Under Pressure. Series

SERMON OUTLINE:

The Places:

(1). The Colonnade (vs 12)

(2). The Jail (vs 18)

(3). The Temple Courts (vs 21)

(4). The Court Room (vs 27)

(5). House to House (vs 42)

The Events:

(1). Power on the Porch (Vs 12-16)

(2). Joy in Jail (vs 17-20)

(3). Teaching in the Temple (vs 21)

(4). Courage before the court (vs 27)

SERMON BODY:

• Last we you looked at verses 1-16 the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

• How they try to deceive the other members of the fellowship;

• As well as lying to God by being dishonest.

Ill:

• Being honest is not always easy.

• I like the story of tThe children in a prominent American family;

• Who for a birthday present;

• Decided to give their father a book of the family’s history.

• They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work,

• Carefully warning him of the family’s ‘black sheep;

• Who was called Uncle George.

• Uncle George had been executed in the electric chair for murder.

• “No problem said the biographer,

• I can handle that situation so that there will be no embarrassment”.

• The biographer assured the children.

‘I’ll merely say that Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important Government Institution. He was attached to his position by the strongest ties and his death came as a real shock.’

Note: A simple outline of this chapter is:

• In verses 1-11 we saw opposition to the Church from within;

• In verses 12-42 we will see opposition to the Church from outside forces.

Notice: That Acts chapter 5 is a series of places:

Ill:

• Joke - Talking of places – I like the story of the man who;

• Went to a restaurant that had a sign hanging up that said;

• ‘They served breakfast at any time’.

• So he ordered English breakfast during the Reign of Charles 2nd!

• Now if you scan through Acts chapter 5 with me;

• You will see that a variety of places are mentioned.

(A). The Places:

(1). The Colonnade (vs 12):

“The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people.

And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade”

• Solomon’s colonnade was becoming a regular meeting place for Christians to meet together.

• Don’t forget that Church buildings had not yet been invented.

• Buildings came much later

ill:

• On Google someone had asked the question:

• “Where was the first church ever built and who ordered it to be build?”

• The first answer to that question was:

• “The first church was built by Jesus Christ. It is entire the world.”

• Well the answer is half right – the full answer should have said:

• “The first church was built by Jesus Christ. It is made up of every single Christian.”

• Note: We have said it often that you don’t go to Church;

• Because YOU (if you are a believer) are the Church.

In Acts chapter 5 these first Christians recognised the importance of meeting together;

• Regularly meeting together as Christians;

• Should never be an optional extra – it is a basic essential if we mean business with God!

• This Church (group of believers) needed somewhere big enough for them to meet;

• Somewhere big enough to hold a lot of people.

• If you can cast your mind back to Acts chapter 4 verse 4:

• The Church in Jerusalem was rather large;

• It was made up of about 5,000 men plus women & kids.

These Christians met in Solomon's Colonnade;

• This was a long porch:

• Stretching along, the eastern side of the temple courtyard.

• It sounds grand and the architecture was grand;

• But if you were there;

• It would have felt anything but a dignified religious sight;

• It was full of the sick and the feeble, the diseased, the afflicted and the disabled.

• It was full of beggars, the unfortunates of society.

• So this grand colonnade;

• Actually looked like a cross between a card-board city and a General Hospital.

(So the first place mentioned is a porch, a colonnade - the second place mentioned is:

(2). The Jail (vs 18):

“They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail”.

Ill:

• Joke – Talking of jail – I like the story of…

• The woman who was in court for stealing a tin of pineapples;

• The judge said he was going to send her to jail for every pineapple-chunk in the tin.

• At that point her husband shouted out; “She also stole a tin of peas!”

Now what a contrast, the architecture of the colonnade is to a depressing “Public Jail".