In the face of unique challenges, it’s encouraging to return to timeless lessons from Acts which teach us our DNA as Christians. In this article, Tina Wilson, pastor’s wife and church planter, walks through the early chapters of Acts and guides us on a tour of what we can learn from these early Christians. 

The church launched and achieved “mega” status from day one (numbering more than 3,000 already, according to Acts 2:41). The apostles boldly preached Jesus and the number swelled to more than 5,000. Immediately, the religious leaders who held authority over their exclusive, hierarchal religious club started to panic. They didn’t like that the church was growing or that its leaders were causing a stir among the people.

For example, they really didn’t like the position it put them in when Peter and John healed a handicapped man. Peter and John’s attributing the miracle to the power of Jesus, the resurrected king, sent the leaders over the edge. The same council of religious leaders who had handed Jesus over to death—the Sanhedrin—threatened the apostles, and their response was spot on:

But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)