Acts 2: 1-18
In the beginning of Acts 2, the disciples had returned to Jerusalem from Mt. Olivet. They had seen the ascension of Jesus, but they weren't sad, as some might have expected. Jesus had promised to send a Comforter, and they could hardly wait. They were excited and were gathered in the temple, praising God and waiting. Luke 24: 53 reads that they were "continually in the temple, praising and blessing God." They remembered the words that Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:23). The disciples believed this promise, truly sought God, humbled their hearts with united minds and spirit, and waited on the Holy Ghost to fall.
Jesus not only promised to send a Comforter, but power as well. He said in Luke 24:49, "And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." The Holy Ghost infilling brings not only comfort and peace, but power also.
On the day of Pentecost, people were gathered in Jerusalem from miles around to celebrate. The feast of Pentecost, first day of the week, was kept in remembrance of the law on Mt. Sinai where the Jewish church got its start. Because of the masses gathered, this was a perfect day for the Holy Ghost to come down. There would be hundreds of witnesses and the word of the gospel and the awesome events could be spread quickly and more easily.
In the Old Testament, when God came down He presented Himself in a cloud. When Jesus ascended back to heaven, He did this in a cloud. But in Acts 2, the Holy Ghost was quite different. "Suddenly there was a sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind." Being completely unprepared, the disciples were probably startled, but more importantly their undivided attention was gained. The sound not only filled the one room, but the whole house, the streets, and maybe even houses beside them. So, not only was the attention of the disciples gained, but the crowd outside as well. Then "cloven tongues, like as of fire" descended on each of them and they began to speak in tongues.
In the film “The Holy Ghost People,” right away we get individual accounts of what the “Holy Spirit” is to certain individuals. One woman says the Holy Ghost guides her and keeps her going. The people are very intense about their beliefs, which comes from the religion Pentecostalism, which has a hyper focus on personal experience with God and baptism with the Holy Spirit. We see them in their church, we hear the sermon, and see the ritualistic dances and the way the prayer overcomes them, and causes seizure like motions. We see and hear the prayers for the healing of one woman’s eyesight, and another woman’s back pain. One man, seemingly the pastor, says that “if God is not doing what they ask, people aren’t believing hard enough.” Later we get an account from a woman of how she was nursed back to health as a little girl brought her nutrients, and she believes it was
In recent years, the practice of capital punishment has come under scrutiny. Some say that no longer holds the same impact as it once had. An article discussing the concept of the death penalty “Bungled executions, Backlogged courts, And three more reasons the modern death penalty is A Failed Experiment” by David Von Drehle is summarized and the thoughts, ideas, and principles therein are subject to response.
Spirit and wind are closely aligned – the same word is used to translate both, so the image used by Jesus is picking up a nuance that is already well-known.
1. A significant passage we have gone over in class together is Acts 2: 42-47: Communal Living. In this passage the followers became a community and a church and they were spreading the wealth to help other like Jesus would so that none were marginalized and all were taken care of. The followers devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles and communal life. Everyone would meet up and they would break bread with each other. 2. The author of the Acts of the Apostles is Luke the Evangelist. Luke saw the church and everything that was going on it as the work of the Holy Spirit and that he was enlivening the people to do the things they are doing and working through people such as Paul, John, and others of the Early Church. 3. I see the people actually live as church and the church is changing and becoming more of a community. I see the Holy Spirit in this because it is sort of the main cause of this development of the church be cause he made all of the events leading up to this happen. 4. In this passage I see community of disciples because that is exactly what it became it became a community of followers of Jesus and they had values and lifestyles that differed from the social norm of the times. Community of disciples is defined as a group that devote themselves as followers of Jesus thereby having values and lifestyles that may often be in contrast with society. 5. Having studied this passage, I now realize that the Holy Spirit brought all the people together and because of that they became accepting of each other. One way I see this passage related to church life today is that we all break bread with one another and have no second thought about it when we receive communion together we are not thinking about who that ...
As seen, the primary purpose of the first crusade was to reclaim the holy city of Jerusalem back to the Church. The Church had made a statement in the first crusade, sending a message to everyone that they would not stand down for what they wanted and would respond accordingly to claim what rightly belongs to the Christian faith. Many people who had sacrificed their lives fighting for what they believed in paved the way for victory and did not die in vain. At the end, Jerusalem may have found favor with people of rival faiths, but was always in the sight of the Church and from the start was always destined to rightly belong to it, no matter what circumstances or turmoil took place that tried to say or prove otherwise.
