Resources For "Devoted" Series From Each Harderwyk Preacher
I. New For This Week
Keep In Mind: Biblical Truth About the Holy Spirit - Part 1 - CLICK HERE for a larger blog post by Pastor Bill on the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit intended for broader background for the entire series.
"Part of the challenge of this passage is the question: have our churches today got enough energy, enough spirit-driven new life, to make onlookers pass any comment at all? Has anything happened which might make people think we were drunk? If not, is it because the spirit is simply at work in other ways, or because we have so successfully quenched the spirit that there is actually nothing happening at all?" - Wright, N.T. (2008). Acts for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-12 (pp. 29–30).
Spiritual Formation Resources - Because prayer is sooooooooo central to the Book of Acts, we will be working to equip the life of prayer and spiritual formation throughout the summer. We are gathering resources for that and connecting them to our main Harderwyk.com landing page. CLICK HERE for a first look at that page of resources. Expect it to develop through the course of the summer.
Martin Luther Speaks 500 Years Ago Today - CLICK HERE for some background.
If, then, I am not convinced by testimonies of Scriptures, or by clear rational arguments—for I do not believe in the pope or in councils alone, since it has been established that they have often erred and contradicted each other—I am bound by the Bible texts that I quoted. And as long as my conscience is captive to the Word of God, I cannot nor do I want to retract anything when things become doubtful. Salvation will be threatened if you go against your conscience. May God help me. Amen.
II. From The Commentaries On This Passage
Background on Pentecost - From Acts For Everyone - NT Wright
“For a first-century Jew, Pentecost was the fiftieth day after Passover. It was an agricultural festival. It was the day when farmers brought the first sheaf of wheat from the crop, and offered it to God, partly as a sign of gratitude and partly as a prayer that all the rest of the crop, too, would be safely gathered in. But, for the Jew, neither Passover nor Pentecost were simply agricultural festivals. These festivals awakened echoes of the great story which dominated the long memories of the Jewish people, the story of the Exodus from Egypt, when God fulfilled his promises to Abraham by rescuing his people. Passover was the time when the lambs were sacrificed, and the Israelites were saved from the avenging angel who slew the firstborn of the Egyptians. Off went the Israelites that very night, and passed through the Red Sea into the Sinai desert. Then, 50 days after Passover, they came to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the law. Pentecost, the fiftieth day, isn’t (in other words) just about the ‘first fruits’, the sheaf which says the harvest has begun. It’s about God giving to his redeemed people the way of life by which they must now carry out his purposes.”
Meaning of Pentecost for us today - From Acts for You - Albert Mohler Jr.
“Ultimately, Pentecost demonstrates that God keeps his promises. He had promised to send his Spirit, and Pentecost was the moment in salvation history when he did just that. For today’s readers, Pentecost means that every believer has access to the promised Spirit of God and has been gifted by that same Spirit, who arrived at Pentecost to carry on the mission of the church: proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. The coming of the Spirit means we have all we need to boldly herald the gospel, and no excuse for not doing so.”
Impact of Early Acts Community Life - From Acts For Everyone - NT Wright
“Luke is careful to point out the landmarks. In fact, Acts 2:42 is often regarded as laying down ‘the four marks of the church’. The apostles’ teaching; the common life of those who believed; the breaking of bread; and the prayers. These four go together. You can’t separate them, or leave one out, without damage to the whole thing. Where no attention is given to teaching, and to constant, lifelong Christian learning, people quickly revert to the worldview or mindset of the surrounding culture, and end up with their minds shaped by whichever social pressures are most persuasive, with Jesus somewhere around as a pale influence or memory. Where people ignore the common life of the Christian family (the technical term often used is ‘fellowship’, which is more than friendship but not less), they become isolated, and often find it difficult to sustain a living faith. Where people no longer share regularly in ‘the breaking of bread’ (the early Christian term for the simple meal that took them back to the Upper Room ‘in remembrance of Jesus’), they are failing to raise the flag which says ‘Jesus’ death and resurrection are the centre of everything’ (see 1 Corinthians 11:26). And whenever people do all these things but neglect prayer, they are quite simply forgetting that Christians are supposed to be heaven-and-earth people. Prayer makes no sense whatever—unless heaven and earth are designed to be joined together, and we can share in that already.”
From The Bible Exposition Commentary - Warren Wiersbe
“The church was unified (Acts 2:44), magnified (Acts 2:47a), and multiplied (Acts 2:47b). It had a powerful testimony among the unsaved Jews, not only because of the miracles done by the Apostles (Acts 2:43), but also because of the way the members of the fellowship loved each other and served the Lord. The risen Lord continued to work with them (Mark 16:20) and people continued to be saved. What a church!
The Christians you meet in the Book of Acts were not content to meet once a week for “services as usual.” They met daily (Acts 2:46), cared daily (Acts 6:1), won souls daily (Acts 2:47), searched the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), and increased in number daily (Acts 16:5). Their Christian faith was a day-to-day reality, not a once-a-week routine. Why? Because the risen Christ was a living reality to them, and His resurrection power was at work in their lives through the Spirit.”
III. Ongoing Resources
1) Scotty Smith’s Heavenward Daily Prayers - CLICK HERE to see the daily prayer blog of Scotty Smith. You will see an option to have them delivered to your email inbox each day as well.
2) Simple Lectio Divina Overview - CLICK HERE for a simple introduction of the spiritual practice of a more personal way of experience the Word through contemplation and reflection.
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