ACTS CHAPTERS 20-28

MAIN THINGS

Paul goes through some crazy trials and persecutions in these chapters. They all kind of run together in Paul using his testimony then appealing to the prophets to help prove to the people that Jesus is the Son of God. Because of his obedience, he had the opportunity to share with the highest ranking officials of the nations. He almost converted Agrippa and Felix didn’t want to hear anymore because it wasn’t convenient to him. Paul experienced God and journeyed through incredible conditions to see the gospel continue to be proclaimed. Another notable fact is the weightiness of a Roman citizenship. Paul could have appealed to this whenever he wanted to, but held on until the conditions were at their worst.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-How quickly would you have declared your Roman citizenship when things got hard?

-How would you respond if someone fell asleep during your sermon? Eutychus received the worst punishment ever for falling asleep during a sermon.

-The Jews were ridiculous, why do you think Paul wanted to go back there?

-Paul’s life was characterized by hardship, trials, persecution, and even a thorn in the flesh. How do you reconcile his life with the Jer. 29:11 verse that is quoted so often by Christians today? (Plans to prosper you and not to harm you)

-What suffering are you willing to go through for your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
These last chapters were relatively similar, but there is great teaching to be found in Paul's words as he proclaimed Christ through the hardest circumstances. I have been travelling and making the transition to having my parents live with me right now, until they sell their house. This month should be more consistent and a greater chance to dive into a shorter book. We will begin Amos for this month and I hope we will continue to discuss these chapters. I may start emailing more often as well to keep our accountability and discussion alive. Thanks, I love you guys.

ACTS CHAPTER 18 & 19

MAIN THINGS

Paul gets opposed by people who would either be robbed of political/social power or money. The message is rarely disputed in Acts, it is only maligned because of the known value of the alternative. They only appeal to tradition, not to truth. Paul is impressive as he speaks boldly in Corinth, Ephesus, and Macedonia. He cared greatly for the churches and it seems later that this is the greatest struggle for Him as he sits writing his prison epistles.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-In Chapter 19 there is again the “second baptism” of the holy spirit, how do you reconcile this event with today’s Pentecostal view of the second baptism?

-It blows me away that they had to beg Paul not to go into the assembly while the crowd was going nuts. It wouldn’t have taken much persuasion for me. Why do you think they had to beg Paul? How would you respond today if men that had traveled with you were being held on trial?

-The people began to confess sin and bring it before the body of Christ no matter what the cost. What holds you back from confessing sin and allowing the church of God to grow widely and in power?

ACTS CHAPTER 17

MAIN THINGS

In Thessalonica we see a good picture of how far jealousy can drive something, but how much further the mob can push an issue. A crowd speaks in the moment more loudly than any amount of truth. The Bereans represent the way it should be with all of us. If we are people of good character we will search out truth and make our calling and election sure. The mob, hated Paul and his teaching, even enough to travel to Berea to stop him. You see how different cultures received the gospel in this chapter. It is usual that we need to approach the gospel in different ways with different people, but still the straightforward approach is always needed. Paul never dances around the subject, but he does use illustrations and circumstances to help understanding. I want to continue to speak boldly for the name of Christ and most of all help people understand the message and not just for me to speak it. The key is the recipients understanding.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-Put yourself in Jason’s shoes, how would you feel? How would you respond to God?

-How do you respond to new teaching? Do you put it on the shelf and deal with it later or do you research it like the Bereans until you have an answer?

-Do you still see jealousy in our churches today? What is its cause and what is the result of it in our churches today?

-I love Paul’s view of God here. He is not far off, but He created in such a way that men would seek after Him. What else do you learn about God and Jesus in this passage?

-What are the natural human responses to new teaching or new ideas?

COMMENTS

I would love to have you guys comment by clicking at the bottom of each post on the "comments " link. Comment on the chapter or what you are learning to help start discussion on each chapter or just any topic that you would like to discuss. I can also add some of you as administrators if you will email me that you want to do that. My email address is jesusisastud@yahoo.com. Thanks.

ACTS CHAPTER 16

MAIN THINGS

This chapter is intense. Timothy jumps in with Paul and Silas, but he must have overslept this day or been doing something else because he isn’t mentioned as being arrested. After having God move through them to cast out a demon they are arrested and then “severely flogged”. Do not take that lightly that is referring to the 39 lashes that Jesus suffered. I am deeply challenged by their view of this event, at midnight they were singing and praying to God. WOW!! They were praising the God who allowed them to be beaten for His name. That is a picture of what our faith should be like, because they knew God was about to do something, but even if He wasn’t about to do a miracle He is still worthy of our praise! God began a great work in Philippi and later we see in Paul’s letter that a solid church was established.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-How would you respond to suffering for Christ?

