Acts 4:1-12

1The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. 7They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11He is 
 " 'the stone you builders rejected, 
 which has become the capstone.12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Questions to consider:

• Why do the priests and the Sadducees arrest Peter and John?
• What question do the Jewish leaders ask them? How does Peter answer it?
• Why does it require Spirit-given boldness to say each of the things about Jesus that Peter
does?
• Has God ever put you in a difficult situation and filled you with his Spirit in order to
handle it? What happened?

Possibilities for prayer:

It does require a lot of boldness to say the things that Peter says to the priests and Sadducees. While there generally aren’t priests and Sadducees that we have to face in our own daily lives, there are definitely situations that arise that require Spirit-given boldness in order to handle them. Pray today that you would be continually filled with boldness that comes from the Holy Spirit, to deal with any trials that come your way.