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Book of Acts Sermon Starters Week 9

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Preface

Ananias's and Sapphira's cunning deceit in Acts 5 stands in stark contrast to the sterling example of Barnabus' unbridled generosity in Acts 4. (See Week 8)

Imagine the following scene: The pastor of a local church, troubled over the growing number of unemployed people in the congregation, invites members to pray about what the church should do to help.

The following Sunday a well-to-do couple stands before the congregation in worship and says, "This check represents all of our savings and we're giving every cent of it to the church."
"Really?" the pastor says, "You're giving the church all your savings?"
"Absolutely!" the couple says, failing to mention they still possessed substantial savings in offshore accounts.
"What a tremendous example of sacrificial giving." the pastor responded.
"We were happy to do it! Wish we had more to give," the couple said with pride.

Suddenly the husband and wife drop dead. The congregation goes into shock and people struggle to interpret what just happened.

A similar thing happened in Acts 5:1-11. No wonder so many of us would rather follow the lead of the Revised Common Lectionary, which avoids the account of Ananias and Sapphira. How do you begin to unravel this text? Thankfully, we can benefit from the work of others who have wrestled with this passage.

The early Church Fathers highlighted four issues of note in today's text:

  1. Lying to God--the Holy Spirit, or testing God,
  2. Greed,
  3. The internal dynamics of allowing Satan to enter, and
  4. An event as a warning to the community.

Clearly, this passage raises many difficult questions for us: What compelled Ananias and Sapphira to lie about their gift? Why would lying be punished by death? Was Peter's confrontation of Ananias and Sapphira too severe? What were people supposed to learn from this? There are no easy answers. Yet, if today's church is to be considered relevant, it must choose to wrestle with hard issues honestly and help people do likewise.

Background

Explore the contextual backdrop of key issues in the passage. For example, why was the act of lying by Ananias and Sapphira considered to be so terrible? In context, their deceit was considered to be more than lying to Peter and the community of faith, it was considered to be a direct affront against God. In the first-century context, offending God and violating the sacred were considered heinous.

Throughout biblical history, that God's people would respect God and the sacred was irrefutable. God told Moses, "You cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live" (Exodus 33:20). God struck down Uzzah, who accidently touched the sacred Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:6-7).

Commentators link Acts 5 to Joshua 7, in which Achan disobeyed God by keeping some of the spoils of war and hiding them in his tent. Scripture notes that God held all of Israel responsible for Achan's singular act. God told Joshua, "Israel has sinned, they have transgressed my covenant…. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have acted deceitfully, and they have put them among their own belongings" (Joshua 7:11, emphasis mine).

In light of the above, how serious would people have considered Ananias and Sapphira's deceit to be? What detrimental consequence might the entire community have suffered due to Ananias's and Sapphira's actions?

Find dynamic equivalents. Are there contemporary examples of large groups of people punished or suffering because of a deceitful act by an individual? What does it mean to live in Christian integrity at home, work, school, church, and community?

Examine Jesus' reaction to the attitudes people expressed when giving. For example: Jesus includes the Pharisees in the six woes listed in Luke 11. The Pharisees tithed mint, rue and other herbs, but neglected justice and the love of God (Luke 11:42). Jesus warns people to avoid practicing piety in order to be seen by others and not to sound a trumpet before giving (Matthew 6:1-2). Jesus warns against greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:25).

Notes

Ananias, with his wife Sapphira's consent, sold a piece of property. Verse two reveals what would ultimately lead to the couple's demise -- deceitfully keeping back some of the proceeds from the sale (Acts 5:1-2).

Peter confronts Ananias about withholding some of the proceeds. Peter's confrontation amplifies the significance of deceit when he refers to Ananias' heart being filled by Satan and states that the act of deception was actually directed to God. The heart was considered to be one's internal decision-making apparatus (Acts 5:3-4).

Ananias heard Peter's words and died instantly. Fear overcame those who heard of it. Young men came, wrapped the dead body, and buried it (Acts 5:5-6).

Three hours later, Sapphira appeared not knowing what had happened to Ananias. Peter questioned her about the sale price of the land. She also lied in complicity with Ananias (Acts 5:7-8).

Peter exposed Sapphira's role in the conspiracy and told her she had tested the Spirit of the Lord. Next Peter told her she would experience the same deadly fate as Ananias. Sapphira died instantly, and the same men who buried Ananias buried her next to him (Acts 5:9-10).

Great fear seized the entire church when they heard what happened (Acts 5:11).

