With all of the things going on in the world – with a multitude of Christian leaders pressing their issues – with so many, many causes that vie for our attention, it’s not easy to figure out what the “main thing” is when it comes to our Christian walk. It can sometimes be difficult to know where our focus should be, and sometimes all of these various issues and causes can confuse us as to what the Good News really is.

This Sunday we’re going to continue our study in the book of Acts, reading Acts 3:11-26. Right on the heels of an amazing miracle taking place in Jesus’ name, Peter finds a lame excuse for preaching (Get it? The guy was formerly lame…..sort of like that joke). Anyway, Peter finds himself, yet again, explaining an amazing event to a gathering crowd.

The very first thing Peter does is redirect the crowd’s attention. He wants them focused – but where, and on whom? What does that tell us about where our focus should be, as a church and as the individuals who make up the church?

Next, in v19 he calls them to teshuva – repentance. To repent means to turn around, to change your mind. The crowd that Peter is addressing rejected Jesus as Messiah and Lord – so Pete is telling them to change their mind. Repentance means that we were living one sort of life and now we’re called to live a different sort of life. What does that tell us about the focus of our Christian journey?

In v20-21 Peter points to God’s intended conclusion for this story. What is it? What do you understand “times of refreshing” to be? How can they be a forecast of what God has in mind? How can that help us to develop a stronger focus for our understanding of the Good News?

Hope you’re getting all your Christmas shopping done – and hope to see you on Sunday!