Men's Ministry
Please read Acts 1:12-14
13. The disciples walked from Mount Olivet to Jerusalem. (The phrase, “a Sabbath's day's journey,” does not tell us that Jesus ascended on a Saturday (the Sabbath), but it tells the reader how far they traveled.) Why did they go to Jerusalem?
14. The text of verse 13 tells us that they went to the upper room. Not an upper room but the upper room. It's a specific place. We don't know where it was but apparently the readers of Acts did. Verse 15 tells us there were about 120 people, so it must have been a large room. We know some of these people because they're named but we don't know who most of them were. To me, the interesting people in the list are the “brothers of Jesus.” Why would including them in the list be unusual? See Mark 3:21 and John 7:5. What changed?
15. Verse 14 tells us that they were all in one accord, in accordance with Jesus’s final prayer that His followers would be unified (John 17:20-22). In the Gospels, the disciples fought about who would be first. The mother of James and John wanted them to be seated at Jesus’s right and left. When the others heard about it, they were upset. Peter denied the Lord, Matthew was still a tax collector, and Simon was still a zealot (revolutionary). Why are they now in one accord and what were they doing?
15. Verse 14 tells us that they were all in one accord, in accordance with Jesus’s final prayer that His followers would be unified (John 17:20-22). In the Gospels, the disciples fought about who would be first. The mother of James and John wanted them to be seated at Jesus’s right and left. When the others heard about it, they were upset. Peter denied the Lord, Matthew was still a tax collector, and Simon was still a zealot (revolutionary). Why are they now in one accord and what were they doing?
Please read Acts 1:18-26
16. Peter was always shooting off his mouth in the Gospels, sometimes in a good way (“You are the Christ!”) and sometimes not so good. He also had the history of denying the Lord. Now, however, he stands up and takes leadership. Do you think this is unusual? Is there anything wrong with it?
17. Peter’s "foot and mouth disease" seems strangely absent as he begins to speak to the 120 or so people gathered in the upper room. He connects Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 103:8 to Judas Iscariot. Since the Holy Spirit hadn't yet come, how did he connect the dots?
18. Peter proclaimed that they needed to replace Judas Iscariot. What were the guidelines for choosing this person? Where did these guidelines come from?
19. Once they found the two men who fulfilled their guidelines, what did they do?
20. Isn't casting lots something similar to us throwing dice today? How could that determine God’s will?
18. Peter proclaimed that they needed to replace Judas Iscariot. What were the guidelines for choosing this person? Where did these guidelines come from?
19. Once they found the two men who fulfilled their guidelines, what did they do?
20. Isn't casting lots something similar to us throwing dice today? How could that determine God’s will?