Here is a summary and overview of the book of acts. Really, very little is written about the apostles in acts. Before beginning the heart of his lesson, what did peter have to explain first. The gospel is preached from jerusalem to all judea chapters 17 the gospel is preached in samaria chapter 8 the gospel is preached to the gentiles chapters 912 the gospel is preached to the ends of the earth chapters 28. Jesus had shown himself alive by many proofs for 40 days. The book is called acts or the acts of the apostles because it contains an account of some of the apostles. Chapterbychapter bible studies acts kathleendalton. Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons. Luke had written to him before and had told him about the things that jesus did and taught. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries.
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 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. A history of the early church gene taylor2an outline of the book i. God used the acts of apostles as an example of what the church should be. Its the story of the early church, early missionary work, and the initial move of the holy spirit. The book of acts was penned by luke, the physician. Pdf versions of past issue contents, and encourage them to request their free. The waiting period introduction the gospel story has a sequel. One of the earliest manuscripts, the codex sinaiticus, gives as the title the simple word acts, with no mention of the apostles.
The book of acts furnishes a ladder on which to place the epistles. T he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. 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. 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. The book of acts pamphlet is not simply ancient history. Luke records many examples of conversion in the book of acts e.
It is the greatest sequel ever written, the sequel of sequelsthe sequel to. Many people call acts the acts of the apostles, but really, if you want to add to the name acts, perhaps, a better name would be the acts of the early church. 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. In fact, the work is given in detail of only two of the apostles, peter and paul. The following outline is intended to be used while studying the book. The acts of the holy spirit the bible teaching commentary. Provides an overview of acts and two outlines for the book of acts as well as an index for bff acts articles, powerpoints and audiovideo podcasts. It is our story, the story that informs who christians are. The lord jesus christ at work by the holy spirit through the apostles in jerusalem, chapters 17. The book of acts is the only historical record of the birth and early days following christs establishing his church. Ecclesiastical history, eusebius, book 3, chapter 25.
Jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry the good news of his kingdom to the nations of the world. 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. This is, in effect, an outline of the book of acts see page 8 plan and outline. The proper title for this historical book is the supreme problem. A chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 2 acts the beautiful, amazing, powerful, weak, dysfunctional church table of contents scripture passage page 1. Without this historical record, little would be known about the expansion of the church. It will help to keep the whole of the book before you as you work your way through each section.
Acts was intended to be more than a brief history of the service rendered by the twelve. We read of the evangelistic methods and message of the early apostles and preachers 3. The new testament without acts leaves a great, yawning gap. The book of acts is focused on gods mission, as god draws people into his orbit and. The authors primary purpose was to give a detailed account of how men and women were converted to christ and how churches were planted throughout the roman world.
Although the author does not name himself, evidence outside the scriptures and inferences from the book itself lead to the conclusion that the author. It would be an enriching experience to read them together, as acts gives the history of the founding of. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international. Outline studies in the book of the acts of the apostles. Timeline of the book of acts dates reference events books written historical events roman emperors c. The preparation of the leaders of the jerusalem church for the gentile mission 11. The genre of the book of acts is narrative history with several sermons. An overview of the book of acts the life of the early church is. Preparation for the coming of the spirit, chapter 1. The book of acts covers approximately 33 years from the ascension of jesus to the time when paul had been in prison in rome for two years see chart on the chronology of the book of acts. 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. The book of acts is thoroughly missional, steve walton explains in a spirituality of acts p. Before jesus was taken into heaven where he was enthroned to share gods rule over the world, he instructed his followers to be a witness for him.
The acts of the apostles church leadership resources. The book is most commonly called the acts of the apostles, although it is quite probable that, in its original form, it had no title at all. In only three decades, a small group of frightened believers in jerusalem transformed. Bible study lesson sheets these are lessons designed for either a class or personal study. At the end of the gospel of luke jesus says that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at jerusalem. Results page 1 of 3 introduction the key verse to the whole chapter and the rest of the book of acts. While the author of the book of acts does not give us his name, the tradition of the. Acts furnishes a ladder on which to place the epistles. To make the picture abundantly clear, god has given us a hand picked record of the activities of the early church.
The main issues revolve around whether he is a man perhaps a greek official for whom luke acts is an apologetic for the gospel or a kind of generic everyman since the name means lover of god. Also the great missionary commission, which appears in all four gospels, is confirmed in the book of acts. Home acts you are reading detailed outline of the book of acts of the apostles bible blender november 10, 2010 detailed outline of the book of acts of the apostles 20171014t10. The name jesus in ancient hebrew text yeshua in first century hebrew text.
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. As such, it provides us with a valuable account of how the church was able to grow and spread out from. 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. The book of acts is a vital link between the gospels and the epistles. Chapter 2 the book of acts authorship of acts western. It is the greatest sequel ever written, the sequel of sequelsthe sequel to the story of christ see 1. In what ways is the book of acts historically significant. If the book of acts were gone, there would be nothing to replace it howson. For assurance of our own salvation, we can compare our own conversion experience with those in acts. Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension. Luke, the author of the gospel of luke, was a doctor and gentile. Read through the book of acts and find your own favorite. A study of new testament history overview introduction.
Since the first three verses of this chapter give an excellent summary of the points paul had to. 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. Acts of the apostles bible study notes, commentary, and comments. The authorship of acts is ascribed to luke for these reasons. There is no single chapter that does not exhibit gods power and wisdom in operation. If the book was just before or after pauls release, then it was. 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. A bible study lesson series about the beginning of christianity as revealed in the book of the acts of the apostles.
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. You can find study questions to accompany these notes at. Over the centuries it has been called simply acts, or the acts eusebius. In the gospels we have the newly established church of the lord in the epistles we have many firmly grounded churches. It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of the apostles through the work of the holy spirit. Acts is a bridge between the gospels and the epistles.