Acts Of Unity Series

ACTS OF UNITY

I. INTRODUCTION: SCRIPTURE READING: Acts 2:14-25, 36-41

II. UNITED FRONT

A. Peter and the other 11 disciples address the crowd

1. Note it’s not just Peter alone

2. It is the disciples in unison

3. Peter speaks, but the disciples are the one’s presenting God’s Word

SLIDE:

God’s people must be united in order to present God’s Word

B. God’s people must be of one mind

C. And they are of one mind when they are of one Spirit

D. Imagine how things would have turned out if the disciples competed with one another

1. The crowds would never have been won over

2. They would have been convinced that they were drunk as some supposed

E. Can you just see 12 men trying to out speak each other

1. (Guys look foolish enough when they’re getting along)

2. Perhaps correcting each other

3. Correcting Peter

4. “Who put you in charge?”

5. “I want to speak too!”

F. God’s Spirit unites people

G. God’s people must be united in order to present God’s word

I. Otherwise they are not effective

J. When we allow the Spirit to work in and through us we are effective

K. People will pay attention

L. The Twelve disciples stood as one witness before God

M. As a result, God’s word went out to the crowds

III. PRACTICAL ANSWERS

A. The first thing Peter does is address the empirical evidence

B. He appeals to people’s sense of reason

C. He doesn’t chide or abuse the crowd

D. He points out a fact

E. He asks the people to listen carefully

F. It’s 9:00 o’clock in the morning

G. On a festival like Pentecost, a Jew would fast until at least 10:00 am

1. It’s very unlikely so many Jews would have eaten their first meal and gotten drunk on wine already

H. Sometimes people just need a practical answer

I. Ever have someone ask you why you go to church?

1. If the answer is “I don’t know” then that’s not a practical answer

2. Now I’m not putting anyone down that may have said that same answer.

3. I said the same thing for years growing up at my church in California

4. Once I was able to give practical answers for why I went to church, I could effectively address people’s questions

a. I go because I like the sermons

b. I go because the music makes me think about God

c. I go because I’ve made good friends there. We all have busy lives and that’s the one place we see each other consistently

J. When we talk about God and the Church today we have to be practical about it

K. We need to address the people’s questions and concerns

L. People will have questions about the church

M. Why should people listen to us?

IV. NATION OF OPTIONS VS. PRACTICALITY

A. There are so many voices in the world today

B. Why should people listen to the voice of the church?

C. There are so many voices

D. So many options today

E. I don’t remember so many options growing up

F. I don’t remember so many:

1. Fast food places

2. Movie theaters

3. Games

4. Sports

G. All of those have options

H. Fast Food example

1. Order a #2

2. Do you want to supersize that?

3. Do you want Regular or Diet

4. Do you want a pie?

5. One or two, they’re half off

6. Do you want to make a donation to our charity

I. We have become a world of options

J. And in our world of options, the Church has become an option

K. Who can remember a time when on Sunday mornings businesses were closed?

L. I hade a job as a teenager and the store I worked at was open Sunday from 12-3

1. Now places are open 24/7

M. Memories of going to Canada to visit family as a kid

1. Was amazed that places were closed on Sundays

N. There used to be very few options on Sunday

O. Church was one of the only options

1. Partly because it was one of the only options (let’s face it)

2. But also because we knew it is something we should do

P. Now the Church is one of many options

Q. Why should people go?

R. Give us a practical reason why we should go

1. We have groceries to buy (Both my wife and I work we don’t have any other time to get food)

2. Shopping to do

3. We want to spend time with the kids, they’re in daycare all week while we’re at work

4. They have sports on Sunday morning

5. The Church gets in the way of those things