Safe Place:  Acts 1–12

Though it was not a safe time to be a Christian, the early church persevered; one of the things that helped them endure faithfully was prayer.   These believers revealed the characteristics of the victorious Church when they met together at the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, to pray for the safety of a brother they loved.  May we follow their example in life and in prayer.

I.  Best of Times, Worst of times. Acts 1—12

When He established the church using signs and wonders, God fulfilled what the prophet Joel predicted, and He did this to verify the apostles’ teaching.  Peter and the Apostles explained who Jesus was and invited their listeners to become his followers.  In his sermon, Peter invited them to come to  Jesus and to receive the indwelling of His Spirit to guide their lives—something  the Old Testament law couldn’t  offer.  In the beginning, the new believers “enjoyed the favor of all people.”  But that soon changed.

1. Note the events from the Acts passages that show how the new believers were threatened as the church grew. (Dates are approximate).

AD 30-37

• 2:1-13, 41________________________________________________________________

• 4:1-4____________________________________________________________________

• 5:17-21,29-33____________________________________________________________

• 7:54-59__________________________________________________________________

AD 39-40

• 8:1-3____________________________________________________________________

AD 44

• 12:1-2___________________________________________________________________

• 12:3-4___________________________________________________________________

The  growth of the early church was explosive and impressive.  But when the Jewish leaders saw how their whole power structure was threatened, they turned on the Christians; the enemies of Christ continue the same pattern to this very day.  But the example of Mary, John Mark’s mother, and other like her, encourages our faithfulness.