Sermon Notes

Normally a husband does not need his wife's consent to sell property unless it was part of her kethubah (her share of her husband's property if the marriage were dissolved) (Acts 5:1-2).

Does Peter's confrontation seem too harsh for our contemporary ears? Avoid the temptation to euphemize or rush to symbolic explanations. Why not explore the internal dynamics experienced by a person who allows Satan, evil personified, to enter? What is the responsibility of the spiritual leader toward such an individual? Another question is, what are the implications for a community when an individual acts deceitfully toward God's people and ultimately toward God (Acts 5:3-4)?

Ananias' sudden death and immediate burial sent shock through the community. Commentators suggest reading Joshua 7, the story of Achan, as a related example. What would we recognize as an "act of God" meant to warn us today (Acts 5-6)?

Peter's questioning of Sapphira provided her an opportunity to respond honestly; she did not. The issue of complicity, whether through active involvement or silent inaction, is fodder for exploration here (Acts 7-10).

This is the first time in the book of Acts that the term ecclesia, church, is used. The importance of maintaining community integrity before God may be worth highlighting (Acts 5:11).

Putting The Sermon Together

Christian Integrity

What would you do to protect the integrity of your community, your circle of friends, your family, or your church? One approach to this passage is examining the importance of integrity within the ranks of a sacred community.

Remind listeners that God's covenants, from Abraham forward, were directed toward communities, not individuals. Similarly, Scripture includes examples in which God held the entire community responsible for acts of disobedience by an individual. In light of such corporate covenants and responsibilities, how might you and the congregation view the actions of Ananias and Sapphira from God's perspective?

In the Acts 5:1-11 passage, the term ecclesia, church, is used for the first time in Acts. What is God's covenant with the newly formed first-century church? What are the understood covenant expectations between your local church and God? Explore ways that integrity is and is not practiced today in larger society. Is society clamoring for honesty and uprightness? If so from whom? What is the Christian response?

How should your local church deal with breaches in integrity among your ranks?

This passage provides a clear opportunity to invite the congregation into a call for Christian integrity.

Questions to Wrestle With

  1. How might people in your congregation react to Bishop Will Willimon's suggestion that a possible thesis in this passage is, "Possessions and what they do to us is a matter of life and death"? ( Interpretation Bible Commentary)
  2. Commentators agree that Ananias and Sapphira had every right to withhold part of the proceeds from the sale of land. What then provoked them to claim they gave all rather the part of their proceeds to the new church community?
  3. As Ananias and Sapphira gave, they also clamored for celebrity as "big givers." Do we create a celebrity culture when we solicit "recognition giving" in our finance campaigns? What is the downside of celebrity culture within the local church?
  4. Today, lying and complicity are often euphemized in words and phrases like these: "A white lie," "a half truth," "concealment." "I reserve the right to nondisclosure." "I plead the fifth." "I did not knowingly…" "I don't recall…" How might euphemisms distort our understanding and practice of Christian integrity?
  5. What does this passage suggest about the importance of maintaining integrity within the community of faith?
  6. How should a leader in the church respond toward a church member who is clearly deceiving the congregation?
  7. What does it mean to have a healthy fear of the Lord? See 2 Chronicles 19:9, Job 28:28, Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7.

Suggested Resources

Online

It's Not MY Money

Continue to Change the World series

Church: Plain and Simple (Part 5: Continue to Change the World Series)

Church: The Focus Is Beyond Us Part 6: Continue to Change the World Series

Print

Afire with God by Betsy Schwarzentraub

The Stewardship Companion by David Mosser

What The Bible Says About The Holy Spirit by Stanley Horton

Africa Bible Commentary by Paul Mumo Kisau

Preaching Luke-Acts by Ronald Allen

The Acts of the Apostles by F. F. Bruce

Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free by F. F. Bruce -- a classic on the life of Paul

Interpretation Bible Commentary: Acts

New Interpreter's Bible Volume X

Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: Acts

The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible, Volume 12: Acts of the Apostles by Michael Williams and Dennis Smith

Classics

The Helper (written from a layperson's perspective) by Catherine Marshall

The Breaking of the Outward Man by Watchman Nee

The Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee

Basic Bible Study

The Holy Spirit in the Wesleyan Heritage
Teacher
Student

Questions — the Holy Spirit, from the Cokesbury series "The Questions Senior Highs Ask" (electronic download)

What's in the Bible About the Holy Spirit? By Alexander Joyner

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