NOTES: 1] The Gospels give differing accounts of Jesus' Resurrection. MT says (apart from one in v.9) the appearances take place in Galilee. LK & JN say Jerusalem & nearby. MK (16:7 & 14: 28) supports MT. Maybe rivalry between factions of the early church by the time the accounts are written leads each to emphasise appearances on their own turf? 2] That Jesus is raised & 'appears' to us is more important than where he appeared back then, isn't it?

WARMING UP: What are the differences between anxiety, fear, & terror?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything that's happened this week?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

1-7        Do we have any sense that the women were expecting to find anything other than a sealed tomb with Jesus' body still inside? Does their behaviour, or that of the guards, support any 'theory' other than that Jesus is raised?
             In 27:51 MT reports an earthquake at Jesus' death. In recording another one now, what might he want us to understand in each case? In reporting the angelic being 'sitting on the rolled-away stone' may MT be inviting us to recognize God's contempt for what's been done to Jesus & those who've done it? Or doesn't God hold people / events in contempt? Who does MT see as in control of what's happening? If the guards are 'comotose' with fear, how come the women are only afraid? As the story doesn't say the women took up the angel's invitation to look into the tomb, what would our bet be? Do we see any reason(s) why it should be the women who are blessed with the first meeting with the raised Christ? Would it have been only cultural issues that prevented these & other women leading the early church rather than the men?

8-10     What is it that tips the balance from fear to joy for the women? What does it take for joy to take over from fear in our own life events? Can we trace the difficulty many of us still have in passing on the news that 'Jesus is raised from the dead' to a lack of experiencing, or recognizing, meetings with him in life today? If we do recognize him in daily life, is our problem  that we're scared of coming across as a religious nut case? How much does that matter to us?

Does the quality of our worship ever suffer because we aren't quite convinced that Jesus is raised? Ever recite 'on the third day he rose again' more in the hope that it will produce faith, than as a declaration of Faith? Can a confession of faith passed down to us ever be a substitute for a personal experience of Jesus being raised & among us today, neither in Jerusalem nor Galilee, but where we live? Can hearing the Gospel & reciting a creed week by week ('poles' round which the Body lives & grows & passes on its spiritual genes) in themselves take the place of experiencing Jesus' resurrection in our own new quality of life? What's the best evidence we know that Jesus is raised?
 
 

NOTES: 1] Remember to read the first part of the chapter to get the context.

WARMING UP: Has anyone ever sent for us to come to them in some unusual / unexpected circumstance?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything that's happened this week?

EXPLORING ACTS:
24-29    How does Cornelius' sense of expectancy that someone would come, that God could be trusted, compare with our own expectations of God? In general, do we expect too much of God, or not enough? Do we have enough confidence in God to involve our relatives & friends in what's going on in our life as Cornelius does here?
             Are we ever tempted to 'worship' a fellow human being as Cornelius is here? What about the various celebrity cults that make a play for us? Isn't that a kind of worship? Where's the line between admiration & worship? Have we ourselves yet come to terms with the fact that we're 'only mortal'?
             How comfortable are we in relating to those of other faiths or none? Would we be able to relate to them as frankly & openly as Peter is able to do here (after his earlier wrestling with the issue in vv.9-16)?

30-33   In these days when angelic visitors seem rare, what does it take to help us grasp that 'our prayers have been heard & our alms remembered before God'? What makes us think some of our prayers are heard & others not? Is it just that the answer to our prayer(s) may be 'No' or 'Wait'; that God isn't just a great heavenly rubber YES stamp? What does our 'almsgiving' (= 'charitable giving', from a word meaning 'merciful') have to do with whether our prayers are heard or answered?
How promptly are we able to / prepared to respond to someone's need when our attention is directed to them? How much of our talk comes under the category of 'what the Lord has commanded us to say' & how much is simply our own agenda?

34-43  Does God play 'favourites' in our understanding of him, or, like Peter, here, do we accept that God has no favourites? Not even Anglicans (or here substitute your own denomination)? Do we really believe God accepts those from 'every nation' (& presumably therefore, of differing religions?) 'who fear him & do what is right & acceptable to him'? Should fear, in a bad sense, really be part of our belief system these days? How do we know what is 'right & acceptable' to God?
           In what sense did / does Jesus bring peace, 'to the people of Israel' or anyone else? In his summary here, has Peter left out anything we think should be included? What's the difference, if any, between Jesus 'rising from the dead' & 'being raised'? Is it just a matter of emphasis, or is there something basically important here (cf. the creeds)? Is it still true that it is only those 'chosen by God as witnesses' to whom Jesus, raised from death, appears? How important is it that we preach Jesus as 'the one ordained by God as judge of the living & the dead' (cf.the creeds again)?
           How well entrenched is it as part of our religious education that 'all the prophets testify about him....'? Do we believe in Jesus enough to be convinced we have received 'forgiveness of sin through his name'?

44-48  Is what happens here evidence that Holy Spirit is 'poured out' by God at his discretion, & that this can & will happen as & when God determines, & not according to any order of events, or set of rules we or the church think should happen?