1) Listen to Podcast
2)GG Questions
10/25/2020
Fulfilling God’s Dream: Giving What You Have
Acts 3
1. The Miracle (3:1-11) : Can you imagine standing just outside the Beautiful Gate when Peter addressed the man
lame from birth: “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus, get up and
walk!”? The atmosphere must have been electric. What are some things you have and some things you do not
have which you can or cannot offer the unbelievers who surround us daily? What is it that all believers have
and are encouraged to give away liberally (3:6, 16)?
How did the crowd in the temple react to this miracle (3:9-11)? Acts 2:43 says of the new community that
“many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” While a special power seemed to rest on
the apostles (5:15; 19:12), what “signs” can unbelievers still witness in believers today (2:44-47; 4:13) and
cause them to “wonder at this”?
2. The Sermon (3:12-26) : As we’ve noted before, the book of Acts is unique in its collection of early apostolic
sermons. We must always ask, when reading one of these sermons, why is this particular message preached?
What is its purpose? What do you think (see 3:12, 16)?
Next, it’s always helpful to break down the sermon into its logical pieces. If you were to break Peter’s sermon
into two, or three, or four sections, what verses would be the dividing lines?
Finally, identifying the specific audience of the sermon is key. Peter makes the following points: the Messiah
was sent TO YOU (3:20, 22, 26), the Messiah was killed BY YOU (3:13-15), and the Messiah will return IF
YOU repent (3:19-21). Who is the “you”?
While you and I may not be the specific “you” Peter had in mind, God included this sermon in His Holy
Scriptures for the Church. What universal lessons and end-times prophecies in this sermon ring true for
believers of all ages?
