Mosaic Teaching Guide
12 July 09

Teaching Series: Of Spirit and Flesh (6) Acts 12

Question: On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being God couldn’t care less about what we have to say to 10, God listens to every word we utter; where are you on this scale?

1. Vv. 1-19 Persecution, Imprisonment and Prayer
1. Vv. 1-5 – King Herod Agrippa begins to persecute the church.  He executes James and gains favor with the Jewish power brokers.  So he proceeds to incarcerate Peter.  Meanwhile the church prays fervently.
2. Sometimes prayer seems like such an act of futility. 
3. The church is in a bad place as the beginning of chapter 12. 
4. Prayer is the primary currency of God’s people.  Approaches to Prayer
1. The Pantheist
2. The Deist
5. Prayer is the language of a people who live on line between heaven and earth.
    
2. Vv. 6-11 Jail Break
1. The night before his execution Peter is in jail, but not alone. 
2. The Angel gets Peter outside of the jail and on a lane heading for safety. 
3. Now this would be a fairly typical story if we were reading a Harry Potter novel.
    
3. Vv. 12-25 Homecoming and the Death of a King
1. As soon as Peter comes to his senses, he makes a bee line to Mary’s house, the mother of John-Mark. 
2. They respond with cynicism and doubt. 
3. As is often the case the explanations for miraculous events are more extraordinary than the actual miracle. 
4. In the midst of this harrowing story we are given the gift of humor through Rhoda
5. When confronted with the answer to their prayers they still don’t believe. 
6. I am strangely comforted by this story.
7. Finally they decide to open the gate.  Peter gets to come in explains what happened.  Then he departs to an undisclosed location.  Peter’s part of the story is over. 
8. The next day King Herod sends for Peter.  Peter is no where to be found. 
9.  But this is not the last word for King Herod.  “Things went from bad to worse for Herod” (Eugene Peterson, The Message).
10. One must not miss the point of chapter 12.  When the official King of the Jews seeks to destroy the people of true King, the powerful is brought down and the lowly, armed only with prayer, are lifted up.   And Luke says, “The word of God continued to advance and gain adherents” (24).
    
    
4. Conclusion
1. Learning prayer in the way of Jesus.

Next Week: Chapters 13-15 the Adventures of Saul/Paul Begin

 

Common Practices   Contact Us   Calendar   About Us   Directions   Teachings   Our Staff