The book of acts is the first history of the christian church. A young man named eutychus, who was sitting in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep while paul continued to speak for a long time. Luke had written to him before and had told him about the things that jesus did and taught. Acts facts the spread of christianity the six parts of. The book of acts tells the story of both the glorious and tumultuous early years of the church. Purposes of the book of acts in my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach v. It will help to keep the whole of the book before you as you work your way through each section. The book of acts as story in the previous post i briefly discussed the problem of luke as real history. The book of the acts new international commentary on the new. Questions are broken down by chapter and verse and asked in a multiplechoice format. Purposes of the book of acts reformed bible studies. It is because the book of acts is a continuing story. But stephen reminded the jews that god was bigger than any temple. Jan 02, 2020 the emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission.
It opens with a greeting to theophilus, who was also the intended recipient of lukes gospel. The acts of the apostles, abbreviation acts, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. The key personalities of acts are peter, paul, john, james, stephen, barnabas, timothy, lydia, silas, and apollos. An overview of the book of acts the life of the early church is recorded and preserved for us in the book of acts and the epistles. When we read the book of acts, it seems obvious luke intended to write some sort of history of the expansion of the early church from a small messianic sect of judaism in galilee and judea to an empirewide religion which included both jews and. Luke was forced to select from a wide range of events those which fit his over all agenda and adapt what he did choose to fit the format of a short book. It is our story, the story that informs who christians are. Acts 1, new international version niv the bible app. For example, when you watch a movie which is a story in a different form, all along you are anticipating what is going to happen next. Acts ends abruptly with paul imprisoned in rome, waiting to bring his appeal before caesar. Understanding the book of acts in the bible thoughtco. Specific questions about the readings in the book of acts can be found in the attached study new testament acts study. It is an important book in understanding how we can be directed by the holy spirit and the role of jesus lessons in our lives. This year, our childrens ministry began using a new curriculum discipleland.
Here ends our study of all the places mentioned in the book of acts. May, 2011 the acts of the apostles, which is a sequel to lukes gospel, is an actionpacked thriller, to borrow from todays vernacular. Acts 1 niv bible in my former book, theophilus, i wrote. Luke wrote the book of acts acts of the apostles to record how believers were empowered by the holy spirit, worked to spread the gospel of christ, and are a model for the future church. It tells of cities and dates and people that were affected by the gospel. The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. The idea of this study is to read acts like a story. Sir william ramsay, after making a critical study of lukes writings, declared that luke was the greatest historian, ancient or modern. The acts of the apostles, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. The acts of the apostles, the second volume of lukes twovolume work, continues lukes presentation of biblical history, describing how the salvation promised to israel in the old testament and accomplished by jesus has now under the guidance of the holy spirit been extended to the gentiles. According to the fifth book of the bibles new testament, the acts. Chapterbychapter bible studies acts kathleendalton.
The following are the five that i have found to be the most helpful. Top 5 commentaries on the book of acts ligonier ministries. This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of acts. A second purpose in writing acts was to give a written defense of christianity. Reading stories is something were all very good at. The acts is an historical book, but it is not mere history.
Stephen said some words from the book by the prophet isaiah isaiah 66. Authorship of actsluke is the author of the book acts. With that in mind, the book of acts was written in a. Its hard to imagine reading the acts of the apostles and not coming away with a sense of enthusiasm and eagerness to proclaim the good news. No course of missions should neglect a careful study of the book of acts. In writing the book of acts, luke traces the expansion of the christian movement from its earliest beginnings to the time when it reached worldwide proportions. Can you give me some wellknown stories from the acts of the. Luke acts makes up 28% of the new testamentmore than that written by either paul or john. As such, it provides us with a valuable account of how the church was able to grow and spread out from jerusalem into the rest of the roman empire. A chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 6 acts 1 50 days 1. A bible study lesson series about the beginning of christianity as revealed in the book of the acts of the apostles. Acts niv jesus taken up into heaven in my bible gateway. It traces the first decades in the history of the church after the resurrection of christ, focusing in particular on the work of peter and paul.
