Acts - Lesson 4

Acts 3 and 4

Persecution Begins

Objectives:

  1. The student can draw a description of the temple area.
  2. The student can describe the miracle of the healing of the lame man.
  3. The student can summarize the points of Peter's second sermon.
  4. The student can tell of the beginning of the persecution of the church.
  5. The student can find lessons for our worship from the event described in 4:23-30.

Preparation:

  1. Have copies of Notes/Review ready to hand out.
  2. Have copies Written Review 3 ready to hand out as students enter the room.
  3. Bibles and pens for all.

Theme:

The apostles continue to preach and have success but opposition begins to arise. The church responds to this with boldness.

Lesson Plan for Conducting Class

Introduction: (about 10 minutes)

  1. Check roll, welcome visitors, make necessary announcements.
  2. Review the last class by giving answers to the Written Review.
  3. Prayer and songs as desired: There's Something About that Name; Oh, How I Love Jesus; Take the Name of Jesus With You.

Learning Experiences: (about 25 minutes)

  1. Temple Grounds. Using the Notes/Review sheet outline of the temple grounds, write beside each of the letters what was located at that point. A—Temple Building (holy place and most holy place where only priests could enter; B—Court for the Priests where they offered sacrifices and where men of Israel could come, C—Court of the Women where all Israelites could come, D—Beautiful Gate where the lame man sat, E—Court of the Gentiles where anyone was allowed to come; F—Solomon's Porch where the church sometimes met; G—Royal Porch where the Sanhedrin often met; H—Pools for Purification; I—Antonio Fortress where Paul was taken in Acts 21. Keep this picture in your mind as various events in Acts unfold in the temple courts.
  2. Healing of the Lame Man.
    1. Q: What do we know about the lame man who was healed? (Crippled from birth, had to be carried, was put in a public place every day so all knew of him, 40 years old, was a beggar.) Q: By what power does Peter heal him? Q: What does "in the name of Jesus Christ” mean? (by the authority of) Q: To what extent was he healed? (complete and permanent) Q: What was the response of the people to the healing?
    2. When a crowd gathers, Peter takes advantage of the situation to preach. Q: Summarize Peter's sermon. (You killed Jesus in ignorance. This fulfilled prophecies. Repent so your sins can be wiped out. Jesus will remain in heaven until the time to restore all things. Moses had prophesied about a coming prophet like him. If you don't listen to this one you will be cut off. Q: What similarities do you see to Peter's sermon on Pentecost? (Crowd gathered because of a miracle, told them they had killed the Christ, presented Jesus as the Christ of the prophets, called for repentance, offered forgiveness of sins.
  3. Persecution.
    1. In chapter 4 the first persecution of the church arises. Q: Who starts it and why? (Sadducees who objected to the preaching about the resurrection.) Q: What do they do with Peter and John?
    2. Q: How do the people respond to what Peter has said? (Many believed and the number of men came to be 5,000.)
    3. Q: When the rulers and elders meet, what question do they ask Peter and John and what answer do they give? (By what power or in what name did you heal this man? In the name of Jesus Christ, whom you crucified but whom God raised up. All through Acts the expression "in the name of Jesus Christ” appears. This was the authority under which the early church operated and the one whom they served.)
    4. Q: What astonished the leaders? (The courage or boldness of Peter and John.)
    5. Q: After conferring, what do the leaders tell Peter and John? (Don't preach any more in the name of Jesus.)
    6. Q: How do Peter and John respond? (We must obey God rather than man. We have to tell what we have seen and heard.)
  4. Prayer Meeting. Read Acts 4:23-30. Q: What can we learn about our worship from this description? (They pray together. They seem to have quoted a passage together. They asked for boldness to proclaim the word. They explain to God what they seek and why they want it. Their prayer is very specific. Their prayer flows out of a close relationship with God.) God responds to them in a way that shows His approval. They receive a sense of renewal of the Spirit which they already had possessed.

Application: (about 5 minutes)

  1. Connect the events of this story to our five key words—Savior, Spirit, Salvation, Saved, and Spread.
  2. How might we make our worship more like theirs?

Evaluation:

  1. Use the Notes/Review sheet to prepare for the next Written Review.

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