The text for this lesson is Acts 3
Key Point
- We are all lame beggars before God. Through the Means of Grace—God’s Word and Sacraments—God gives us faith to believe in Jesus as our Savior and grants us forgiveness, the cure for all sin.
- Law: Disability and illness are physical symptoms of sin in the world.
- Gospel: Through His Son, God gives me forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation—the cure for all sin.
Discussion Points
- What is the connection between physical illness or any physical impairment and the Bible’s teaching on sin? How do our Lord’s cross-won forgiveness and life give us a different viewpoint on physical illness?
- Read Acts 3:1–10. How does Peter heal this lame man (vv. 6–7)? What is important about Peter (and John) performing this miraculous act of mercy?
- How does the lame man respond to the gift of his miraculous healing (v. 8)? How do the people, the community, respond to his healing (vv. 9–10)?
- Read Acts 3:11–26. How does Peter preach Jesus to the crowd gathered at the temple (vv. 12–16)? In verses 17–20, Peter echoes the message that he proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost. What does he exhort the people to do, now that they’ve heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Compare Acts 2:38 and 3:20. Taking both passages together, what outcome flows from repentance?
- What exactly does Peter say about heaven and Jesus in Acts 3:21? How do incorrect translations of this text obscure the Gospel, especially when we consider the Lord’s Supper?
- What does the story in Acts 3:1–10 teach us about life in our Lord’s “one holy Christian (catholic) and apostolic Church” (Nicene Creed)? Think of where the healing takes place, how it happens, and what happens in response to the healing.