The First Crusade began in an effort to retrieve Christian territory that was conquered by Muslims. The aim of the crusaders was to recapture the holy city of Jerusalem in the name of God. The Crusades were catapulted by a speech delivered from Pope Urban II in the city of Clermont. The passionate speech was centered on the Muslims, whose acts of savagery had sent all of Western Europe into a frenzy. The Byzantine emperor Alexius Commenous requested the Pope for aid to cease the Turks from invading. This led to an outcry as thousands of men, women, and children answered the pope’s message. Urban began to arrange his plan, and started a campaign asking others to preach in his favor. Though the ultimate outcome of the crusade was successful, many mistakes were made throughout the course of the war.
Murder, killing, fatality, and mortality: all words that are associated with the disgrace that is the death penalty. Debated for decades, the death penalty continues to be a prominent topic for discussion across the United States. In 1977, the Death Penalty was reinstated by the use of lethal injection. Now, each state has their own take on the death penalty and on how its rules should apply to the criminal, of whatever crime they have committed, in said state. Have you ever thought about what a death sentence is? If you sentence a man to death for committing a murder aren’t you just a murderer yourself? These questions are frequently argued over, and there is always going to be two sides arguing: pro or anti-death penalty. Although many American’s believe that the death penalty is necessary for people who have done terrible things, the pros of not having the death penalty surpass the cons with factors such as money, mental issues, cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the possibility of wrongful convictions.
It is evident from Saul’s question and his actions immediately following, he believed on Jesus, repented of his sins and confessed Christ. Three days later, at the direction of the Lord, Ananias, an earthen vessel, went to Saul. He healed his blindness and said to Saul, “…why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16) The participle “calling” on the name of the Lord describes the manner in which the action of the verb is carried out. Baptized is the verb and the participle is Calling, which explains the action by which the verb is carried
In the Bible’s New Testaments the book of Acts is of Narrative genre and is also called the Acts of the Apostles. It is written by Luke who happens to be the author of Gospel of Luke. This book tells a story of first Christians. After the death of Jesus (as mention in “Matthew”) as he went to heaven the Christians waited in Jerusalem. After Holy Spirits were sent by God, the first Christians were given the power by them. And they end up telling the people about Jesus. It was the Christians who explained t...
In Acts 2:14 Peter is fulfilling this command by preaching a sermon to the people of Jerusalem
The death penalty has been around for millions of years throughout the world. There have been hangings, drownings, crucifixions, and so much more. For the United States, however, the death penalty has been a controversial topic over the last hundred years. Some citizens believe that the death penalty should not be practiced in the United States any longer. Others believe it is a vital aspect of the United States’ society. This topic is controversial all over the United States, and each state handles it differently. This essay will examine each side objectively and also discuss how certain states practice or do not practice the death penalty.
In the Gospel of Matthew, John didn’t want to baptize Jesus. He claimed that Jesus should be the one baptizing him and not the other way around. Jesus answered “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). John gives in and baptizes Jesus. Right after Jesus was baptized, the spirit of God descended to Jesus in
The Book of Acts was written to provide a history of the early church. Acts emphasis the importance of the day of Pentecost and being empowered to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. Acts sheds light on the ministry gift of the Holy Spirit, which empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our Counselor. When reading the Book of Acts many of the readers will be enlightened and encouraged by the many miracles that were being performed during this time by the disciples Peter, John, and Paul. The Book of Acts emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s Word and the transformation that occurs as a result of knowing Christ. There are also many references to those that rejected the truth that the disciples preached about in Jesus Christ. Power, greed, and many other vices of the devil or evidenced in the book of Acts. Acts 1:8 serves as a good summary of the Book of Acts. Acts records the apostles being Christ's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the surrounding world.
The Crusades reach different aspects of history from war, politics and economics to religions and cultural diversity. A crusade is defined as a remedial enterprise undertaken with zeal and enthusiasm by Merriam-Webster.com. Based upon the research on crusades and holy wars, it stated that in 1095, Pope Urban II sent out knights of West Europe to help the Christians that were dominated by Muslims in Near East. The Crusades is told to be understood better as a series of holy wars triggered by religious powers fighting for upper hand of ruling. Thomas F. Madden, in his published literary work The Concise History of the Crusades, explains the crusades were essentially “a war against Muslims for the defense of the Christian people,” even though
Part of the Spirit’s ministry includes His convicting of sin in the world, guiding people to truth, and leading them into righteousness. One of the first interactions the Holy Spirit has with humans is to draw the sinner