Series: Advancing
Message: Easter in Acts
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Japhet De Oliveira
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Jason Calvert
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Acts 12:1-18 in The Message (MSG). Note 1–3 insights or questions. 

Reflect: When you read the text today, did you sense in the Message paraphrase what a brilliant writer Luke was? Did you see how much the story unfolded? Maybe you were already engaged in the story earlier in the week. The presence of the Holy Spirit—through the pen of Luke retelling the story—may well raise deep questions in your life. The same type of questions that Bob, whom I mentioned Sunday, did not want to ask because they would have made him vulnerable with Jesus. We all have difficult questions. Why do some die and some live? What does dynamic prayer do for us and for each other? What do we do with the silence and the waiting? Who really rescues whom?

Passover was a Hebrew celebration that became a Jewish celebration that has now been transformed by Christians into a celebration called Easter. It is that time of year in which we remind ourselves that Jesus heard the cry of the slaves in Egypt and rescued them. By the symbol of the blood on the doorposts, He paid the ransom for each firstborn child. He brought them out of Egypt without requiring them to lift a finger. When they were being chased and felt trapped with the sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them, He parted the sea. His rescue was complete.  

This narrative was repeated when Jesus came to earth. The people had cried out for the Messiah, and at the appointed time, Jesus arrived. He died on the cross and—without any of us lifting so much as a finger—saved all of humanity from the slavery of sin. That is worth celebrating. Some of us celebrate every week. Some do so every few months. But once a year, every Church everywhere remembers the whole story. All of Christendom remembers it during the week leading up to Easter—known as Holy Week. We remember that we are saved by grace. When we remember this, we can’t help but respond with gratitude. It is the joy of responding to the gift of salvation that we call ministry. The news is too good to keep to ourselves. There are too many people who need this news and too many needs that we can help fulfill through spreading the Gospel. 

Recalibrate: What is your response to the joy of salvation? 

Respond: Pray for the openness to do what Jesus has called you to do.

Research: What ministries does your Church have that you could be involved in?

Japhet De Oliveira is senior pastor of Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado.

​When we’ve had a good rest we say we “slept like a baby.” (This may not be what you’re experiencing right now!) Putting your child to bed and laying down to sleep yourself confident that God holds you both for eternity is beautiful. Sleep well loved one.

How many times have you heard the words “get a good night’s sleep”? That is what Peter was doing—even though he was chained to soldiers. He knew the church would be praying for him and I’m sure he prayed too. Get good at telling God all your stuff. Then get a good night’s sleep so you’re ready for the surprises God will bring your way.

How well do you sleep the night before the first day of school? Two or three hours tops? Isn't it impossible to sleep with so much on your mind? In the story this week, we find Peter literally shackled with two different chains to two armed soldiers—while under constant supervision by sixteen armed soldiers. In case this isn’t awkward enough, it’s the night before his execution. He knows that the very next day he’ll be beheaded. Peter’s in a terrible place, physically chained to two soldiers sixteen hours before his death. What do you think was racing through his mind? Yet Peter slept. Deep REM sleep! How could this dude rest in such a terrible space? Perhaps a clue is in the advice he shares in I Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” What’s on your mind in real life? What totally stresses you out? What worries you? What would it look like for you to take Peter’s advice?