05/19/2026
Pastor’s Ponderings: Acts 2 “Receiving the Power”
There are schools that want to communicate the message of Jesus to the incoming class of freshmen. They realized that there was only one source to accomplish this task-the power of the Holy Spirit. So, they decided to pray for all the new students by name weeks before they arrived on campus. As a result, many who did not know Jesus when they arrived graduated as maturing Christians.
Warming Up to God: The Holy Spirit, although at times we do not sense him, is always there to help us. Let Him quiet you now and open your heart to what he wants to tell you about himself.
Read Acts 2.
Discovering the Word: 1. How do the Jews respond to the power of the Spirit which they witness (vv. 5-12)? 2. Here we see Peter as a dynamic leader and preacher. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that has changed this man who was once a coward who denied Jesus three times. Scripture, again, is the foundation of Peter’s proclamation of truth. What message does the Old Testament book of Joel have for the bewildered crowd (vv. 17-21)? 3. What is there in Peter’s sermon that would reassure Theophilus about his faith and help him “know the certainty of the things” that he’d been taught? 4. What does Peter have to offer to those who are responsive to his message (vv. 37-39)? 5. Describe the fellowship of the believers in this young church (vv. 42-47).
Applying the Word: 1. Imagine you were there on the day of Pentecost. What do you think it would have been like for you as one of the crowd looking on? 2. How has your life been affected by the gift of the Holy Spirit? 3. How does the life and purpose of your church or Christian fellowship group compare to that of this group?
Responding in Prayer: Ask God to make the power of the Holy Spirit come alive in your life, and pray that God will use you through that power.
