This morning is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is a season in the church calendar where we're encouraged to wait and prepare for Jesus' second coming as we reflect back on his birth. This morning's message will give us a theology of "coming." Our God is a God who comes to us and He will come again!

In our journey through Acts so far we've seen some of the challenges facing the church from the outside. Our passage this morning shows us a threat from the inside. Not all the believers had pure motives as they participated in the life of the community. Some wanted to have a little Jesus, but still do them. This passage will show us that, "You can't have it both ways." It's an invitation and a warning for us to see that there's nothing better than living generously in unity with God's people.

This morning is the third and final message in our three-part series around the healing of a lame man. This healing has now brought the disciples into a collision of power with the temple authorities. This passage gives us a unique window into how the power of Jesus is at work in our world. We'll also be challenged by how radically different the early believers respond to threats facing them.

There have been many preachers who have said that, "Our God is a God of Second Chances." You could say that our text for today contains the greatest "second chance," of all time. Either way, I pray that you'll be moved by this rich story and sermon from the Apostle Peter as he offers a "second chance" to his people.

This week we are going to take a break from our Acts Series and look at Psalm 8, a Psalm of David that reminds us to pause and consider God’s majesty. We will also see how this song from Israel’s prayer book was pointing to Jesus and encourages us to trust in His power and finished work.

In chapter two of Acts we saw that the first believers devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers”. We also saw that many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. In this week’s passage we see an example of these wonders- the healing of a lame beggar at the temple. We will see that God was shaking things up in Israel- a new paradigm for the temple was being established. And, we will be encouraged to be humble worshippers who are sensitive to the Spirit’s leading.