Acts and the gospel of luke make up a twopart work, lukeacts, by the. The new testament consists of 1 the historical books, viz. The book of acts is the only historical record of the birth and early days following christs establishing his church. Acts 3 new international version niv peter heals a lame beggar. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. Jan 02, 2011 the book of acts sunday school lesson series january 2, 2011 by kelly henderson take your students on a journey through the book of acts where they will learn lessons from the early church after jesus ascended to heaven and believers received the gift of the holy spirit.
The following outline is intended to be used while studying the book. Since the text and audio content provided by blb represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not. An overview of the book of acts, which provides an introduction to the apostles and gives a brief summary of the leaders, peter and paul, as well as the other apostles. The book will therefore have been written only after the end of this time. The gospel of luke and the book of acts form a single, twovolume work. This is the story of christianitys beginnings and how evangelism played. Acts is a fastmoving historical account of the first three decades of the church. Acts was written in greek, presumably by the evangelist luke, whose gospel concludes where acts begins, namely, with christs ascension into heaven. As such, it provides us with a valuable account of how. 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. 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. The title of the book of acts comes from the greek word praxis, a word often used in early christian literature to describe the great deeds of the apostles or other significant believers. May 02, 2020 the book of acts shows how god essentially took a group of fisherman and commoners and used them to turn the world upside down acts 17.
Audio and manuscripts are available for each lesson. Theme verse of acts but you will receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you. The book of acts gives the history of the christian church and the. While there are some areas of great detail of the acts of the apostles, many times you must use cross references to the gospels of matthew, mark, luke and john as well as some other epistles in the new.
Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons. T he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. The beginning of acts also addresses the command for the apostles to wait into jerusalem to be sent out by the holy spirit. God took a christianhating murderer and transformed him into historys greatest christian evangelist, the author of almost half the books of the new testament. He focuses on the important initial events and those that give meaning to the epistles.
Watch our overview video on the book of acts, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The five books of moses were collectively called the pentateuch, a word of greek origin meaning the fivefold book. Nov 16, 2015 in the very beginning of acts luke writes in the first book, o theophilus, i have dealt with all that jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of. Nov 08, 2012 an overview of the book of acts, which provides an introduction to the apostles and gives a brief summary of the leaders, peter and paul, as well as the other apostles. Bible q what does the name of each book of the bible mean. Learn more about its significance in the new testament. In acts, jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry. Understanding the book of acts in the bible learn religions. The acts of the apostles is a unique and therefore crucial book of the new testament. The division of the bible into chapters and verses is altogether of human invention, designed to facilitate reference to it. Several questions can be answered from the first 2 verses.
It will help to keep the whole of the book before you as you work your way through each section. It alone presents an extensive picture of early church life and history. While there are some areas of great detail of the acts of the apostles, many times you must use cross references to the gospels of matthew, mark, luke and john as well as some other epistles in the new testament to get the full picture of what was. Acts is written as an overview of the early churches and missions of the apostles the book is often called the acts of the apostles. This versebyverse bible study and commentary of the acts of the apostles the book of acts or simply acts is indepth but uses plain language that everyone can understand, as well as a format that will engage you. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international. 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.
Acts 3 niv peter heals a lame beggar one day bible. Book of acts synonyms, book of acts pronunciation, book of acts translation, english dictionary definition of book of acts. The book of the acts of the apostles forms the fifth, and last, of the historical books of the new testament. The book of acts an overview bible study resources. Acts definition is a book in the new testament narrating the beginnings of the christian church called also acts of the apostles. Jul 16, 20 acts is the second book from luke, who also wrote the gospel that shares his name. Book of acts definition of book of acts by the free dictionary. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. Acts or lukeacts is intended as a work of edification, meaning the. 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. The life of the early church is recorded and preserved for us in the book of acts and the epistles.
Pauls epistles, as many circumstances in them are referred to by the narrative contained. Acts was apparently written in rome, perhaps between ad 70 and 90, though some think a slightly earlier date is also. Acts 28, macarthur new testament commentary by john macarthur. From the empowering by the holy spirit in chapter 2, the early church made a great impact on all it encountered, the apostles peter and john playing a major role in this early work. Here is a summary and overview of the book of acts.
Acts 1 new international version niv jesus taken up into heaven. This 71 part expository study of acts was preached at flagstaff christian fellowship in 20002002. The genre of the book of acts is narrative history with several sermons. Without this historical record, little would be known about the expansion of the church. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at jerusalem. The book of acts gives us a history of the work of the early church and the holy spirit, within the theatre of the known world. And on this account it has been generally placed at the end of the four gospels. 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. Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension.
The book of acts describes how the church spread after jesus ascended to heaven. 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. In the book of acts, we discover how gods multiethnic, international church grew through persecution and missionary journeys throughout the world. Click here to browse more of our free sunday school lessons. 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.
Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. In acts, he told how the good news about jesus christ spread. The blue letter bible ministry and the blb institute hold to the historical, conservative christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of scripture. For permission to reproducedistribute these resources from steve cole including the word document and audio files found on the individual lesson pages below please see bible. American heritage dictionary of the english language, fifth edition. Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy english. From the empowering by the holy spirit in chapter 2, the early church made a great impact on all it encountered, the apostles peter and john playing a.
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. It is probable that the division of the torah into five books proceeded from the greek translators of the old testament. The beautiful, amazing, powerful, weak, dysfunctional church a chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 6 acts 1 50 days 1. The acts of the apostles, abbreviation acts, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. 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. This book has a greek name meaning second law because the book contains a repetition of the law recorded in leviticus. In this passage, luke is restating the great commission challenge jesus gave in luke 24. Our story starts off where the gospel of luke left offjesus is back now that hes resurrected, jesus decides to hang out and chat with his disciples whom luke calls apostles for forty days.
Acts of the apostles definition and meaning bible dictionary. Acts is the second book from luke, who also wrote the gospel that shares his name. Oct 04, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of acts, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Stay connected amidst social distancing receive weekly bible studies to share with family and friends. The importance of the book of acts the importance of this second of lukes twovolume work can. Author although the author does not name himself, evidence outside the scriptures and inferences from the book itself lead to the conclusion that the. It contains properly no account of any of the apostles except peter and paul. Like all our content, this curriculum is 100% free to use in your church, home, or school. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of the document. Secondly luke at the end of acts luke mentions pauls twoyear imprisonment in rome.
As christians living in the 21st century, and familiar with the many and varied forms of communication that bombard us daily, we are all too familiar with the concept of the sequel. First of all luke mentions the fact that acts is the sequel to the gospel of luke written around 5560 ad, and therefore must have been written later. It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of the apostles through the work of the holy spirit. Here is a bible study, commentary, and summary of acts chapter two. It was early called the acts, the gospel of the holy ghost, and the gospel of the resurrection. Copyright 2016 by houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company. They are a good way to understand the main message of a bible book before you read it for yourself. 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. Luke, the author of the gospel of luke, was a doctor and gentile.
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