The offering sent by barnabas and saul to the jerusalem elders. Acts of the apostles theological point of view shmoop. No other book of the bible gives us more apostolic instruction regarding both the theology and practice of missions. The purpose of the book of acts is governed by the jews response to peter and paul. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In volume ii acts he told the story of the words and works of christ that were done through his apostles. He told them how saul on his journey had seen the lord and that the lord had spoken to him, and how in damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of jesus. The book of acts is the second book written for theophilus by luke, and takes up the story where lukes gospel account finished luke 1. The acts of the apostles is the seventh chapter in the great story of the bible. There are a number of good commentaries on the book of acts. Religious, cultural, and educational uses of the bible presented by ph.
Acts is the link between the gospels and the epistles the gospels tell the story of jesuss ministry, death, and resurrection. Aug 31, 2015 this story ends a series of three trials before the sanhedrin chronicled in acts 47, with escalating results warning, flogging, and death in this case. Luke was keenly aware of the way in which christianity was being attacked by enemies of the movement, and he wanted to present the story of its development in a most favorable light. Luke is uniformly identified as the author acts by the second century a. Standing between the gospels and the epistles, the book of acts is a bridge between the life of jesus and the ministry of the apostle paul. It alone presents an extensive picture of early church life and history.
Acts plays a pivotal role as the linchpin between those two elements. In this book we see the first mention of the dispensation of the holy spirit and jesus command to take his gospel to all the world. Fast asleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. Book of acts versebyverse bible study and indepth commentary of the acts of the apostles in plain english for everyone to understand. Acts 19 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on the. The main issues revolve around whether he is a man perhaps a greek official for whom lukeacts is an apologetic for the gospel or a kind of generic everyman since the name means lover of god. I threw them in as a way to give more context to the other characters. Can you give me some wellknown stories from the acts of. This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title. 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. The book of acts bible study christianity oasis ministry has provided you with the book of acts bible study on the book of acts bible study events. Acts 1 new international version niv jesus taken up into heaven. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries.
Luke is the writer, as he states in his introduction v. Some characters arent that important to the story, but are included anyway like timothy and philip. The gnome in your home a tradition of kindness tells the tale of a group of gnomes who, due to their small size and lack of magical skills, question if they can make a difference. Apr 19, 2011 the book of acts in 3 minutes thechurchatbrookhills org. This the book of acts bible study on the book of acts bible study verses looks at the book of acts bible study stories and asks what is the book of acts bible study about, who is in the book of acts bible study stories, why is the book of acts.
It is filled with all the drama, thrills, adventure and. Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy english. When you look at the book of acts and the story that it portrays, it is important to not discredit it for the history that it does bring, especially of the early church. The acts of the apostles is a unique and therefore crucial book of the new testament. Bible study quiz questions set 2 acts facts book of acts. Saint stephen is a recognized saint in many christian theologies, and is considered to be the first christian martyr.
For that and other reasons, he concludes, the book of acts was intended to. Acts records the apostles being christs witnesses in jerusalem, judea, samaria, and the surrounding world. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. An immense amount of apostolic service is left unrecorded, and mention is made of just a few incidents which serve to show the way the spirit of god operated in bearing witness to the risen and exalted jesus, and in conducting the disciples into the fulness of christian blessing.
The book of acts is the record of that commission beingcarried out. It breaks off with paul in his own hired house in rome. Acts was written in greek, presumably by the evangelist luke, whose gospel concludes where acts begins, namely, with christs ascension into heaven. List of free bible stories from acts in simple english that you can download right now. Some have concluded that theophilus was the magistrate who heard pauls case in rome and that acts and luke was a legal brief in pauls defense isbe, theophilus 3. The following outline is intended to be used while studying the book. Christ had just risen from the dead, ascended into heaven, and given the apostles the great commission. Stories from the book of acts easyenglish bible with free. The book begins with the ascension of jesus and goes on through pauls jail time in rome, which opens his ministry to the church at rome. The temple in this book called acts was the third temple. It is worth noting that in this history of the early christian church, luke. The book of acts sheds light on the gift of the holy spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our counselor. A better title for this book is the acts of the holy spirit and because of this the book of acts is an unfinished book.