-Would you ever be willing to stand up for the name of Christ if there were laws against it? Would you ever be able to be convicted of being a Christian?

-How would you have responded to the jailer? He probably wasn’t very nice to Paul and Silas earlier, yet they still shared the gospel with him and spared his life.

-Paul and Silas didn’t appeal to being Roman citizens earlier and this would have spared them the beating. Why do you think they went through with it?

ACTS CHAPTER 15

MAIN THINGS

Peter says that it has always been impossible for people to fully follow the law of Moses. He says that it would be wrong to place the gentiles under this same burden. We also need to show grace to new believers, but giving them a picture of the genuine Christian life. We need to allow them to turn to God and follow Him without heaping a ridiculous amount of rules, but that is not the danger with our church today I do not believe in most cases. Many of our seeker friendly churches have not called anyone to a holy life because they believe it to be impossible and they have lost the aspect of rebuke and truth in love. We must have the constant good tension of grace and truth, not letting one override the other.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-What do you tell others when they become Christians? What are they now required to do?

-Why do you think the council decided on these things to be the rules they were to follow?

-What are some “rules” of Christianity today that people try to put forward in order to be saved? Baptism, baptism of the Holy Spirit? What do you think of these?

HOLY SPIRIT

-What have you learned so far in Acts about the Holy Spirit? How does this impact your life?
-To be grounded further, many would say that since we see the disciples and 3 of the 4 early conversions with a second type of "baptism in the Holy Spirit" that we should also experience the same thing. This is the pentecostal view of today. How would you respond? What position would you take, is there another even where we receive the Holy Spirit? How can we account for the change in their lives as they have experienced this baptism? What do you think?

ACTS CHAPTER 14

MAIN THINGS

I just kinda stopped and though, Paul and Barnabas didn’t have any set mission or agenda. They weren’t on any time table or doing what anyone else had ever done. Their guide was the Holy Spirit, what an amazing testimony and life they lived. They had to live in constant fear of being killed, but they kept doing miracles and preaching boldly. This is a great allegory to the story of Herod, but Paul and Barnabas reacted differently, they cried out that the people may know the true God. This is crazy to see the swing of events: they think they’re gods, they try to sacrifice to them, the Jews come in and spread lies, and immediately they stone Paul “Hermes” and leave him for dead. Okay, so Paul gets back up and goes into the city that is ridiculous. That part of the story just blows me away, what a man of God!!! Then many people believed there! WHAT?!?! First Missionary Journey Complete!

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-How would you respond if people wanted to make you their god? Would you accept and sit on their throne like Herod or reject and point to the true God like Paul?

-What does it look like to blaze unfamiliar territory? What is the mission field that God is calling you to this year?

-In these stories who do you find yourself identifying with the most? Paul? Barnabas? The Jews? The people hearing the message? Put yourself in each category as you read. How does the story change from each perspective?

-Check your heart, would you go back into the city? Or would you run with everything you had in the other direction?

-It’s awesome to see them go back and encourage the believers and help them establish a church. Who do you need to go back to encourage in your life? Are there some people that you haven’t talked to in a long time that God is calling you to call and check on?

ACTS CHAPTER 13

MAIN THINGS

Fasting and prayer seem to give direct insight from the Lord. It should probably be a more regular part of our lives. Bar-Jesus was not possessed by a demon, but he was an enemy of the Lord. Prayer and direction by the Holy Spirit are the only way to know the distinctions between the two. Prophecy is such an integral part of proving Christianity as truth. Paul uses it well here to help the Jewish people understand that Jesus is that fulfillment to their teaching. Satan only gets mad and stirs stuff up when he is losing his army. I am challenged by Paul’s courage and boldness in speaking in a Jewish synagogue and especially by the people’s response. Also, Paul and Barnabas gave up everything to go on their missionary journeys and many times they had no comfort, food, money, water, etc. It is awesome to see their sacrifice and how God continued to fill them with joy and the Holy Spirit.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-Fasting seems so valuable. When was the last time you fasted? When can you plan a fast to seek God’s direction for this year? What other scriptures point to fasting as an important discipline?

-It is so important to have brotherhood when going out for God. Paul and Barnabas were there for each other and the name Barnabas even means “Son of Encouragement”. Who can you partner with to keep pressing on and seeing God move?

-Are there any other prophecies that you have found that are helpful in proving Jesus as the Messiah to the Jewish people?

-How will you respond to opposition? Will it stop you? Will it encourage you to go further like Paul and Barnabas? In that moment God filled them even more with joy and the Holy Spirit.

