Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 9:36-43

Ancient Lens

What can we learn from the historical context?

A Diverse Early Church

From the start, the early church was a mix of people from different backgrounds, traditions, and classes.  We see that in today’s passage in the places and the names.  Persecutions had started in Jerusalem and those who had come there from the outside and had stayed after Pentecost had fled to outlying towns.  In today’s passage from Acts, we find Peter going out into those towns and working with those believers who had been dispersed.

Lydda is now the city of Lod.  In Bible times, Lydda was on the fertile Plain of Sharon, but now it’s developed and it’s kind of a rough suburb of Tel Aviv. Joppa is now called…

1. How deep is our loss when a member of our family of faith dies?  What gifts do we lose?

2. How is your community of faith frayed?

3. How has God used people—perhaps even…