May, 2011 some of the most wellknown and inspiring stories in the acts of the apostles include the following. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. Ppt only, background information for acts and epistles. Written by luke as the sequel to his gospel, acts records key events in the history of the work of the early christian church to spread the gospel throughout the mediterranean world. Six times the holy spirit is said to be the one who speaks the truth of god. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. The acts of the apostles from the holy bible king james version kjv authorisedauthorized version book 44 please note we have slowed the speed of the original by 3%, so this speed and.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the lord come. He was a good man, full of the holy spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the lord. Holy spirit is the cornerstone of the acts of the apostles, attributed to the apostle luke. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament. The author of acts was luke, who also wrote the gospel of luke. 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. He attributed jesuss success in ministryparticularly in training the apostles and performing healingsto the work of the spirit 1. 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. Theme verse of acts but you will receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you. Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons.
The book focuses primarily on the acts of two apostles, peter and paul. Who is the author of the book of acts in the holy bible. According to lee, the book of acts refers to the formative history of the early church, while establishing luke as a charismatic theologian who demonstrates that baptism in the holy spirit is an experience of empowering to facilitate the mission of the church. This title accurately reflects the contents of the book, which is a series of vignettes chronicling the lives of key apostles especially peter and paul in. Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the holy ghost by the mouth of david spake before concerning judas, which was guide to them that took jesus. 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 holy spirit in the book of acts essay 1715 words. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. 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.
Thus the earthly work of christ serves as a model of ministry led and empowered by the holy. Jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry the good news of his kingdom to the nations of the world. This book is titled the acts of the apostles, or more literally acts of apostles. The holy spirit functions as the revealer of gods truth and will. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed. The churchs success is vitally tied to its relationship with the spirit. 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. Of the about seventy occurrences of the word pneuma in acts, fifty five refer to the holy spirit. 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. Some of the references are to the authorship of the passages cited in acts from the old testament, the statements being the holy spirit.
With this additional short summary of the book of acts you can discover the people, places and stories detailed in this holy scripture. And he opened the book and found the place where it was written, the spirit of the lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of the apostles through the work of the holy. A muchneeded resource for bible students, this book contrasts the pagan holidays of nominal christianity with the godordained holy days of the bible. Acts 2 niv the holy spirit comes at pentecost bible gateway the holy spirit comes at pentecost when the day of pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Acts is the fifth book of the new testament and the fortyfourth book of bible. The book of acts in the new testament of the bible is also called acts of the apostles. Kjv the book of acts is the historical link between the biographical records of matthew. In acts, jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry the good news of his kingdom to the nations of the world. Since my earliest days in christ i have been fascinated by the holy spirit. It contains the acts jesus carried out after his ascension, through the holy spirit, in establishing the church. In the many bibles that i have read and worn out, i have marked with a red pen countless references to the holy spirit in both the old and new testaments. Mar 20, 2017 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.
After jesus went up to heaven, they waited in jerusalem. Many such as peter and paul are sent by god and begin starting many. The writer of acts portrayed the holy spirit as the source of spiritual power 1. It shows us what can be accomplished as we stand in christ. The genre of the book of acts is narrative history with several sermons.
By comparison to other portions of the new testament the special significance of the holy spirit in the book of acts can be demonstrated. He through the holy ghost gives commandments to his apostles whom he had chosen, acts 1. Acts is a fastmoving historical account of the first three decades of the church. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout judea and samaria. Acts 2 niv the holy spirit comes at pentecost bible. Healing in the book of acts and the epistles exceedingfaith. Why is the book of acts called the acts of the holy ghost.
Luke was one of the followers of the apostles and was closed to paul. The combined sixtyeight chapters of the synoptic gospels contain only thirtyfour references to the holy spirit. And the book of the prophet isaiah was handed to him. The books of acts shows that healing continued after jesus through the apostles. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international. 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. This will help you place yourself in the shoes or sandals of the apostles and understand the kindness of god in the gospel being for all people. Jesus taken up into heaven in my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the holy spirit to the apostles he had chosen. The holy spirit in the book of acts preaching source. Work of the holy spirit stories 220255 part of the series. The book of acts kjv audio holy bible high quality and.