ACTS CHAPTER 12

MAIN THINGS

It is easy to skip over this, but some and many of us will be called to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus. James was not spared even though he was a good follower of Christ and full of faith. The call on his life was to be a martyr and that is so noble. Herod was obviously interested in pleasing the people, but mostly in his own image, and we saw where that got him – eaten by worms. It’s awesome that Peter thought all of his escape from prison was a vision. I can just see him getting outside the gate and kind of pinching himself because everything seemed so fantastical. It is beautiful the little bits of humor that are even placed in the bible, like Rhoda forgetting to open the door. That is how she has been remembered since Acts was written, I bet they made fun of her forever about that.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-What if the call on your life is to be a martyr? Is that fair? Isn’t God most concerned with your comfort and blessing you?

-God answered the prayer of the church that was praying earnestly for Peter’s release. What role does prayer play in your life? Are you praying (there have definitely been times in my life that prayer was minimal)? What is the focus of your prayers? Where do you still need to grow in dependence on God and trusting Him with your life through prayer and supplication?

-Would you still be able to trust God in prison? How would you respond to sitting in a jail cell because of God’s call on your life?

-Are you more concerned with setting yourself up as God like Herod, or laying yourself at the feet of the one true God? By the way, that is pretty stinkin’ gross if you think about it, eaten by worms!?!?!? There must have been like a million of them.

ACTS CHAPTER 11

MAIN THINGS

Peter was criticized by the other believers because of going to the Gentiles. This reminds me that the opposition that I will face in following the Lord is not always from non-Christians and more often than anything it will come from Christians. That is the most hurtful kind, but I love the response from the brothers since they are in tune with the spirit and not tradition they praised God for bringing the gospel to the gentiles. Its kind of funny that the guys scattered by the persecution didn’t know for a long time because they just went, but even they began to share with gentiles because of God’s hand being with them. It would have been pretty sweet to have Paul and Barnabas as your pastors. I also love the description of Barnabas, this solidifies in me even more the value and importance of a name. We build our name with everything we do, and Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-What kind of thought does your name bring to mind in others? What do you want to go along with your name? What needs to change?

-Are there still parts of your teaching that are incomplete? I know I taught a lot of half-truth early on in my preaching. What are some areas you are still learning in that you need to study more before you teach on them?

-Who do you need to trust God to share with, knowing that the gospel is for all people, not just “good” people that we know?

-How will you react when Christians turn their back on you for following the Lord?

ACTS CHAPTER 10

MAIN THINGS

This is an important time for the church. The gospel has just gone to the Gentiles who were considered second class citizens, all were now able to receive the gospel. I am impressed by Peter’s willingness to follow God’s call even though it meant breaking the law and a good possibility of being rejected by all of his Jewish friends. This chapter also made me think about Jesus’ resurrection and that he only appeared to those that had followed Him previously. Jesus could have shown up for everyone to see, but He placed in the apostles’ and the believers’ hands the ministry of reconciliation. God started with the Gentile movement with a righteous and God-fearing man that was respected by the Jews even though he was a gentile. It is cool to think that God had already been working on Cornelius’ life even before the gospel was shared with him. We can trust in God to go before us as well.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-Who do you view as second class and undeserving of the gospel? We all have certain groups we are either intimidated by or we think are “too far gone.”

-God’s timing with Peter and the three men is incredible. I love stories of God’s timing. What story can you think of where God’s timing was perfect? Have you talked to someone right when God would have had you talk to them?

-Peter realized that God does not show favoritism. Check your heart, how much of a role does favoritism still play in your life? Do you care for and speak to people the same independent of their socioeconomic status? (Big word, huh)

-Here we see the Holy Spirit revealing Himself through tongues, is this the only way the Spirit can reveal Himself in our lives? If so, what other ways are there?

Note: They were baptized after receiving the Holy Spirit, this is a great place to take people who believe that you must first be baptized to be saved. Baptism was used to baptize people into the name and ministry of someone, they were saying publicly that they were in full agreement with Jesus.

ACTS CHAPTER 9

MAIN THINGS

Saul’s conversion is astounding. Jesus stopped him on his way to destroy Christians and called him out to be the greatest missionary of all time. God already knew how much he must suffer for the name of Christ. Saul never had people be so-so about his testimony. It seemed that they either agreed or wanted to kill him. Ananias had a tough role of trusting the Lord as well in this chapter. Saul’s world is turned upside down and he is sent out through a hole in the wall in a basket to go and preach more. He would not be shaken even early on in his faith. As Saul went back to his homeland the church as strengthened, encouraged by the Spirit, grew in numbers, and this was in response to fearing the Lord. I am challenged by that verse as I help lead a ministry this year. I want our group to know the fear of the Lord and that we may grow in numbers, be filled with the Spirit, and be strengthened.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

- Jesus just revealed himself in an amazing way to one man out of a group of people traveling together. They heard it somewhat but the message wasn’t for them. Why do you think that God doesn’t speak like this to everyone? Why doesn’t Jesus do this more often while we are doing evangelism?

