Are there things in your life you assume will never change? This sermon begins with the memory of a beggar under an Amsterdam bridge who over the years became as much a part of the city as the bridge itself, and leads us to the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem, where Peter and John meet a man who has carried his disability for forty years (Acts 3). Along the way it opens up the picture of a new temple, one built of living stones, that is, of ordinary people in whom God’s Spirit dwells. Listen if you want to test whether the impossible really can become possible.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- According to Acts 3:1-10, the lame man sat at the Beautiful Gate every day hoping for alms. What does it tell you about Peter and John that instead of money they gave him something else, and what was it?
- In Acts 3:12-26 Peter turns attention away from himself and speaks about Jesus, whom his listeners rejected and God raised from the dead. Why do you think he starts with their guilt and ends with a call to repent?
- The speaker pointed out that Peter, who had denied Jesus and sank in the storm, now reaches out his own hand to the beggar. What does this change in Peter tell you about how God can work through you?
- The sermon described a new temple built of living stones, where the Holy Spirit is at work. What does it mean that we are the temple, and how does that change the way you see the church?
- For years the beggar was a fixed part of the scenery, like the one by the bridge in Amsterdam. What in your life, family, or relationships do you see as unchangeable, and what makes it hard to believe Jesus could change it?
- Peter says it is not too late to recognize Jesus and receive His forgiveness. Who could you reach out to this week and share what you have, the good news about Jesus?
