Our lord ascended into heaven in acts 1 and as we have seen, after the gospels, the rest of the new testament is written to christians. The bible is the greatest book of instruction known to humanity. How we connect with peter and paul as well as all their compatriots can help us discern how we might be followers of the way in the twenty. But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes to you and you will be my witness in jerusalem and all judea and sumeria, and to the ends of the earth. After bock, the two commentaries i followed most carefully were the ones by i. Just as his gospel opens with a dedication to theophilus, so also does acts. It is written in laymans language and is very readable as well as giving an accurate biblical account of this time in the history of the christian church. Acts of the apostles 5, common english bible ceb the. Includes lessons about the kingdom of christ, church organization and worship, examples of conversion, the nature and purpose of miracles, and the work of the holy spirit. This time, i would like to approach this matter from a slightly different perspective. It opens with a greeting to theophilus, who was also the intended recipient of lukes gospel.
Acts 1 msg to the ends of the world dear bible gateway. His acts commentary is also helpful, especially for those who know greek, though i found the length and lay out of the book cumbersome. When people react to gospel preaching, they are either glad or mad. Lukes sequel to his gospel, taking up the story where he left off in the book of luke. Think of your discussion as more of a book club than a bible study. The first mention of gods feasts in the book of acts is found in acts 2. This is the third in a series of three smallgroup bible study discussion guides luke 19, luke 1024 and selected portions of acts which explore the meaning of witness. Three times in the book of acts it is reported, the first time in the third. The beautiful, amazing, powerful, weak, dysfunctional church a chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 6 acts 1 50 days 1. Acts bible study the book of acts bible study lifeway. Lukes gospel and the acts of the apostles are key to the description of the history. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1.
Now the rest of the acts of jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of jehu the son of hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of israel. Acts of the apostles simple english wikipedia, the free. Outline of the book with questions for each section. Sssh the book of acts misunderstood, maligned, mistreated, and often reviled, paul nevertheless pressed on in faith. Conversations with scripture acts of the apostles anglican. It is often simply called acts acts tells the story of the early christian church, with particular interest for the ministry of the twelve apostles and of paul of tarsus. The book of acts is often seen as a continuation of lukes gospel report.
If he did, the book is a sequel to the gospel of luke. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. The message of acts bible speaks today, by john stott, is an excellent commentary on the book of acts. Bible class books old and new testament the church of. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. If one genuinely wants to know what to do to be saved, he can read the book of acts and find the biblical answer. In the book of acts well, you know the the the teamwork thing that you just mentioned. One find the verse round worth 30 points two general question multiple choice rounds worth 75 points each. This particular book of journal entries begins shortly after the resurrection of jesus christ and ends with the apostle pauls first imprisonment in rome. When the day of pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. The gospel bearing lukes name focuses on the life and ministry of jesus. The conversation is part of the yale bible study series presented in cooperation with the congregational church of new canaan in new canaan, ct. Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy english.
Baptism in the book of acts and throughout the new testament is always practiced by adults who have. I think there are no there are no individual heroes in the kingdom of god, according to acts, you know everyone everyone builds on each other you know and and and thats one thing. Indeed, god would reveal his sovereignty by using saul to further the gospel, first. Vocabulary and style are very similar in the two books.
A devout hellenistic jew, of the tribe of benjamin, born in tarsus of cilicia, saul was a member of the pharisees and was taught by none other than gamaliel, whom we have already met acts 5. This is session 1 of 8 videos for the book of acts. As lukes sequel, the acts of the apostles serves as an ideal bridge between the four gospels and the epistles, revealing a crucial part of the christian story. Howard marshall ivp 1980 in the tyndale series and david petersons contribution eerdmans 2009 to the pillar series. Acts concerns the very vital period in christian history between the resurrection of jesus and the death of the apostle paul, the time when christian ideas and beliefs were. In the latter portion of acts, luke recorded three rejections of the jews to pauls overtures of salvation. With scripture reading, inspirational readings, questions to answer, space for journaling, and a prayer, its like studying the bible with max lucado. Acts begins where the gospel of luke ended and continues the story of what happened to jesus followers and the movement that became christianity. Watch our overview video on the book of acts, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. One in a series of books comparable to cliffs notes.
The book of acts, which continues the narrative that luke began in his gospel. Then those who feared the lord spoke to one another, and the lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the lord and who esteem his name. Luke recorded three rejections by the jews to peter and the apostles associated with him to the message of repentance and proclamation of the kingdom. On the great day of pentecost, jews from throughout the grecoroman world traveled to jerusalem to worship god acts 2. All that we know about the prophet agabus comes from two short passages in the bible. Someone who has seen something and is able to talk about it. Reflecting on the previous week 3060 minutes from your personal bible experience in luke this week, have a conversation with your group about what you read by answering the following questions. Several questions can be answered from the first 2 verses. Thus, examples of conversions into the kingdom of god, into the church take place in the book of acts only. Discipleship ministries book of acts sermon starters. A bible study lesson series about the beginning of christianity as revealed in the book of the acts of the apostles. Although this study will focus on the conversion of saul of tarsus paul, let us first consider eight examples of conversions found in the book of acts. The book of acts, also called acts of the apostles, does not specifically identify its author.
The number of disciples in jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith. Acts and the gospel of luke make up a twopart work, lukeacts, by the. Later his work came to be known as the acts of the apostles, an official church history included in the bible. A prophet was one who received direct messages from god and communicated them to the people.
In this passage, luke is restating the great commission challenge jesus gave in luke 24. The bible prophesied that jesus christ, the son of god, would come to our earth. Twelve lessons explore how the same men who doubted in galilee, argued in capernaum, and ran for their lives in gethsemane are transformed by the resurrected king in the book of acts. The book of acts is not only a book of history, but also a book of conversions. The story of paul bible story kids on the move duration. One is simply to strengthen believers as witnesses to the work and life of jesus, both in history and in their lives. The acts of the apostles greek praxeis apostolon is a book of the bible, which now is the fifth in the new testament.
The angel told them, 20 go, take your place in the temple, and tell the people everything about this new life. The purpose of the book of acts is governed by the jews response to peter and paul. According to church tradition, luke wrote the book of acts. The acts of the apostles often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons.
Model for todays church is a session bible study that will connect. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that luke, a companion of the apostle paul, wrote the books of luke and acts colossians 4. The book of acts, which continues the narrative that luke began in his gospel, is especially important because it was the first written history of the christian church. Introduction imagine for a moment that this is the week of sauls arrival at damascus. The early chapters in jerusalem, report jesuss resurrection, his ascension, the day of pentecost, and. Kjv the book of acts is the historical link between the biographical records of matthew. Some of you will recognize that i have written on the book of acts before. They are talking about the great things that god has done.