- Saul had a huge following and the majority of Jews would have cheered his persecution of the church. Everything changes in an instant and all of his power and fame is stripped from him and they all turn against him. How did Saul respond to this? How did he look back on all of his greatness in the Jewish world (cf. Philippians)?

- Saul’s conversion could be a really cool movie. He ends up being kind of like a revolutionist William Wallace style character. He knows the Jews and their plots, and his brothers know the Greeks and their plots, and both times he is spared from their murderous plots. They wanted to murder him, does that sink in, that is hardcore. I like it when people like me. Would you be on Satan’s hit list?

- Again, amazing miracles happen through Peter and a whole city believes. God can do this through us, may we only believe Him for His omnipotence. We need to be a radical generation that calls out to God for these things that great numbers of people would turn back to Him and that He would use us as His conduit.

ACTS CHAPTER 8

MAIN THINGS

Reading about Saul’s persecution of the church lets me know that God is in the business of changing lives. Philip’s story here is awesome too, to see him meet the eunuch where he was and lead him to the cross and baptize him into the name of Jesus is a great picture of evangelism. Walking alongside someone and waiting for the opportunity to bring them to Christ and Philip was walking fully in the power of the Holy Spirit which is true evangelism. One of my favorite verses in this chapter is v. 4. I confess that I do not know what persecution is truly like, but I love the view of the early Christians. They did not leave God at their homes, but they proclaimed Christ, as they are being persecuted for his name (probably having family members killed, houses burned, losing touch with relatives, not knowing where they were going). That is a picture of awesome faith and dedication to Christ.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

-After the first martyr a great persecution arose against the church. Was Stephen wrong in how he handled his death? How do we know?

-The great commission given by Jesus is best translated not go, but as you are going make disciples… These believers understood and experienced the meaning of this as they went. Do you need to look for more divine interruptions throughout your day?

-Philip was not an apostle, but God still used Him to do the miraculous of casting out demons and healing people. I want to believe God for a miracle and trust Him to do that through me, do you believe that God can do a miracle through you? I feel like I have asked that question a lot lately, but it is so radical yet so real.

-How is your heart like Simon the Sorcerer? What shortcut do you want to take to be used for great things? How do you bribe God or try to work God for your purposes?

-Who do you need to walk alongside to help them understand the gospel? What do you learn from Philip as an approach to evangelim?

- Some very notable things from this passage – Philip is transported, that is amazing. God just picked him up and put him somewhere else. SWEET! Also Philip has an angel appear to him and is prompted strongly by the Holy Spirit. What do you think about this distinction? Is there a reason why God would use both or reveal himself doubly?

ACTS CHAPTER 7

MAIN THINGS

This chapter shows a great example of meeting people where they are, but still being filled with the Spirit and speaking what God has told you to speak independent of the circumstance or the people to whom you are speaking. It is so amazing that Stephen looked up and saw Jesus before dying, what an awesome confirmation that he had fulfilled the role that he was called to. I am deeply challenged by his last statement (the same statement of Christ) to forgive them and not hold this sin against them. I couldn’t imagine being one of those that were stoning Stephen and hearing that as his last words that had to make you even more mad, but also make you wonder how someone could have the strength to still make such statements.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

Are you challenged by Stephen’s story? Would you be in tune enough with the Spirit to speak hard words that would cause people to turn against you? It is cool to see that Jesus was standing here in the presence of God, when most of the time He is noted as seated at the right hand of God. Some theologians have taken this to mean that Jesus was approving and applauding Stephen while preparing to welcome him and give him the crown of life. That is an awesome picture of the way to die to me. How do you envision dying? I want to go out more like Stephen than just comfortably. We have one chance here and one death, I think we have lost sight in our culture as to what an honorable death looks like. Would you be able to follow in the path of Jesus, Stephen, and Jim Elliot to be able to look upon the people that killed you with forgiveness? Why do you think they were able to forgive their murderers?

