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Read it

Acts 5:27-32

They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man,” he said; “but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God, not men… The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross… We are witnesses to these things.”

Quiz it

Peter and Jesus’ followers were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to share the good news about Jesus - no matter what.

  • What’s the toughest challenge you have ever taken on?

As we see in today’s story following Jesus can involve some tough challenges.

  • What were Jesus’ followers doing at the temple?
  • How did the religious leaders respond?
  • What did they do to them?

Peter and Jesus’ followers ended up in prison. Sharing the good news about Jesus doesn’t always go down well.

  • If you talked to your friends about Jesus what sort of reactions might you get?

One of God’s angels released Peter and his friends from prison.

  • What did they do next?

a. Run home and hide under their bed, in fear.

b. Throw eggs and flour and the high priest’s house, in anger.

c. Return to the temple and carry on preaching about Jesus.

Jesus’ followers were really brave and went straight back to the temple.

  • Why did they think it was so important to carry on sharing about Jesus? (Acts 5:30-31)

When the religious leaders heard they had escaped from prison they were furious. They had them arrested again and demanded that they stopped talking about Jesus.

  • What did Peter say in response? Acts 5:29

The Jewish leaders had them beaten up and then let them go.

  • What did Jesus’ followers do next?

a. They ran away and hid in caves in the mountains, in fear.

b. Set fire to the religious leader’s chariot, in anger.

c. Carried on sharing the good news about Jesus.

It seems crazy that Jesus’ followers carried on sharing the good news, but they were totally convinced it was true.

  • How is this a challenge for us?

Pray it

Dear God,

Thank you for enabling Jesus’ followers to be brave so the good news could spread. Help us not to give in to fear but to go on telling others about Jesus no matter what. Make us brave through the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Do it

Write down the names of two or three friends you could share the good news of Jesus with. Keep them safe. We’ll use them tomorrow.

Place it

Finally - have a look at the back of your card. What does it say? You can now place your card onto your story line.