Acts 3:1-10
Teaching Notes
In Acts 3, we encounter one of the most vivid examples of God’s compassion and power breaking through the ordinary rhythms of life. Peter and John, two faithful disciples, are simply going up to the temple to pray. It’s the 3 p.m. hour—a time when many would gather for worship. And yet, on this routine day, God orchestrates a divine appointment at the temple gate known as Beautiful.
There, a man crippled from birth is laid daily to beg for help. He has never walked, and his entire life has been shaped by dependence—on people to carry him, on others to give him coins, and on a system that deemed him unclean and unworthy to enter the temple. What a picture of what sin does in our lives: it cripples, isolates, and leaves us spiritually bankrupt.
But everything changes in a moment. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, doesn’t offer what the man is asking for—he offers something far greater. “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Instantly, the man’s legs are strengthened. He doesn’t just walk—he leaps, praises, and follows them into the temple, entering a space he’d been excluded from his entire life.
This healing is more than physical. It’s a symbol of the spiritual healing we all need. Like the man at the gate, we are all born into spiritual brokenness, unable to bridge the gap between us and God. But through Christ, the barrier is broken. His power doesn’t just improve our condition—it transforms it. He gives us new life, not through our striving, but through His grace.
Peter and John weren’t striving for ministry success that day. They were simply walking with God, aware of His presence, devoted to prayer, and available to be used. And that’s how God works—through our faithfulness in the ordinary. As Pastor Craig shared, “You don’t have to force it. When you’re in communion with God, He’ll make you aware of the opportunities around you.”
The challenge to us is clear:
Are we aware of the spiritual needs right in front of us?
Are we walking in such communion with God that we recognize the divine interruptions He places in our path?
Are we trying to satisfy our deepest longings with temporary fixes, or are we seeking the One who alone can satisfy the hunger in our souls?
This passage also calls us to remember our story. Every one of us who has experienced the grace of Jesus is a trophy of that grace—a witness to the watching world that Jesus is alive and still transforming lives. Just as the man who was healed couldn’t stop praising God, our lives should overflow with gratitude and worship for what He’s done.
Whether you’re feeling stuck, searching for healing, or longing to be used by God, Acts 3 reminds us of the power and beauty of grace. Jesus meets us where we are, restores what was broken, and invites us to walk—and leap—with Him.
