Seeds of Faith Podcast

The text for this lesson is Acts 2:1–21; John 14:23–31

Key Points

• At Pentecost, God sent the Holy Spirit to His Church. Through Word and Sacrament, God gives us His Holy Spirit to create and sustain saving faith in Jesus.
• Law: I sin when I think that faith begins with me. I sin when I believe that I can understand and trust in God on my own. I sin when I think that I can by myself do good and please God with my words and deeds.
• Gospel: God, in His love, grants faith in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit through His Word. Through the power and work of the Holy Spirit, I am able to understand God’s Word and trust in Him. The Holy Spirit grants me faith in Jesus and empowers me to will and do that which is good and God pleasing.

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Discussion Points

1. With the previous discussion in mind, compare John 19:34; 20:20–23 with 1 John 5:6–8. What connections between Jesus’ death and the Holy Spirit can we draw from these passages? How would Jesus later hand over the Holy Spirit to His followers?
2. Jesus told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem and start their evangelization of the whole world until they were “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). They were to wait for the promise of His Father (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4), the Holy Spirit with which they would be baptized (Acts 1:5). Even before Jesus began to teach the disciples, they had been among those who received this teaching of John the Baptist: “I baptize you with water, but He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). Even before Jesus’ ministry began, the disciples were being taught to anticipate Pentecost. How does Acts 2:1–4 describe the fulfillment of this prophecy? What does the wind symbolize? What does the fire symbolize? Why is the traditional liturgical color of Pentecost red?
3. We are familiar with Peter’s previous failures to confess Jesus. Immediately after confessing that Jesus was the Christ, he denied Jesus His right to be the suffering Messiah (Matthew 16:13–23). Right before Jesus’ death, Peter lied instead of risking the chance of suffering for the sake of our Lord, denying that he even knew Him (Matthew 26:69–75). Yet on Pentecost, we see a different side of Peter. How does Acts 2:14 portray him? What could account for this change? See 2 Timothy 1:6–7.
4. In John 14:26, Jesus tells His disciples that “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Keeping in mind that John’s Gospel was written several years after Jesus had risen and ascended, how do John 2:18–22 and 12:12–16 illustrate the working out of this promise?
5. As we saw in the previous question, the Holy Spirit allowed the disciples to, in retrospect, understand the true meaning of the words or works of Jesus and of the Old Testament. How does the Spirit work to accomplish in our lives what Jesus did for His disciples in Luke 24:44–47? According to 2 Corinthians 3:12–18, why can’t the Jews truly understand the Old Testament? How are Christians enabled to interpret the true meaning of the Old Testament?
6. Even though we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, what we emphasize in our teaching on this day should be governed by the contents of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2. Peter had received the Spirit, and what did the Spirit lead him to proclaim in Acts 2:22–24, 32–33, 36? According to 2 Corinthians 2:1–5, what does Paul say should be the emphasis in our preaching if we want it to make a “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4)?
7. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Since we live “by every word that comes from the mouth of God,” we had better have a dependable source for obtaining that Word. According to 2 Timothy 3:16–17 and 2 Peter 1:21, what role did the Holy Spirit have in leaving the Word of God to the Church? How does the Spirit ensure that the Word continues today?
8. Some churches emphasize speaking in tongues as being a spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:1, 10). Often the Pentecost account in Acts is pointed to as an example of why speaking in tongues should be done in the Church. But the speaking in tongues of Acts 2 was a unique, one-time gift of the Holy Spirit so that the Galilean apostles could be miraculously understood by people who spoke different languages. The goal in this case was intelligibility, not incomprehensibility, as is so often the case in churches that speak in tongues. Paul also discusses speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians 14, and much ink has been spilt over precisely what he is discussing in that chapter. We should keep in mind that the church at Corinth was in chaos, so the charismatic outbreaks most likely were aberrations from the norm in the Church. On the whole, Paul’s assessment of speaking in tongues is rather negative, and he makes the point that, “In church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:19). That statement alone should give pause to anyone who advocates speaking in tongues in the Church. Rather than focusing on speaking in tongues as a spiritual gift, perhaps we should contemplate the fruit of the Spirit that Paul describes in Galatians 5:22–26. What does he encourage in this passage?
9. It seems to be an oxymoron, but we are truly born dead, as Ephesians 2:1 tells us, “You were dead in . . . trespasses and sins.” What does the Holy Spirit do to give us new life according to John 3:5–6 and Titus 3:4–6?

