Friends, the Lord be with you. Today's text begins this way. One day, Peter and John were going to the temple. Now, before we get to the text, I want to double-click for a moment on the journey of Peter. Peter's career was upended by an invitation by Jesus. Follow me to a proud moment when Jesus asks his disciples, Who do you say that I am? And Peter says, You are Christ the Lord. And Jesus gives Peter props and says, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this, but my Father in heaven. And I imagine Peter's kind of, you know, fist bumping his colleagues, right? Then Jesus starts talking about his suffering and his death. And Peter will have none of it. He says, Lord, no, I forbid it. And in a matter of seconds, we move from a moment of blessing to a moment of reprimand. Get behind me, Satan, Jesus says to Peter, you are too focused on earthly things rather than on what God wants. Friends, like Peter, our faith fluctuates. It ebbs and flows. We wander. We carry the tension of accepting Jesus on his terms rather than on our own. And on the night before the cross, Jesus tells his disciples that they're all going to fall away and be scattered. And Peter says, No, Lord, not me. And Jesus says, Oh, yes, you, Peter. After Jesus, after his resurrection, Peter is out fishing and he's catching nothing. And Jesus yells from the shoreline, You catching anything? And Jesus tells Peter to cast their net on the other side of the boat. They catch so many fish, their nets break. And when they get to the shoreline, Peter sees that Jesus has made them breakfast over a charcoal fire. And there is this beautiful dialogue between Jesus and Peter. And it orbits around this question. Peter, do you love me? Jesus asks that question three times. Peter, do you love me? And Peter says, Yes, Lord, I love you. Do you love me? Yes, Lord, I love. Yes, yes, I love you. And Jesus says, feed my sheep. Shepherd my sheep. Feed my sheep. And then Jesus says to Peter, follow me. The original invitation on the shoreline now comes full circle once again. And amidst all the ways that we, like Peter, kind of negotiate our faith. We wander with longing and loss. Jesus invites us to anchor our faith in the one who comes near to go with us. So in Acts chapter 3, Peter is doing just that. He's feeding the sheep, he's shepherding the sheep, he's following Jesus. So I invite you to listen with me to the word of the Lord from Acts chapter 3. One day, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer at three in the afternoon. Now a man, lame from birth, was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was sitting every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. They said, Look at us. So the man gave him their attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running in running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them, Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if our own power or godliness has made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are all witnesses of this by faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is in Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all now see. Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders, but this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out and that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people. Indeed, beginning with Samuel, and all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, Through your offspring, all people on earth will be blessed. When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. Friends, this is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Acts chapter 2 ends like this. Day by day the disciples went to the temple, they prayed, they broke bread, and they prayed some more. So on this particular day, a group of people carry their lame friend to the entrance of the temple gate. The man is hoping for a few nickels and dimes to be thrown his way. Now the text says, a man lame from birth. So friends, imagine this with me. From four years old to 14 years old to 34 years old, later in Acts we'll learn that this man was 40 years old, every day carried to the entrance of a gate, hoping for a few generous people going to pray. Do you notice how much staring is going on in this story? The man asks for money. And Peter, says the text, Peter looks intently at him and he says, look at us. Is there something in locking eyes with another person that serves as a signpost of God's coming kingdom? The man fixes his attention on them. And they say, We're not going to give you what you want. We have no money, but we're going to give you what we have and what you most need. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. In the name of Jesus, no longer will this man live by a cultural script. If anyone is in Christ, he, she is a new creation. The old has passed. Behold, the new has come. In the name of Jesus, stand and walk. They take him by his hand, they lift him up, and the text says immediately his feet and his ankles are made strong, jumping for the first time in his life, and shouting a whole bunch of hallelujahs. Well, the crowd, the crowd sees this commotion, and they say, Isn't that Joe who sat by the temple gate all those? Is it Joe? I'm not, it might be. I think it is. It's him. The text said the crowd is now staring at Peter and John, scratching their heads, trying to make sense of the commotion. And Peter takes this easy setup and he runs with it. He says, Why do you stare at us? Do you think our own power made this man walk? There is no magic here. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has glorified his servant Jesus. Friends, this is only Peter's second sermon. He says, Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises of God. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's covenant faithfulness. The same faithfulness that called Abram and Sarah to a new land, the same faithfulness that sustained Abram as he waited for an heir. The same faithfulness is found and fulfilled in Jesus. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has glorified his servant Jesus. What is your only comfort in life and in death? says the Heidelberg Catechism, which one of it's one of the confessions that we as Christians hold dear. The very first question: what is your only comfort in life and in death? The answer is that I am not my own. I belong to Jesus. Why look at us as if our power and piety made this man walk? Stare at Jesus. Fix your gaze on Jesus. We are only witnesses to the light. Look to Jesus. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has glorified his servant Jesus. And then Peter continues his sermon to this astonished crowd. Now hang with me here. It's almost as if Peter is following Heidelberg question and answer number two. Okay? So if question number one is, what is my only comfort in life and in death? I belong to Jesus. Question number two is, what must I know to live in the joy of that comfort? What must I truly know? And the answer is, you gotta know you're guilty. Number two, you've got to know that God's grace is abundant, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that we are set free, grace. And we are called to live a life of gratitude, to be grateful. So what must I know to live in the joy and comfort? Guilt, that I'm guilty, there's grace, and there's gratitude. Okay, so listen to Peter. He says in this sermon, Acts 3, you all rejected Jesus. God's servant, you killed the author of life. You're guilty. And actually, what it says that on that day you eat this fruit, you will surely die. But God preaches Peter. But God, while it was still dark, God, who is rich in mercy, though we were dead in our sins, has made us alive in Jesus Christ. Verse 15, but God raised Jesus from the dead, and to this we're all witnesses. And by faith in Jesus' name, this man, whom you see and whom you know and whom you've watched for 40 years, is now healed. The faith that is through Jesus has given him not just sturdy ankles and strong knees. This man has been saved from sin and death to live the abundant life to love and serve Jesus. Guilt, grace. Now here comes the gratitude. Peter says, so repent and turn to God so that times of refreshing may come. Repent, turn to God so that you may live a life refreshed by the living water every day. N. T. Wright says this. Peter understands the Old Testament as one single great story which was constantly pointing forward to something that God was going to do through Abraham and his family, something that Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, and the rest were all pointing toward as well. When Isaiah foretold, then the eyes of the blind will be open, and the ears of the deaf unstopped, then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue will speak and sing for joy, for water shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert, the burning sand shall be made like a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water. This great something was the restoration of all things. The time when everything would be put right at last. And now Peter says, It's happened. And it's happening in Jesus. And you can be a part of it. What a gift. Friends, Peter's sermon in Acts chapter three came at a moment of chaos and confusion. People are running around, the crowds are staring, and here is an act of healing. And this healing, this restoration is the beginning. It's a sign of a new kingdom, a total restoration. And on that day, the creation will no longer groan under the flood waters. People will be restored to one another and to God. There will be no wars between nations, nor will there be petty disagreements among family members. There is a day coming when all things will be restored. Until that day, Peter ends his sermon like this. Until that day, turn to God. Turn to God so that times of refreshing will come from the Lord. Anchor your life in Jesus with all of your joys, your heartaches, your broken dreams, your quiet grief. And as you do, see that Jesus is standing with you. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.