From Forward Day by Day
Acts 2:41 So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
It seems impossible at first. How could 3,000 people be baptized? It must be an exaggeration. That cannot be! Or maybe it can. Even in our time, in some parts of the world, there are regular occasions with hundreds and hundreds baptized. In my world though, where most congregations baptize only a few people a year, these numbers seem impossible. Consider though, that Peter was speaking persuasively to a large crowd, people hungry for hope and meaning. They responded to his excellent preaching.
In the United States, the church have grown complacent with slow, steady decline. At least that’s the pattern across this nation. But it doesn’t have to be this way. All around us are people yearning for a word of hope. They aren’t looking for a church, but they may well be looking for Jesus. Can we share the awesome news that he is alive? Can we tell people that death no longer has dominion over us, that we do not need to be afraid?