ACTS CHAPTER 6

MAIN THINGS

It is awesome to see God using just another guy. Stephen was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit and not an apostle. That is an incredible description of His life. I have been thinking about my life, would I have any kind of extra thing written about me like Stephen or would I be just a name. I want to have extraordinary faith and follow God well, not just mediocre. If my role is to be in the list of names though, I will humbly accept my position and allow God to do with me what He would do. My intent in life though is to be sold out to such a degree that I will look back very grateful at this one chance I had at life. Stephen’s attitude is really impressive because he doesn’t point fingers or tell that the men are lying, he just continues preaching and teaching. I want to exhibit faith like Stephen in this life.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

vv. 1 – There was division between the Grecian and Hebraic Jews by a language barrier. They were Christians these were not outsiders, they had come to know Christ and were now living with the Christians. It is cool to see that more and more people are being added to the number. Inevitably though, people begin to complain. This type of complaint would of course happen if anyone looked too closely at the exact distribution of food. What are you complaining about in life that is tearing others down and even your own attitude? What can you fall into complaining about that is trivial or destructive to unity that you need to let go of?

vv. 2-4 – The disciples greatly valued leadership and would only put in leadership (even of distributing food to widows) to those were full of the Spirit and wisdom. This is so wise in selection, for those you select will represent you either poorly or solidly to a world in need. Where is God calling you to serve? Do you need to look more intently at the word and spend more time in prayer or are you called to a service role within the body? We are all called to ministry, I think this is defined here, but in what capacity is the specific call.

vv. 5-7 – As I wrote in the main things section, I am challenged by the description of Stephen. It is also amazing to see what happened as leadership was chosen wisely, the numbers increased rapidly and even priests were accepting Christ. How would you be described?

vv. 8-10 – Stephen was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He was walking in the power of God. No one could truly oppose him. This is Stephen, not one of the disciples, this could be you. What is keeping you from walking in the power of the Holy Spirit? What is the unconfessed sin? What do you still need to learn or believe?

vv. 11-15 – The people couldn’t find anything wrong with him so they started making up things about blasphemy. This reminds me of someone else, oh yeah, Jesus. What could people find in your life if they dug deeply? I know this challenges me to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. Stephen did that and they couldn’t touch him with any truth. His face was even that of an angel in this moment. Wow! That’s cool!

ACTS CHAPTER 5

MAIN THINGS

Yeah, the apostles were beaten within an inch of their lives and they left rejoicing. If that is not challenging then I do not know what is. What a horribly, incredible event. I am so impressed by the strength that God gave the apostles. I am also challenged by the wrath of God and His punishment for pride and self-righteousness. God does not look highly on those that do good only looking for everyone’s approval especially if it is not truth.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

vv. 1-2 – What is the motive behind this? This helps us look at context and lets us know again that the original bible was not written in chapter and verse format. This story comes directly on the heels of Barnabas truly giving to the Lord and Ananias and Sapphira wanted to look as “holy” as Barnabas without the true sacrifice. Is this true in your life? Do you try to look spiritual while you are not truly experiencing God in your life or are not truly giving God your whole life as you would like to make it look like you are?

vv. 3-6 – This sin was not in what He gave, but in how he gave it. God’s wrath comes upon Ananias and he dies. Wow, what if God treated us that way every time we sinned and had false humility or stewardship? If this happened in your church with someone else how would you respond?

vv. 7-11 – It seems as if Peter knew that Sapphira had conspired with her husband. He had the gift of prophecy through the Holy Spirit. He still asked a question though allowing for repentance and truth, it is amazing to see Jesus ask questions in the gospel just the same. How do you respond when someone you know has sinned, even maybe against you, do you tell them off, or begin with questions? Again, everyone in the church was seized with fear. How do you look at God differently because of this event? Is the fear of God a good or bad approach to God?

vv. 12-16 – God was doing amazing things and people were being added to their number, but not everyone. They were highly regarded by the non-believers, but they were scared to join because they heard the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Did God mess up in His timing by executing judgment on them? We can all conceive of easy ways for God to grow His kingdom, but why do you think He doesn’t do that? What is the ultimate aim of God with His church? If it was for everyone to believe don’t you think He could complete that easily? What are your thoughts on this topic?

vv. 17-20 – Why were the Sadducees filled with jealousy? It is amazing how God turned this event around so quickly. God had a set purpose for this miracle though, and the apostles were challenged to go back to the place they were arrested and preach again. This would be hard, but after experiencing God open your prison doors it would be hard not to trust Him, and it would probably be scary to walk away from the Lord from what the apostles just experienced with Ananias and Sapphira. What emotions do you think would have been going through the apostles minds?

vv. 21-26 – I love to see the Sadducees scared. They assembled everyone to have this big trial and they were all made to look stupid by not even being able to guard these “ordinary men.”

vv. 27-33 – Governmental laws are to be followed until they conflict with God’s laws. They ordered a conflicting decree and I love Peter’s response that they must obey God rather than men. I am also impressed by their faithfulness to still get the gospel into these men who hate its message. Do you conceal truth in order to make people happy? Is it worth it? Is your motive really to make them happy or keep your reputation and pride in tact?

vv. 34-39 – Gamaliel gives a convincing argument to the Sadducees, but this is not always true. The validity of someone’s revolt is not given by its success or failure or how long it lasts, but in its truth. They did not want to deal with truth, only the moment and their seating as officials. God’s purpose will always prevail though, do this give you hope for a future? How will you respond to other religions or false views of Christianity, just let them go or confront with truth?

vv. 40-42 – This is amazing. This really confronts my heart and my comfort that seems so valuable to me. They were given the 39 lashes and yet they rejoiced. How would you respond if you were punished for following God? Would you continue and go even harder, or back down and quit? After being beaten they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news. What will it take to help you begin to teach and proclaim the good news? Do you need to be beaten, cause I bet God could arrange that if needed.

