Bible Study: Intro to Acts

This summer, June-August 2017, we are reading and studying the Acts of the Apostles, 2 chapters each week. This book is often regarded as the “history” book of the New Testament, as it details the work and struggles of the newborn church, discovering what it means to follow Jesus after the resurrection and ascension. However, I caution you not to read it primarily as an historical account. Scripture shows us what God is like by recounting stories and theology of how God has been noticed in the world, so that we might recognize God acting similarly in our lives. In this way, scripture witnesses to God in the world, that we might also we witnesses; its chief aim is not to record past events, but to witness. We need to give Acts the latitude NOT to be completely historically accurate, as we do for most of scripture, but to discover through these stories the one true God to whom they point.

Commonly regarded as the “second half” of the Gospel of Luke (due to similarities in language, style, and theme), the shape of Acts broadens as the story progresses, covering cultures, geography, and theology that are not present in the gospels. The main characters are the apostles (those who are sent out /apostolois/ in Greek), many of whom were disciples (those who learn, /mathetas/) in the gospels. Some of the characters we recognize: eleven of the Twelve, notably Peter, John, and Philip; Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Annas and Caiaphas. They are joined by others whose names we know: Stephen, Lydia, Saul/Paul, and Barnabus. In Acts the stories of Jesus move from Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8), encompassing Jews who come to believe in Jesus, as well as Gentiles who convert based on the witness of the apostles.

Acts is comprised of many stories and 28 speeches, most of which are a retelling of the biblical story from Abraham to Jesus. These first apostles are faithful Jews who are finding fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel in the crucified and resurrected Jesus. They retell the stories to convince Jewish leaders that they are valid, and to introduce Gentiles to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who is now made known in Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is the main character in Acts; sometimes this is referred to as “The Gospel of the Holy Spirit”. She will direct the words, responses, and movement of the apostles through danger, persecution, death, even shipwreck.

Read the chapters with three questions in mind:
1. What is God doing?
2. What are the people doing?
3. What do we learn about being Church?


Thanks for joining us on this journey through Acts!


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