In this sermon, we looked at Acts 2:36-41 in which Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, declares to the people of Jerusalem that Jesus is the Lord and Messiah. Peter urges the people to believe the truth of Jesus' divinity and to see His redemptive work on the cross as a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies. When the people listening are "cut to the heart," they ask Peter what they are to do with the internal conviction they are feeling. He responds with a call to repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Faith and repentance change the hearts of the people in Jerusalem, and this moment in history marks the beginning of the Church, with about three thousand souls saved. Just like this moment recorded in Acts 2, God calls us to respond to the Gospel with faith and repentance to receive what God is offering to us through Jesus.