ACTS CHAPTER 4

MAIN THINGS

I really want to be more concerned with obeying God rather than men. I am easily driven by people’s thoughts and perceptions of me. I hope that I may walk in accordance with what God has placed before me and not worrying about how I look or feel. I also love the prayer here and I am challenged by this prayer to pray like this to God. I want to pray expectantly and ask God to do the miraculous in my life because He is still capable. I want to be filled with courage, and that only comes from God.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

vv. 1-4 – It is awesome to see what kind of a stir Peter and John were causing with the message of Christ. It divided people and caused men to choose against the residing government. This had to be hard for everyone, it says that the priests were greatly disturbed. Never take scripture lightly when it says stuff like that, literally it means that they were fatigued, grieved, troubled, and displeased. Would anyone of another religion or government have any reason to be worked up at your life, or your preaching? Would anyone have reason to throw you in jail if Christianity was outlawed? Will people be added to our number because of your witness?

vv. 5-7 – Do any of these names ring a bell? Caiaphas was the high priest who helped crucify Jesus. These others I am sure were part of it as well, but the notable name was Caiaphas. They knew what question they were asking. Would you have been pretty nervous here? What would your response be?

vv. 8-12 – WOW! That would probably not have been my response or even Peter’s response only the Holy Spirit could have stood with such courage and boldness. I bet in verse 10 when the name of Jesus was spoken there were probably some gasps and then Peter didn’t stop there he called them out for Jesus’ death. He then shares that salvation is found in Jesus. Remember the Holy Spirit is responsible for this not Peter and John. The Holy Spirit is still alive and active in us today, will you stand with the same courage and boldness by letting go of yourself and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill (direct and empower) you?

vv. 13-17 – They were astonished at the courage of Peter, but they did not know that God himself had spoken to them through this fisherman. The miracle had silenced their rebuttals. The officials took note that these men had been with Jesus and that they had been changed. Is it evident in your life that you have been with Jesus? How has Jesus changed you?

vv. 18-22 – Peter and John said that they must obey God rather than men. Is this true of you? If you are faced with obeying God or winning approval which do you choose? This is hard, but something we need to do a gut check on. What are some things you can look back on that you have seen and heard that help solidify your faith?

vv. 23-26 – How would you respond after being threatened by the high priests? It is cool to see their trust in God and worship of God directly after this event that was hard to go through. They viewed this event as fulfilled prophecy and knew that they were directly in the will of God. How can you tell when you are in the will of God? Is it when everything is going smooth or when you are meeting with Him most regularly and listening to His voice and sometimes going through the hardest times?

vv. 27-30 – They recognize here that Pontius Pilate, Herod, and the Gentiles did not kill Jesus but only completed what God had already put into place. Jesus’ life was not taken, but given. I love their response to the threats, basically its saying we want some mo, we want some mo, we want some mo. They asked God to do more miracles through them and that all of them, not just Peter and John would speak the word of God boldly and courageously. What a picture of faith. How does your prayer life compare with this prayer? Are you bold and expectant or are you still just giving God the same prayers that you have prayed for years? Where does your prayer life need to be developed?

vv. 31-37 – This is an awesome picture of church. It doesn’t say that they provided for everyone, but they did provide for their own. They were unified completely and continued to speak boldly to outsiders. This is the type of community that could shake the walls with their prayers and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. I know that we are probably not going to all move in together into a commune, but what strides can we make to see that our communities mimic this early expression of love and community? What do you need to lay at Jesus’ feet as your offering to Him to use for the building up of His church? Some it might be money, others it is probably something else like a gift, talent, obsession, time, what is it for you?

ACTS CHAPTER 3

MAIN THINGS

Today I was challenged by Peter’s trust in the power that was in Him and God’s display of the miraculous through Peter. He messed up so many times with Jesus and was always the loudmouth. That didn’t shake him, he kept moving forward with the power of the Holy Spirit in him. I was also very impressed that Peter did not bring any attention to himself after the miracle. That would have been so tempting. I had to really check my heart to see how I would respond if God did a miracle through me. Also, any time I read a miracle it puts me back in awe of the power and awesomeness of God. He truly does control all things and can change anything in a moment. WOW! What an awesome God we serve!