David spoke about judas concerning his betrayal in the book of psalms. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. Acts 19 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. The book of acts has been called the new testament charter for missions. Although the author does not name himself, evidence outside the scriptures and inferences from the book itself lead to the conclusion that the author. Mikeal parsons notes in reading acts as a sequel to the fourfold gospel p. Although the author does not name himself, evidence outside the scriptures and inferences from the book itself lead to the conclusion that the author was luke. It traces christianity from its beginnings in jerusalem, following jesus resurrection, to the arrest of the apostle paul in rome, the heart of the empire. In only three decades, a small group of frightened believers in jerusalem transformed. 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. The book of acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of jesus christ. The letters or epistles after acts tells us of the supreme care and guidance that god has for his people then, now, and in the future. Bible study tips for the book of acts unlocking the bible. Here is a summary and overview of the book of acts.
Jesus knew from the begging that he was going to be betray by judas jesus said it was better for him judas not to be born. A third purpose in the writing of acts was to provide stability to the new faith. Its narrative supplies a bridge connecting the life and ministry of jesus to the life of the church and the witness of the earliest believers. In this passage, luke is restating the great commission challenge jesus gave in luke 24. A eunuch was on his way home from jerusalem when philip taught and baptized him.
Bob is a pastorteacher and elder at community bible chapel in richardson, texas, and has contributed many of his bible study series for use by the foundation. Book of acts bible study book of acts bible study stories. Stories from the book of acts easyenglish bible with. Summary 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 c. Acts summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of acts for bible study or sunday school lessons. This seminarylevel study also retains its depth and uses an engaging interactive format. The book of acts, sometimes called the fifth gospel, is a continuation of the gospel of luke.
This lesson was first prepared for a 4 th grade sunday school class ages 1011, but you can easily adapt it for younger students or childrens church. The acts of the apostles, which is a sequel to lukes gospel, is an actionpacked thriller, to borrow from todays vernacular. Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension. The book of acts tells us of some of the acts of some of the apostles, but more so it tells us history.
Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy. It tells how the followers of jesus carried on after his ascension. Since the book of acts is the continuation of the gospel account of all jesus began to do and teach, it catalogs what jesus continued to do and teach through the holy spirit. Bradd words in boldboldbold and underlined are the answers to the blanks on the acts study guides acts 1 the book of acts was written by luke to a man named theophilus. I used the analogy on a film based on historical events. Several questions can be answered from the first 2 verses. This is the story of christianitys beginnings and how evangelism played. Acts continues the story of christianity in the 1st century, beginning with jesuss ascension to heaven. I believed judas was predestined to betray jesus as in acts 1. Its the story of the early church, early missionary work, and the initial move of the holy spirit. Book of acts read, study bible verses online bible study tools. Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons. Bobdeffinbaugh graduated from dallas theological seminary with his th. The book of acts sheds light on the gift of the holy spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as.
This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of acts. Study 1 going through the book of acts words of life. The book of acts comes at a special time in the bible story and there are some unique things to watch out for as you read. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. Luke wrote his gospel and also the book of acts compare luke 1. At a certain point, the timeline would get cluttered. Neither the third gospel nor the acts provide an explicit statement of authorship, but the testimony of the early.
The book of acts is the story of the expansion and growth of gods kingdom through the faithful witness of the apostles who were empowered by the indwelling presence of the holy spirit. The book of acts in 3 minutes thechurchatbrookhills org youtube. New heart english bible a certain young man named eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. Book of acts bible study for childrens sunday school.
To continue the story begun in the gospel of luke ac 1. The book of acts records the beginning of the history of new testament missions. He was also the author of its companion work, the gospel of luke. The epistles are letters written to various firstcentury churches and individuals. Summary and overview t he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. The acts of the apostles was written by a physician named lucian in english luke. The story of the book of acts clayton baptist church. The remainder of the book is devoted to the lord jesus christ at work by the holy spirit through the apostles unto the uttermost part of the earth. The spread of christianity the six parts of the book of acts. Acts of the apostles, the second part of the work that begins with the gospel according to luke, is the story of the early church after jesuss.