Redevelopment Moment

Your Redevelopment Team met on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. These are the highlights from our meeting.

During the coming week, the team members individually will be checking the website for outdated material, missing information, etc., in an effort to make communication more accurate and effective. Toward that goal we would welcome comments or suggestions from the congregation. We also discussed possible changes in the worship service for the month of September.

We then resumed our Bible study on Chapter 2 in the book of Acts, verses 22 through 42.

Verses 22-28. Peter addresses the assembled crowd, reminding them of who Jesus is, this man through whom God worked that was crucified and killed, according to God’s plan. “But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.”

Verses 29-36. Peter defends the idea that Jesus, no ordinary man, is the Messiah. He talks of God’s oath to David that God would put a descendant of David on his throne. Peter quotes David speaking of the resurrection of the Messiah, noting that God indeed raised Jesus from the dead, as foretold of the Messiah. “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Verses 37-42. The first converts to Christianity were “cut to the heart” to realize the Messiah had been crucified. They didn’t know what to do. “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” About 3,000 persons were baptized that day.

Using our three study questions to summarize:

1. What is God up to? Building the early church.
2. What was the early church learning? Through Peter’s persuasive arguments, to believe that Jesus is Lord and Messiah.
3. What are we learning? How important it is to know who Jesus is and be able to talk to others about Him.

The team’s homework this week is to think about how we each define Jesus, and how we would define Him to someone who has no frame of reference at all about Jesus. We are also to think about how our description of Jesus developed and where it comes from. We invite you to do the homework as well, and as always, we ask for your prayers as the Redevelopment Team works to help discern God’s vision for Grace.

 - Mary Pauley