You can only cram some many thoughts into a message.  I wanted to drop this idea on your lap concerning Acts. 2:42-47, and more specifically Peter….think of it as the bonus material…especially if you were in second service on Sunday :).

If you look at 1 Peter 1:1 and 2 Peter 1:1 you will notice something very interesting.  Although Peter missed the mark on many occasions, Jesus restored him and God used him in a mighty way.  I want to point out a simple but very profound point for you and I to consider.

If you read 1 Peter 1:1, it says “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,…”.  Peter refers to himself as an “apostle”…or delegate. Now Peter was to be respected, he did spend time with Christ and was a great figure for the early church.  He used his ‘title’ to distinguish who he was and to add weight to his message.

Now take a look at 2 Peter 1:1, it says “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,…”.  Simon (his original name) was the first thing he thought of.  “Peter” or rocky (referring to Matthew 16:18), was the second thing he thought of.  I wonder if there was a long pause there. To think of our lives prior to Christ can and should cause all of us to pause.  Peter probably thought, yeah, I was Simon, but after hanging out with Christ and seeing Him change my life changed me to Peter. Because of what Christ did in him Peter was a bond servant…simply meaning that he willingly submitted his life to God. Simply observing these two verses illustrate to me that Peter probably moved to be more humble as he matured in his spiritual walk.  It’s almost like prior to being Peter, he was like shifting sand…acting out on emotions.  With Christ though, he became the sure thing.

I don’t know about you, but this is very encouraging to me.  This should encourage us that no matter what silly mistakes we make, we are something much more in Christ Jesus and because of Christ Jesus.  Just wanted to finish that thought…didn’t get to chew on that first or second service.