This is a supplemental devotional to Sunday’s message “Peter the Persecuted,” covering some important verses that time constraints prevented in the preaching.

Acts 4:24-31

And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, Who through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against His Anointed’ for truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the Name of Your holy servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

In Acts 4, when the church learned that the authorities had commanded them not to proclaim the gospel of eternal life through Christ, their response was immediate prayer. That’s the right thing to do. Too often when opposition arises, we exhaust all other options and then pray. Let us teach one another, when problems come, pray first.

Now let’s note some things about their prayer that teach us how to pray.

First, they prayed in light of what the scriptures said to them. They understood what was happening, because they found that insight in God’s word. And they were sure God would bring victory, because they trusted His word.

Second, they didn’t look at God’s power and authority through earthly eyes; they looked at their opponents’ power through God’s eyes. This allowed them to see that what had happened to Christ (rejection and crucifixion) was by God’s plan. And it allowed them to see that what was happening to them (threats and persecution) could also only happen by God’s plan. Herod and Pilate couldn’t take Christ’s life from Him—unless He willed it. And the authorities of that moment couldn’t stop Christ’s church with their threats. Let us teach each other to view our problems from heaven’s viewpoint. It will build our faith and help us to trust the Lord in times of suffering.

Third, they asked God for big things, not small. They could have asked Him to just make the persecutors stop. God could do that, but it would have been small. They asked Him for a lot more. They asked Him to give His Son’s Name so much victory on earth that the authorities of this world would be rendered irrelevant. They asked Him to make it obvious to anyone willing to see, that Jesus Christ is God’s One and Only Anointed Servant for the salvation of the world.

So often we pray for God to make the government do good things and for good men to win elections so that His will can be done. Perhaps we should follow the early church’s example, praying instead, “Father, we know from Your word that the nations and kings will continue to oppose You, mock You, and celebrate every form of rebellion against You. So they will treat us the same. But You are greater than they are. Their plots are ‘in vain,’ and will come to nothing in the end. Do great things in our lives and in the world that show everyone willing to hear the truth, that Jesus is Savior and Lord. And make us bold enough to stand with Christ, and for Christ, even in the face of their mocking, threats, and demands that we stop proclaiming Christ.”

God answered their prayers. The persecution didn’t stop–as we’ll learn soon in our study of Peter’s life–but the church grew, and the gospel spread.

Acts 4: “Peter the Persecuted” – in this continuation of our “Life of Peter” series, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, faces persecution for the Name of Christ for the first time, and teaches us a crucial lesson from the experience that can change our life and witness for the better, as we learn to find, and stand in, boldness from God.

Our Life of Peter series continues, with a message on Acts 3, in which the risen, ascended Christ heals a lame man through Peter, and then Peter preaches to the people from the scriptures the message that will make the spiritually lame able to walk as well.

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes upon the body of Christ, indwelling and filling, to use them to proclaim Christ’s salvation to the world. The Spirit begins His work through them by preaching. Peter the apostle becomes Peter the preacher, and teaches us about how good proclamation of the word is done. For those who preach now or will later, and for all who want to place themselves under effective biblical preaching, this episode in our “Life of Peter: Growing in Grace” series is important.

Our study of the life of Peter now begins to look at all he has to teach us in the book of Acts, after the resurrection and ascension of Christ to the Father. Peter is Simon no longer, and growing in grace is about walking with Christ, being led by the Holy Spirit. We are not to see God’s power as a tool to accomplish good works, but to see ourselves as instruments in His hands to accomplish His agenda.

The day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Jesus was active – Rising, Saving, Blessing, Sending. Here in John 20, we see these things through the eyes of Peter and John, in our continuing series on “The Life of Peter: Growing in Grace.” Listen and be amazed anew at God and His grace extended to you through Christ.

Our message “Thinking about forgiveness” continues with part 2, focusing on the question of how do we forgive, even though it’s difficult. The answer is found in the character of God Himself, and in what He has done for us His children. The message is part of our ongoing series on The Life of Peter: Growing in Grace.

“There is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.” The scriptures are clear on this. But I’m a pastor living in a culture that demands I accept Mary as a co-mediator between God and man, and sometimes even a better one. I’ve even had people from outside our church fellowship demand that I not speak against Mary’s salvific mediation inside our church, where they don’t even attend. But here’s the thing: God the Son didn’t sacrifice by becoming one of us forever, and suffer and die in our place on the cross, just to have His “church” claim He is an insufficient mediator on His own and we must get to Him through His human, earthly mother. She was greatly blessed to be the vessel through whom He forever entered His human nature. But she is not a go-between that can get you and me heard by Him. He is the go-between we need, and He is more than sufficient in the role. He even played that role for Mary. The goal is for us to gain fellowship with God the Father. And The Son alone is the way. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Jesus said. “No one comes to the Father except by Me.” Mary isn’t even in that equation, not even mentioned as an afterthought. It is not disrespecting her to say that; it is disrespecting both her and her God to pretend otherwise. If she could hear your prayers, and thus knew you were calling her Son’s sacrifice insufficient for your salvation, it would only make her rightly angry at you. She loves her Son, both as Son of Man and Son of God. Disrespecting Him by venerating her would be no way to get her attention, even if you needed it.