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

v. 1-4 – Peter and John were going back to spend time together with other Christians. They were interrupted by this beggar, but they saw it as an opportunity rather than an annoyance. How do you handle divine interruptions? Do you stop and see God’s hand in the situation or do you get annoyed and keep walking?

v. 5-10 – Peter recognized what he possessed, and it was the full power of God. He didn’t try to meet this man’s temporal needs through money, but met his greatest needs by the power of the Holy Spirit. I love that God healed this man independent of a ritual or a progression of prayers and possibly not even in direct response to his faith, but just in the name of Jesus he was given power to walk instantly. This was done to the glory of God and He received all praise from the event. Do you believe that God could use you to do the same if it were His will?

v. 11-16 – Peter doesn’t draw any attention to himself because of the event. That would be so hard. I would probably want everyone to see and I would start signing autographs and pitching some marketing campaign to companies. He went straight from the event to the gospel to help lead others to Christ. He knew of his incapability to do such a thing, and the power of God in the situation. How do you respond when God uses you to do something great? When people come to know Christ do you give God all the glory or your illustrations and the way you talk? Trusting in Christ and giving God all the glory, and I do mean all, is extremely hard, but in the moment of seeing a crippled beggar walk and see people come to know Christ it will be so worth it.

vv. 17-18 – Peter shares the message of the cross in a pretty fierce, but again loving and convicting way. He meets them from their perspective again by showing that it was their same God who empowered and raised Jesus from the dead.

vv. 19 – Repentance is such a key issue. We need to always share while highlighting repentance, turning to God and away from self. Putting Jesus as King in our life and not just savior, is the key message of the Spirit-filled life and the gospel itself. In the time of repentance our sins are wiped out and the Lord refreshes us with His spirit. What do you need to repent of to allow the Spirit to refresh you and give you freedom?

vv. 20-23 – Jesus will come back and it will be a great and terrifying day for the whole world. For believers it will be great joy as we see the bridegroom come to take us home, but for unbelievers they will be brought to judgment and eternally condemned. This has really been the message from the beginning, but has just now been revealed through Peter to these Jewish people. It is also said here that God will restore everything. God is working to restore all things to Himself, yet allowing man to choose wickedness and turn away. What do you think of when you think of God restoring the world?

vv. 24-26 – God sent Jesus first of all to the Jews and the message of Christ after His death and resurrection back to the Jews because God cared for His people and longed for them to come to Him. Since the beginning though the Israelites have turned toward other things to serve and worship rather than God. Why do you think God still cares for them and loves them enough to first take the gospel to them?

ACTS CHAPTER 2

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

v. 1 - Pentecost means Feast of Harvest, it was a festival to celebrate the coming of the Harvest, which came 50 days after the Passover. What significance do you see of the Holy Spirit being poured out on this day? Also, do you think unity plays a role here in the pouring out of the Spirit?

vv. 2-13 – This is amazing, God revealed this with audible and visible signs of His miraculous work. There are two responses to this, what are they? How do you respond when you hear of miracles today or think about the Holy Spirit? Are you like the first group or the second?

vv. 14-21 – Joel 2:28-32 – It is really cool to see prophecy fulfilled here from Joel writing long before this event. How does being filled with the spirit mimic being drunk? Also, do you believe that you can prophecy, have visions, and be used by God to do wonders?

vv. 22-36 – Peter’s gospel here is hard-hitting and confrontational, but still loving as he calls them brothers. He meets them where they are through the OT prophecy and connection with David. The Spirit was enabling Peter to speak boldly of the truth. He ends not with a simple belief in Jesus, he says that God has made Him Lord and Christ. He presented Him not only as Messiah, but also as the Supreme Governor (Lord) of all the earth. We must always present Jesus as King & Lord, not just as Savior and Messiah. How does this challenge you as you think of sharing Christ with other people? What needs to be more true of you in your gospel presentations?

vv. 38-41 – Baptism does not give the gift of the holy spirit or the remission of sins. Repentance alone does not either, both point to Jesus Christ who is the only one who can forgive. To be baptized is to be baptized into the name of Jesus, to identify yourself with Christ through being “washed” by one who identifies with Christ as well. This is where the new covenant was ushered in with the promised Holy Spirit. What will be different with the new covenant than in the old covenant? 3000 were added to the number that day, do you think God can still do this?

vv. 42-47 – What are some things you can tell that they valued whenever believers truly lived and fellowshipped together? What do you see that we value that they did not? What are the main differences between this early church and us today? Is this type of community a possibility?

