What a powerful chapter! This is a turning point in the church. The Holy Spirit arrives and in a strong way. There is the sound of mighty winds, and flames dwell on the heads of each person, and they begin to speak in different languages. There were a lot of people in Jerusalem at the time, and from a LOT of different places! Those people all heard the Good News of Jesus in their own language. It was a miracle. The apostles were Jews, and probably only spoke Hebrew or Aramaic… But yet people could hear the Gospel in their own language. Very cool!We know that something powerful happened. If we go back to the point where Jesus was arrested, we see Peter as a man that was afraid to even admit that he knew Jesus, let alone was one of his closest friends. And now after the Holy Spirit arrives, there is a boldness and an authority on him that motivates him to preach the truth about Jesus to crowds of thousands of people! He is compelling them to turn from their sin and follow Jesus. Right there, (ok, maybe not RIGHT THERE) people are baptized by the thousands.
People began to change their ways as well. People sold off items and property and gave to the poor, and the needy. They realized that others had needs, and they started to meet the needs of others. This is an issue that we often have in North America. We have so much, and there are people (both among our community, and in other countries) that have so little.
They met together each day. The met in homes to share in the Lord’s Supper (Communion), and they enjoyed the company of their fellow Christians! It even says that there were signs and wonders done by Peter.
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