (2.26.12 @ vimeo.com)
Video Link (3.1.09 @ vimeo.com)

This post is part of the ongoing Main Street Teaching series. Click here to view a list of the other posts in this series.