The text for this lesson is John 20:19–31

Key Points

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Discussion Points

1. “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” Easter is not over. The season of Easter runs for seven Sundays, so we have plenty of time to bask in the warm glow of the resurrection of the Son. But even better, every Sunday is a little Easter! As we saw last week, Jesus’ resurrection occurred on a Sunday (Luke 24:1). The Early Church made a sharp break from Judaism by abandoning the Sabbath (Saturday) and devoting Sunday to worship. The primary reason for the use of Sunday is that Jesus rose on the first day of the week. Luke reports in Acts 20:7, “On the first day of the week, when we gathered together to break bread,” which is a reference to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on a Sunday. In Revelation 1:10, reference is made to “the Lord’s day,” which is clearly Sunday. Indeed, every Sunday is a celebration of the Lord’s resurrection, and that is reflected at various points in the Divine Service. What parts of the liturgy confess Jesus’ resurrection?

2. How is Christianity distinctly different from these Eastern religions? What tendencies in some parts of Christendom share the flesh is bad and spirit is good philosophy with Eastern religions 

3. John 20:19 says that the disciples had the doors locked “for fear of the Jews.” According to John 15:18–20, why might the disciples have been afraid?

4. Jesus said to the disciples “Peace be with you” and then showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed! According to Colossians 1:18–20 and Romans 5:1, what kind of peace has Jesus won for us, which is cause for great rejoicing?

5. Read Matthew 16:16–19. What is the rock on which Jesus will build His Church? Whom does Peter serve as the representative of in that scene? In what way does John 20:21–23 show the fulfillment of Matthew 16:16–19? How does John 20:24 provide us with a clue as to which group of disciples received the Holy Spirit in John 20:21–23?

6. Recall that the first words of both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 are “In the beginning.” John wanted his readers to have the creation account in mind when reading about God’s redemption of the creation from sin and death through the Word made flesh. John 20:22 records that Jesus breathed on His disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit. Compare John 20:22 to Genesis 2:7. What are the similarities and differences between these verses? In light of what the Holy Spirit will empower the disciples to do in John 20:23, what is the significance of John 20:22 for the Church?

 7. Read Luke 24:21–24. How might the response of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus help explain Thomas’s great reluctance to believe that Jesus had risen? Does John portray Thomas as any more doubting than the other disciples? How does Jesus use Thomas to provide a teaching moment for the Church?

8. With Jeremiah 17:9 in mind, what is comforting about knowing that we have pastors who are available to pronounce forgiveness to us when we are troubled by our sins?

9. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Though as Christians we have not seen Jesus, we love Him, believe in Him, and greatly rejoice (1 Peter 1:8). “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Isaiah the prophet wrote, “Truly, You are a God who hides Yourself” (45:15). Yet our Lord has given us all that we need and more. How are we able to hear Jesus even though we cannot see Him? How can we touch Him without being able to sense His presence?

 10. In John 20:30–31, the purpose statement of the entire Gospel is given. John recorded a selection of Jesus’ signs in order that the recipients of his Gospel “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing [they] may have life in His name.” In truth, this could be the purpose statement of the entire Bible. According to Acts 2:38, how do we receive life in Jesus’ name? In light of Matthew 28:19, why is the name placed upon us at Baptism capable of giving life? What is the relationship between John’s purpose statement and Christian Baptism?