King james version when jesus left his disciples, the holy spirit came to remain with them. This would cause us to believe that we all have faith in degrees. 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 1, new international version niv the bible app. The title now given to the fifth and last of the historical books of the new testament. I have used this dvd with elementary age children, skipping the trial and crucifixion of jesus, and going on to the closing of the gospel of matthew. The book of acts demonstrates that the holy spirit leads and empowers the church for growth and service. Acts 1, new american standard bible nasb the bible app.
The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. And it proposes to show the continuation of all that jesus began both to do and teach 1. The book of acts functions like a roadmap for the progress of the gospel. This is the holy book of acts, known as the acts of the apostles. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. Acts is the second book from luke, who also wrote the gospel that shares his name. The book of acts sheds light on the gift of the holy spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as. Therefore, after jesus ascension into heaven, he communicates to his twelve leaders, but via the holy ghost. Commentary on the book of acts of the apostles by matthew. Luke, the author of the gospel of luke, was a doctor and gentile. God never intended healing to stop, but provided it through the church. The same theophilus is addressed, and in the first chapter the story is resumed just at the point where the gospel left off, save that a few extra details are given of the lords words after his resurrection, and the account of his ascension is repeated in a somewhat different setting.
Resource scripture quotations are from the holy bible, king james version. This article shows that these references are integral elements in the narrative of acts, presenting the holy spirit as an active character or participant in the events it reports. The book of acts was likely written between ad 61 and 64. Two terms are especially associated with this activity. The holy spirit plays a key role in the acts of the apostles, leading to the use of the titles book of the holy spirit or the acts of the holy spirit for that book of the new testament. It is the story of how god uses weak human vessels to implement his eternal purposes. Although many would suggest other titles, this one has merit because. Acts 3 niv peter heals a lame beggar one day bible. Jul 16, 20 acts is the second book from luke, who also wrote the gospel that shares his name. It opens with a greeting to theophilus, who was also the intended recipient of lukes gospel. The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible. The holy spirit speaks, leads, and guides in the book of acts. Acts records the apostles being christs witnesses in jerusalem, judea, samaria, and the surrounding world. Acts 1 new international version niv jesus taken up into heaven.
It is written by luke as a sequel to the gospel of luke, picking up exactly where luke left off. Acts 3 new international version niv peter heals a lame beggar. Acts emphasizes that the church is guided continually by the holy spirit. Acts from the holy bibles new testamentbook of history. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house. The book of acts can be described as, the acts of jesus christ by his holy spirit through his church. The esv study bible includes maps on many of the pages in the book of acts that help illustrate the various places mentioned in acts and routes taken by the apostles as they proclaim the gospel. There are sections in acts where the storytelling switches to we did this or that acts 16. The acts of the apostles church leadership resources. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament.
Acts 1 niv jesus taken up into heaven in my bible gateway. By its opening words the acts of the apostles is linked in the clearest way with the gospel of luke. In the american standard version of acts there are fiftysix references to the holy spirit. Visual bible acts of the apostles holy bible word for word from the niv version is great to use with youth groups. It is not a complete history of the early church or the apostles but rather a book that selectively gives the history of early christianity from jesus ascension through two years of pauls roman imprisonment. T he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. Teen age boys view it and often start reading the bible on a regular basis. Wenk argues that the point of the story about philip and the ethiopian eunuch is to demonstrate how the cultically unclean cf. The book of acts was written to provide a history of the early church.
The holy bible in its original order a faithful version. The holy spirit as an active character in the book. This summary of the book of acts will help with many different forms of bible study. The coming of the holy spirit on pentecost acts 2 a miracle performed by peter and john acts 3 the martyrdom of stephen acts 7 the conversion of saulpaul acts 9 peter raises tabitha from the dead acts 9. The holy bible book 44 acts kjv dramatized audio duration. Timeline of the book of acts dates reference events books written historical events roman emperors c. This is the story of christianitys beginnings and how evangelism played. In this passage, luke is restating the great commission challenge jesus gave in luke 24. Bible study tips for the book of acts unlocking the bible. A bible study lesson series about the beginning of christianity as revealed in the book of the acts of the apostles.