These are observations I took from the early chapters of the book of Acts when I was thinking about a challenge to deliver one Sunday to my church. I decided to condense them and present them one at a time on Facebook as a daily challenge. Here, I am providing them all together for consideration. I hope you find some inspiration and benefit from them.

1. The truth that the church is born and reborn in Holy Spirit revival (Acts 1:8, 2:1-4)

Spiritual activity without spiritual power is a vain exercise. Someone has said that the Book of Acts should be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit rather than the Acts of the Apostles. When you read the book of Acts and realize how powerfully God worked through the church, don’t you want to experience that today? Pray that we will be open as a church to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to so move in our lives and in our midst. It’s past time for a new demonstration of the power of God (and the power of the gospel presented in His power).

2. The truth that growth is a by-product of life.

We spend a lot of time talking about church growth, studying church growth, and feeling guilty and dissatisfied about the lack of growth. Maybe it’s time to realize that we can’t make the church grow that way any more than we can make ourselves grow physically by standing in the mirror wishing we would grow, reading books about how people became tall, or getting upset about our height. We grow and are healthy when we nourish the life we have. The early church grew phenomenally, not because it held church growth seminars or implemented programs or outlined principles. The early church nourished a kind of life together that was encouraging, compelling and rewarding. Read Acts 2:42-47 and pray that our church will instill and nourish that kind of spiritual life together.

3. A confidence in the compelling message of the gospel to deliver people from sin and to change their lives.

Peter presents the gospel to those who were questioning the activity of the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Peter not only talked about who Jesus was and what He had done, Peter also told them the truth about their sin and their need. When we read his message, we are again impressed with the fact that his blunt, pointed discussion of their sin and his emphatic call for their repentance did not turn them away from God. Three thousand responded to the gospel and were saved that day. Read his presentation in Acts 2:22-41 and pray that God will help us to boldly proclaim the gospel message to those who need to hear it. The Apostle Paul boldly proclaimed, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV).

4. A unswerving commitment to Christ that refuses to be shaken by the challenges of opposition.

When Peter and John are called before the religious leaders to answer for the miracle they performed for the lame man at the temple, they are told that they must stop speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus. Peter and John are respectful, but insistent that they must obey God rather than people. They cared more about what God wanted than they did about what the religious leaders demanded. They were willing to face the consequences of following Jesus. They were willing to “take up their cross and follow him.” As our culture becomes more secular and resistant to religious fanatics (i.e., born-again Christians who are determined to hold to their faith and live what they believe), we should be prepared to face greater opposition to our lifestyle and our message. Read Acts 4:13-22 and pray that we will have the courage to be brave and bold in the face of opposition, willing to follow Christ and obey Him rather than cave in to the demands of the culture.

5. The power and importance of corporate prayer meetings to the life and ministry of the church.

When you read through the book of Acts, you may notice that the early church prayed about everything: the church was born in a prayer meeting, they prayed regularly together, they prayed when facing opposition, they prayed over leadership, the first missionaries were called in a prayer meeting, The fact that they resorted to prayer in different situations, on different occasions, for different types of needs only accentuates the importance of prayer. Prayer meetings have practically disappeared from today’s church and fewer people feel comfortable even praying in the presence of others. Prayer has become a perfunctory function of worship and a last resort in desperate need, but has lost its place at the center of the church’s life and ministry. Read Acts 4:23-31 and ask God to give His church a renewed desire to seek His face and a determination to place prayer at the center of its life again.

6. A zeal to deal with sin and a fresh awareness of the fear of the Lord.

It’s unfortunate that when many Christians were sacrificially giving to meet the needs of other Christians, a couple who determined to give the proceeds from the sale of their property to help as well decided to withhold a part of the money for themselves. The problem, as Peter points out, was not that they had to sell the property and give the money to help the poor. The property belonged to them and they were free to dispose of the property as they saw fit. However, once they had determined to give all the proceeds to the church, they were stealing from God by holding back part of the amount and they were lying to God by seeking to seem generous and committed, while benefiting from the transaction. They had dishonored the Lord and His church and God Himself would deal with them. Both were carried out of the meeting with the disciples in body bags. Great fear fell over the whole church. We need to realize just how destructive sin is and gain a renewed sense of God’s majesty and holiness. Read Acts 5:1-11 and Joshua 7 and ask God to create in you a holy hatred of sin (NOT SINNERS) and a zeal for His honor and glory.

7. Leadership must be godly, Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.

Almost all organizations realize the key role of leadership. That is the reason we see so many books written about leadership and so many leaders and their organizations spending so much to provide training and resources for leadership development. Organizations rise and fall on the shoulders of leaders. The church is no different. It’s sad to realize that often leadership in the church is chosen on the basis of status, wealth, popularity, contribution or simply willingness to serve. From the beginning the church realized the importance of good and qualified leadership. They placed emphasis on the right qualities and the leaders they chose to serve others were exceptionally qualified. Stephen, one of those leaders, had an exceptional grasp of the Old Testament and Israelite history. He delivered a compelling argument, no doubt making an indellible mark on Saul, who later became the apostle Paul. Read Acts 6 and pray that the Lord will both raise up strong leaders in our church and that we will have the discernment to recognize and choose them.