I am two chapters in to my new writing project, a devotional telling of the book of Esther. I am posting the introduction I wrote for the book here, to ask for prayer as I complete the project, and also to advertise it, so that there might be a potential audience forming. Here’s that intro: The God of Hadassah and Mordecai A Walk of Faith through the Book of Esther By Dave Bunnell Introduction Esther is an ancient book, yet one clearly written for such a time as this. It reads like a screenplay telling a story, even though it would be millennia before films came to be. As its drama unfolds with twists and turns, foreshadowing of events, and gripping drama with characters you’ll root for pitted against powerful villains who seem to have the upper hand, you’ll surely get enjoyment of the kind you wish Hollywood produced more often. But don’t read it merely for that. Don’t let it be an escape from the stresses of your own life the way you might use a novel or movie. This gripping story was written by God for you so that it could speak into your life and help you trust Him more. However close you are to Him now, Esther’s story can draw you closer, if you let it. It is often pointed out that the Old Testament book of Esther never explicitly mentions God by name. And yet, its right to belong as a book in the holy scriptures is unquestionable. When you read the book, you’ll notice that God Himself is not absent from the events that unfold–nor inactive, nor reluctant to take charge of the story. In fact, His involvement in the story as its main protagonist is stark and obvious. His control of both world events and individual destinies intertwined with each other is so complete that we find Him moving kings and powerful people to do things that will solve problems that won’t even be known to anyone but God until years later. From that, we learn that the God who made us is already prepared to solve the problems we make, long before we even conceive of the mistakes to make them. He isn’t merely able to swoop in at the last minute and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but to plan elaborate solutions that involve multiple actors doing multiple things over time with various competing motives–with all parties doing what they want in the moment, whether wise or unwise—and everything coming together for His perfect plan for His people in the end. His Name might go un-proclaimed in this book, which is admittedly uncharacteristic of the Bible; yet there is no book that will do more for your awareness of His presence and activity in your life and in all of the circumstances that affect you and your loved ones, now and in the future. The God of Hadassah (Esther) and Mordecai weaves together threads of every kind on His loom to make a tapestry of His world so complex and yet so simple that you simply couldn’t believe the events of this book actually happened unless guided by an all-powerful and all-wise King of the universe. The events of the book of Esther are too convenient for any fiction writer to put forth to his audience. And yet, history attests that the words of the book are entirely true, requiring a God who takes the meaning of the word “sovereign” to a higher place than you ever imagined. The book of Esther is interesting and entertaining to say the least. Anyone with the impression that the Bible is a boring tome has never read Esther. It’s drama is so delicious to the ear, the heart, and the mind, that even when you come back to the story for the tenth time, already knowing the end from the beginning, you’ll find it deeply enjoyable. Justice and mercy reign together in a story where innocent underdogs triumph utterly over the most evil and powerful of bullies. Family tension, romance, the power of physical beauty, courage, violence, pride, politics, kingdoms, great wealth, bribery, revenge, and turning of tables on one’s enemies – it sounds like a list of varied themes that couldn’t possibly fit together in one story. And yet, it does in the book of Esther. Each verse has pertinent information as what seem like unrelated events all affect each other and God triumphs over His enemies on behalf of His children in the end—and in a way that changed world history and led to the eventual eternal salvation of Christians like you and me. And if you, by chance, don’t already know Him and the wonders of His becoming your personal God and Savior, I hope you’ll read this looking to find out who He really is, as He has presented Himself in His word. The God of Hadassah and Mordecai is too mighty, too wise, too great, too glorious, too desirable, and too important to your future for my words to do these things justice. But this book can show you enough to help you learn to find God working in your life, leading you to understand these things as you experience Him for yourself, in a way that merely reading what I write couldn’t do for you. Let’s begin.

Our study of “The Life of Peter: Growing in Grace” continues this week with one of the most difficult, yet crucial, lessons Peter had to learn and teach us—the depths of forgiveness we need to show, and how to do so. The message “Thinking about forgiveness” is in two parts, this week and next.

In Ephesians 5, we learn how those Christ has saved can become “imitators of God,” seeing our character and behavior changed in a way that leaves us feeling clean and pure, while making us effective witnesses to a world in deep darkness, sin, and shame. This standalone message is one of our looks at great chapters of the Bible.

John 21 – The failed apostle restored – He is risen indeed – Our ongoing series in “The Life of Peter: Growing in Grace” continues with one of the Bible’s most encouraging passages. Jesus completely restores Peter to his calling forsaken, and gives his life a purpose that will hold to the end, and beyond. Shame and reproach are taken away, and even though Peter failed repeatedly, miserably, predictably, and publicly, he will still lead others in following this perfect Savior. Hallelujah, He is risen!