Series Acts
Demonstration of Power
Acts 3:1-26 · Kaká Monteiro · June 14, 2026
The three o'clock prayer, the man at the Beautiful gate, the glory Peter refused
The central idea
“We have no silver or gold, but we have Jesus, and that is what the world most needs to receive from us.”
The man expected a coin; Peter and John really looked at him and offered the name of Jesus. The miracle caused amazement, but Peter didn't use the spotlight: he pointed to the Christ they had killed and God had raised. The question left for us is what we have to offer.
The message in 3 movements
- 01
Consistency and sensitivity.
Peter and John had a rhythm of prayer (meditation, requests and worship) and, on the way, they really looked at someone everyone else ignored. Interruptions can be divine moments; the world still expects something from God's people.
- 02
What we have, we give: Jesus.
The man wanted something temporary; God gave something permanent. Sometimes we need to meet material needs (the hungry will be hungry again), but whoever knows Christ has a transformed life. The authority was in the name of Jesus, not in Peter.
- 03
The glory belongs to God alone.
Facing the amazement, Peter could have launched a campaign in his own name; he did the opposite. Where a man's name shines brighter than Christ's, be careful. And the sermon ends with an invitation: repent, turn, and times of refreshing will come.
Reading the text · Acts 3:1-26
Acts 3:1-10 · Look at us
On their way to the temple for the three o'clock prayer, Peter and John meet the man lame from birth who begged at the gate called Beautiful. They look straight at him: "Silver or gold I do not have… in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." He jumps up, walks and enters the temple praising God, and everyone recognizes who he was.
Acts 3:11-16 · Why do you stare at us?
Amazed, the people run to Solomon's Colonnade. Peter asks: why do you stare at us, as if by our own power we had made him walk? The God of Abraham has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you disowned; you killed the author of life, but God raised him. Faith in his name healed this man.
Acts 3:17-26 · Times of refreshing
"I know you acted in ignorance… Repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come." Jesus is the prophet Moses announced, sent first to bless them by turning each of them from their wicked ways.
Questions for the group
To open: tell about an "interruption" in your day that turned into a meaningful encounter: someone you met or helped without planning to.
- 1
Peter and John had a daily rhythm of prayer. How is your rhythm with God? Would the silence, requests and gratitude pattern help you? Why?
- 2
They "looked straight at" a man everyone had learned to ignore. Who is that person in your routine, someone you see all the time but never really see? What would it mean to stop for them?
- 3
The man asked for a coin and received a new life. What have you been asking God for that may be smaller than what he wants to give? And what do you have to offer people, beyond things?
- 4
Peter refused the glory: "Why do you stare at us?" In which situations is it tempting to take credit for what God did? How can you give the glory back to him without false humility?
Key passages
- Isaiah 42:8: "I will not yield my glory to another." That is why Peter immediately turns the people's gaze back to Jesus.
- Isaiah 35:6: "Then will the lame leap like a deer." The man's leap at the Beautiful gate is a sign that the Messiah has come.
- Deuteronomy 18:15: "The Lord will raise up for you a prophet like me… you must listen to him." Peter shows that Jesus is the prophet Moses promised.
To close
A step for this week. Set aside a time of prayer like Peter and John's: a little silence, some requests, some gratitude. And really look at someone you usually ignore: ask their name, offer help and, if there is an opening, offer Jesus.
Prayer. Thank God that Jesus gives us more than we ask. Ask for eyes sensitive to God's interruptions, courage to offer the name of Jesus and humility to give him all the glory.