Last week we left Peter and John preaching in the temple during one of the thrice-daily prayer times. They cured a lame man, and used it as an opportunity to speak. The priests at that time were chosen by lot, which was a way used back then to determine God’s will. It was a great honor to be chosen by lot to serve, and the interference from Peter and John must have upset them greatly. There is no indication that there was any riot, or uprising. The account just says that the Sadducees were “greatly disturbed”

In our last lesson Peter finished up his first public sermon, and three thousand people were saved. This group of three thousand then becomes the very first local Christian church body. In today’s section we will follow them through the beginnings of a regular church and see how they handled some of the very same situations we still face today as the Christian church.