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Do you ever forget something important? My wife tells me that I need a written list if I try to remember more than three items. I guess I’ve forgotten too many times!

Thankfully, the bible records the message about Jesus so we don’t forget. On this day, centuries ago, Peter preached the first sermon about Jesus following his resurrection.

Acts 2:22-24 records his words, “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (NIV)

Of course, like most preachers, Peter had a lot more to say. But here are the five important points from his sermon. In fact, if you compare every time the message of Jesus was preached in the book of Acts, you’ll usually find these same facts included:

1. God was at work.
2. Jesus was crucified.
3. Jesus was raised from the dead.
4. God made Jesus Lord & Christ.
5. It is all about forgiveness.

Today, share this good news with someone you know.

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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:00 — 3.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

In the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, the Soviet Union was heavily favored to win the gold medal in the men’s ice hockey competition. They had won the gold medal four times. The United States men’s team faced the Soviet Union in the semi-final game. The US team was mostly amateur players. The Soviet team was composed of experienced professional players. The US won the game. It has since been known as “The Miracle on Ice.” The US went on to win the gold medal in the final game.*

But was the victory really a miracle? We use that word in different ways. Here it simply means the victory was so unexpected and unlikely, it seemed like a miracle. In contrast, the word miracle is used in the Bible to describe acts of God, such as walking on water. 

This week, we are going to look at some of the miracles of Jesus and the apostles. The first thing we want to examine is why were miracles performed? Peter provided the answer in Acts 2:22, when he said, “’Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.'”(NIV) In other words, miracles proved that Jesus was from God. Isn’t it nice to know God provided proof of who Jesus is?!

*”Miracle on Ice,” Wikipedia, last updated June 22, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_on_Ice.

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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.