Peter’s Sermon in Acts 2
Peter begins his sermon in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost by comparing the spiritual experiences that were occurring (the rushing mighty wind, tongues of fire, speaking in tongues, the presence of the Holy Spirit, etc.) with scripture. He said, “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel”, this let the listeners know that the experiences were not contradictory to the character of God; but were in fact a fulfilment of prophecy. This also made it clear that this prophecy from Joel was meant to be taken literally- the Holy Spirit was being poured out. Peter, being one of Jesus’ closets companions, having experienced the agony of denying Christ then receiving His forgiveness, and being an eyewitness to His resurrection and ascension he was able to feel and speak deeply and passionately as he gave this sermon. Being emboldened by the infilling of the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to speak the truth of the gospel to the large crowd gathered there.
Throughout his sermon, Peter was very direct in his speech, making it clear that Jesus was the Messiah they had all been waiting for and spoken off in the Old Testament; and instead of receiving the Messiah, the Jews had Him crucified. He preached in such a way that caused them to hear and understand that Jesus was in-fact Messiah and Lord. His aim was to convert them, cause them to change their mind about what they had previously thought was true, and to convict them. And that’s exactly what he did.
Charles Finney writes that, “Sinners ought to be made to feel that they have something to do…” While Peter was speaking, it says in verse 37 that the people present were pricked in their heart (convicted, had godly sorrow) and asked, “what shall we do?” Peter’s direct sermon brought immediate results upon the sinners that heard it. They knew they could no longer remain the way they were, and that they had something that needed to do in response to what they had heard. Peter told them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Three thousand people were saved that day as a result.
Stephen’s Sermon in Acts 7
Acts 6 verse 8 tells us that Stephen was “full of faith and power” and that he “did great wonders and miracles among the people”. He got into a dispute with leaders of the synagogue and verse 10 says, “And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake”. Stephen sounds like he was quite a tremendous fighter for the faith. He was brought before the council on false charges of blasphemy and in chapter 7 we read the sermon he preached before the council and his accusers.
First, he begins his sermon by addressing the crowd as “men, brethren, and fathers”, he appeals to in a familial manner; addressing the feelings associated with the familial connection to secure their attention, then goes on to deal with the conscience.
Stephen then recounts the history of the Hebrew people, all the way back to Moses—making the connections from past to present in a practical yet systematic “let’s see how we got here” style. He spoke of each past person and event as literal and historical fact. He reminded the audience of God’s continual steadfastness and faithfulness to His word, even when their ancestors were stubborn and rebellious.
At one point in the sermon, he directly called out the listeners by saying in verse 51, “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” He addressed their sin by name, resisting the Holy Ghost. As with Peter’s sermon, Stephen’s listeners were also immediately affected and were “cut to the heart”. Only this time, it was not with conviction and godly sorrow, it was with hatred and rage. They gnashed their teeth at Stephen and took him out to stone him.
Paul’s Sermon in Acts 26
In Acts 26, Paul is given the chance to speak (give a sermon) before King Agrippa. Paul starts off his sermon by sharing his background, his story of being a Pharisee and persecutor of Christians, and his testimony of how he came to follow Jesus. He spoke in plain and easily understandable language, just sharing his undeniable experience and how the charges brought against him were untrue.
Paul also appealed to King Agrippa’s position of power. At the beginning of the sermon he says, “I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews…” Later at the end he remarks, “for the king knoweth of these things”. And lastly, Paul challenges Agrippa on his beliefs in what the prophets had spoken, “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.” King Agrippa responds that Paul had almost convinced him to become a Christian. Because of this sermon, King Agrippa decided that Paul had done nothing worthy of death or bonds.
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