Finding Courage in a World of Fear

Sunday, May 24, 2026

Scriptures: Acts 3:4-6, Acts 4:1-4, 4:8-14, 4:29-31, Acts 5:40-42

• Sermon Summary

  This week, Yelena continues our new series in Acts, and we’re looking at courage in the face of persecution. Following the explosive growth of the early church, the religious and political elite confront the apostles as they feel threatened by the growing movement. Peter and John show radical courage in their response to the charges. Luke portrays courage as a virtue that is no longer reserved for the elites. Rather than attempting to face these threats in isolation, the apostles return to a community of courage where they share their fears, ground themselves in God’s story, and pray for continued boldness. Yelena argued that we really on each other’s courage to do hard things. Ultimately, the apostles face an escalating violence and physical punishment, but they and the early church remain a community of integrity that continues to preach Christ with courage and joy. “We all need courage to live non-violently in a violent world” (Stanley Hauerwas).

• Discussion Guide

  Community is shaped by the conversations we share. These questions and reflections are a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.

  Connect: When you hear the word “courage,” what images, stories, or specific people come to mind —whether from your own life experiences, or from something you are reading or watching?

  Share: Share about your experience with courage.
  Yelena shared a personal story about how a friend's courage to start a student group in Central Asia radically shifted her own life's trajectory. She argued that "we rely on each other's courage for change."
  
  Can you look back at your own journey and think of a time when someone else's courage, integrity, or willingness to take a risk directly inspired or changed you?

  Reflect: Reflect on the role of courage in our culture today.
  Christianity contributed to a radical shift in the ancient world - moving courage from a virtue reserved for the elites to becoming a virtue that is part of everyone’s experience of being human. Luke shows us that boldness belongs to ordinary fishermen and beggars.
  
  How do we see courage in our modern culture today?
  Would you agree that courage is a virtue that all of us practice daily or do you think that we still expect more courage or a different type of courage from those who have more influence in society?
  Where might we be tempted to stay quiet because we feel "unschooled" or ordinary?

  Engage: Engage with Stanley Hauerwas quote, “we all need courage to live non-violently in a violent world.” What does it mean for the church? And what does it mean for you personally?

  Alternatively, talk about how the power of God is different from the power we often observe in our world.
  How can we actively train our hearts to recognize the gentle, resurrecting power of God in our daily lives?
  In what ways does God's approach to power challenge the kind of power the world respects or fears?

  Take away: What is one thing that you are taking with you into your week, either from the sermon or from our conversation today?

  Prayer from the sermon:
  Loving God, 

  As we seek to live with integrity
  and to follow in the way of Jesus,

  in the places where we hold power, 
  as parents, supervises, teachers, leaders, mentors, 
  and as people with resources and influence,
  may we use our power to create a more compassionate and loving world. 

  And in the places where we witness the twisting of power, 
  may your prophetic Spirit guide us
  to speak with wisdom and truth
  and to work towards justice with courage and grace.

  Would you continue to form us into your friends, 
  Who can also be friends to one another.  
  May we be strengthened and inspired by each other’s courage. 

  In the name of Christ, who loves us, we pray.
  Amen.

• Service Songs & Prayers

  CALL TO WORSHIP John 14

  MUSIC Curated by Rebecca Kessler-Santos

  Elevation Worship - God is not Against Me
  Mission House - Your Eyes See Me
  Elevation Worship - Jesus Be The Name
  Brooke Ligertwood - A Thousand Hallelujahs
  
  PENTICOST PRAYER
  Written by Bobbi Salkeld
  
  LEADER:
  The Spirit of God 
  opens us to our own stories. 
  In our time, in our place,
  giving us the wisdom to sense the presence of the Creator
  in challenges, in celebrations, and in the ordinary every day. 

  ALL:
  Come Holy Spirit,
  draw us into love,
  and nearer to friends and strangers. 

  LEADER:
  The Spirit of God
  breaks down walls that trap us in fear. 
  In our poverty, in our wealth,
  giving us the wisdom to sense the presence of the Savior
  in differences, in similarities, and in the tensions that call us to action.

  ALL:
  Come Holy Spirit, 
  draw us into love,
  and nearer to friends and strangers.

  LEADER:
  The Spirit of God
  fills up the spaces that are lacking.
  In our scarcity, and in our plenty,
  giving us the wisdom to sense the presence of Spirit
  in emptiness, in fullness, and in long stretches of numbness.

  ALL:
  Come Holy Spirit,   
  draw us into love,
  and nearer to friends and strangers.
  Amen.

  
  SERIES BUMPER
  The Way Forward Within Reach Series