The disciples are in the upper room, awaiting the next thing. What did Jesus mean when he said they would receive power? It has been a long time. They are waiting. Then it is a feast day - the giving of the law. They are celebrating Sukkot, reflecting on when the Spirit wrote the Ten Commandments & the people's unfaithfulness, and the Spirit comes...and 3000 are saved that day. They go out speaking in different languages. They are praising God and telling the message of the Gospel, which is... Christ has come, he has died to save us from our sins. We are no longer slaves to death. We are now free. New life in the spirit. 

The new church lives together. They change their worship to Sunday. They begin meeting on the river banks. They preach the gospel. They share things in common. More and more people are becoming saved. They see miracles. Peter testifies that the church can now eat new food. A dead man is resurrected. Prisoners are set free. They have God's power and boldness. Explore where the disciples went. What excitement and passion was in their worship, in their new discoveries. 

Persecution plagues the early church; Paul is shipwrecked, snake-bitten; Paul is imprisoned, hunted, beaten; end with Peter & Paul imprisoned, awaiting sentencing, having to face Nero; What is the heart of faith in dark times? How do we believe when we are in prison? Will God save? What if he doesn't? Does he always show up to save our lives?

Peter and Paul are put to death. Jerusalem is destroyed. Evil Nero sits on the throne of Rome. It seems as though Satan wants to stamp out the early church. The Jews - and Christians - are scattered. What does God have in mind for his infant church? If we fast forward 300 years, we are going to see that God has spread his church through the Roman empire. Even the emperor is going to become a Christian, and the Roman empire will become a Christian one. God's word stands, and the church is not meant to be in one place, in one temple---it is in the hearts of those who worship God.