The Church: Be Bold - Acts 4:23-37

Risen Church NC

We often talk a lot about restoring the Church to its early or original form. We dream of being filled with God's power and used for His glory in like or greater fashion. If we are really serious about this, we must take cues from Acts 4. After narrowly escaping death, the Disciples return to the Church and have one of the most consequential prayer meetings of all time. Their prayer requests and subsequent decisions come across so foreign to us, which may explain the difference between us and them. Rather than praying for God to minimize their risk before a threatening regime, they simply entrust the unknowns into God's hands. Their prayer is focused around maximizing their role in God's story. They worry little about preserving their stories, and desire only that they might fully participate in God's plan. They pray for boldness that they could keep the faith in the face of opposition and pray that God would have His will in their community. The results are nothing short of astounding. What does bold look like for us? It begins with trusting God with the impossible and focusing on what we can control. We are called to be Christ's witnesses and make His Church a shining light into a dark world. May we begin to pray bold prayers and make bold decisions that allow Christ and His Church to have a bold-print impact on our worlds.