Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Wow, what a sermon Peter preached! (Acts 22:24)

SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:24 (TM) - larger reading Acts 2:22-36
But God untied the death ropes and raised him up. Death was no match for him.

STORY:
J. Allan Peterson tells this story: I read about a small boy who was consistently late coming home from school. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon, but nevertheless he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing. At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father's full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed.
The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took the boy's plate and placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son. When that boy grew to be a man, he said, "All my life I've known what God is like by what my father did that night."   
OBSERVATION:
The flame of the Holy Spirit danced across their heads. They began to speak in every known language represented by the people gathered in the town. A crowd gathered. Peter preached … wow, what a sermon … 3,000 were added to the ranks of believers.

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred Name.

Oh, to have the sense of the living presence of the risen Christ. Oh, to have the power of the Holy Spirit to speak so clearly and profoundly as Peter. Oh, to be the instrument of God to move people so that they desire a relationship with God. Oh, to be an influence that others may see in us the likeness of God because of deeds we have done.

May the cross be lifted high regardless of the cost so that the entire world will proclaim His sacred name!

May the transformational power of God be realized in us today!

PRAYER:

Make it so! Make it so! Make it so! Gracious God, make it so!

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