Forty days after the resurrection, the disciples ask Jesus about restoring the kingdom of Israel, and in reply they receive a task that will outgrow their boldest imaginations. This sermon leads us from the Mount of Olives to the day of Pentecost (Acts 1-2), when the Holy Spirit fills ordinary people with power to carry the good news to the ends of the earth. It is also the story of how that same history continues today, in the centenary of the church movement from which our community grew. Listen and discover your place in this unfinished mission.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In Acts 1:6 the disciples ask Jesus whether he will now restore the kingdom to Israel. What does this question reveal about their expectations, and how does Jesus reshape their perspective?
- How might the first hearers, for whom Samaria was a place a devout Jew would not go, have understood the call to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth?
- Peter, who had recently denied Jesus, is the first to speak at Pentecost and points people to Joel's prophecy rather than to himself. What does this transformation teach you?
- Joel's prophecy speaks of the Spirit poured out on everyone: sons and daughters, young and old, male and female servants. What does this say about who God wants to give salvation and his power to?
- The sermon shows how God has used ordinary people through the centuries, from the apostles to Konstanty Jaroszewicz, who returned to Poland with the gospel in 1921. What encourages you in this, and what challenges you?
- Who is your Jerusalem today, and who is your Samaria, the people you usually would not even approach, and how can you be a witness for Jesus to them this week?
