Acts Part 1: Glad Hearts and Bold Faith — What Happens After the Resurrection?
In this first message of our new Acts series at Open Arms Community Church in Bradford, PA, Pastor Zoe Hatcher invites us into the moments right after the resurrection of Jesus—when everything had changed, but the disciples didn’t yet know what to do next. As a church in Bradford PA committed to helping people follow Jesus, this message sets the foundation for understanding how the early church moved from fear to bold faith—and how that same power is still at work today.
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Jesus Is Risen… Now What?
The resurrection of Jesus changed everything.
The disciples had watched Him die. They knew He was gone. And yet, suddenly, He was standing among them again—alive. The reality of the resurrection wasn’t just surprising; it was overwhelming. Fear, confusion, and doubt filled the room.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.23If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
John 20:19–23
Each time Jesus appeared, He spoke the same words: “Peace be with you.”
This was more than a greeting. It was reassurance. It was a reminder that the One standing before them was not a ghost, not an illusion—but the risen Savior. The wounds in His hands and side confirmed it. The fear in the room began to give way to something else.
Then came the calling.
“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
The resurrection wasn’t just something to believe—it was something that demanded a response.
The Holy Spirit: Power for the Mission
The disciples were not sent out alone.
Jesus knew that what He was calling them to do was impossible in their own strength. So He gave them the Holy Spirit—the source of strength, direction, truth, and comfort.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:26–27
The same Spirit that was promised before the cross was now being given after the resurrection. The peace Jesus spoke over them was not temporary—it was sustained through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Without the Spirit, the mission would fail. With the Spirit, everything would change.
Doubt Is Not the End of the Story
Not everyone believed right away.
Thomas is often remembered for his doubt, but he was not alone. The resurrection was difficult to grasp. It went against everything they understood about death.
4Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:24–29
Yet Jesus did not reject Thomas. He met him.
He invited him to see. To touch. To believe.
And in that moment, doubt gave way to faith.
But the blessing that followed reaches even further:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Faith was never meant to depend on sight.
From Fear to Boldness
At first, the disciples hid behind locked doors.
But that didn’t last.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they stepped out into the open. The same people who had been afraid were now filled with boldness.
Peter stood before the crowd and preached.
14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25David said about him:“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
29“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.” ’
Acts 2:14, 22–35
He didn’t soften the message. He didn’t avoid the truth. He boldly declared that Jesus had been crucified—and that God had raised Him from the dead.
“It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”
The resurrection was not just an event—it was a victory.
Come and See. Go and Tell.
Jesus invites His followers into two movements:
Come and see.
Go and tell.
The disciples were witnesses. They didn’t speak about what they didn’t know—they testified to what they had experienced.
That same pattern remains.
Faith is not about having all the answers. It is about bearing witness to what God has done.
Faith Without Sight
The message of the resurrection spread even after Jesus was no longer physically present.
This created a tension: how could people believe without seeing?
The answer is found in testimony.
The disciples testified.
The Scriptures testified.
And the Holy Spirit continues to testify.
15One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Deuteronomy 19:15
For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.
1 John 5:7–10
The resurrection is not proven by human standards—it is revealed through the witness of God Himself.
And that witness is still active today.
The Resurrection Was Always the Plan
Peter didn’t point people to himself.
He pointed them to Scripture.
8I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:8–11
Long before the resurrection, God had already spoken through David about the One who would not see decay.
The resurrection of Jesus was not an interruption in history—it was the fulfillment of God’s plan.
This reminds us that faith is not rooted in human voices, but in the faithfulness of God.
A Living Hope
The resurrection is not just something that happened—it is something that is still happening.
Through Jesus, there is a living hope.
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:3–9
Even without seeing Him, there is joy. Even without physical proof, there is confidence. Even in trials, there is hope.
This is the kind of faith that sustains.
Walking by Faith, Not by Sight
Belief without sight is not a weakness—it is a greater faith.
For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
The early Christians believed without seeing. And in that belief, they experienced deep, unshakable joy.
The same invitation is extended today.
Glad Hearts and Bold Faith
The first Christians didn’t have everything figured out.
But they had something powerful:
Glad hearts.
Bold faith.
They trusted what God had done.
They relied on the Holy Spirit.
They stepped out in courage.
And because of that, the world was changed.
The same Spirit is still moving.
The same resurrection power is still at work.
The same call remains:
Believe.
Step out.
Be a witness.