MAIN THINGS

I am challenged today as to whether I trust that God could use me to do miraculous things. I want to believe God for those things, and I want to live a life of faith. I am also challenged by the way Peter presents the Gospel unashamedly and reveals Jesus as King and not as an easy decision. He called them to action right away and with all of this truth being shared God did the work to bring in 3000 to the number that day. I want to trust God more to do the amazing and bring thousands of people to come to know Him.

ACTS CHAPTER 1

MAIN THINGS
Some of the main things that I got out of this chapter were to trust even more in the gift of the Holy Spirit that God has given me, to imitate the disciples as they spent much time in prayer, and I was also challenged by the low numbers of people that were at the start of this great movement of God. The last thing that gives me hope and trust is that Jesus is truly still alive and has given convincing proofs of that. I am thankful that we serve a living savior and not a dead philosopher. Thank you God, for your love for us in giving us your very presence. Thank you Holy Spirit for indwelling me and giving me the power, boldness, and courage to follow hard after God and proclaim truth to the people around me and to the nations.

What challenged you today as you read chapter 1?

I have added some questions and thoughts I had as I looked through the chapter. I hope this will help guide you through this chapter and ask some questions of God's word.

Questions & Thoughts
v. 3 – What is the significance of 40 days?

vv. 4-9 – Luke begins by detailing more of what happened at Christ’s ascension. How do you put together the different accounts of the last things that Jesus said to His disciples? How do you harmonize the gospel of Matthew with this account in Acts? (Same Question as before different words)

v. 8 - What are you going to do now to begin to reach your Jerusalem? You have received power, do you feel that you have? Do you experience being filled by the Holy Spirit? Is this statement only for the disciples or all believers in all time periods?

v. 10-11 – I wonder how long they were looking in the sky for angels to come down and tell them to stop.

v. 14 - This is a great look at the disciples turning to God to wait for the Spirit. I wonder how long this lasted. What was this experience like?

v. 15 – Isn’t that crazy that the believers who were still around were only about 120. How quickly those fell away that worshipped Jesus on the way in, but threw stones at Him on the way to the cross.

v. 23 – What happened with Barsabbas, “Justus”? I wonder is he still followed even though he didn’t get the apostle position.

v. 26 – Casting lots is equal to rolling dice or flipping a coin in that time period. We are not commanded anywhere in scripture to do this and it is surprising that the will of God was determined here by casting lots. They have a pretty awesome trust in the sovereignty of God. They trusted so much that He would even control the lots as they cast them to see who God would choose. What do you think of this practice?

ACTS INTRO

Alright guys it is always important to know the author, his audience, and the context in which a book of the bible was written. I have put together a little bit about these aspects of Luke and an outline to know more of what will be going on in each chapter. I hope these help as we continue to read and study together. Post a comment on something that you learned about Acts, about Luke, or something you would like to add about the book of acts as a whole.

Author – Luke – A gentile (Colossians 4:14) that was a physician and a very educated man and regarded by some as a painter, but that is only speculation. He knew Greek well and accompanied Paul on missionary journeys and all the way unto his death in Rome. He took care of Paul and was called His beloved physician. He was a medical missionary to Malta and probably used his profession to reach people with the gospel most places that he went.
There is some dispute over complete Lukan authorship, but most of all the conservative theologians regard Luke as the author of the entire book. He did accompany Paul throughout the 2^nd imprisonment in Rome 2 Tim. 4:11. It is awesome to see Luke’s dedication to Paul in the midst of such a tough time. This was a great time to get full detail of all of Paul’s life and therefore write Acts. During the second missionary journey, he was an eyewitness himself, which you can tell from the change in the use of the word “they” or “Paul and his companions” to “we” in Acts 16:6-10. Throughout the rest of the book, until the middle of chapter 21 the pronoun we is still used until Paul becomes the major focus and therefore the we drops out. His sources from the beginning of the book are not specifically known, but were probably oral tradition or something that Luke could have been closely associated with as well.

Audience - He wrote the book to Theophilus, these are the only times that Theophilus is mentioned in history that we have recorded. He was more than likely a Roman official, we know that because of Luke's use of "Most excellent" and that term was only used of those that were highly esteemed officials in Rome. It is also notable that Luke wanted to write an "orderly account" of all that happened with the church and the following of Christ.

Acts Break Down

1-5 Peter, the apostles, and the early spread of the church

6-7 Stephen and the seven

8 – Saul’s persecution and Philip’s sharing with the eunuch

9 – Saul’s Conversion & Peter heals a paralytic and raises Dorcas from the dead

10 – Peter shares with Gentiles

11 – The church in Jerusalem

12 – Peter imprisoned and set free

1^st Missionary Journey – 13:4-14:28

15 – Jerusalem council decides on Gentiles

2^nd Missionary Journey – 15:40-18:23a

3^rd Missionary Journey - 18:23b-20:3a

20-26 – Paul arrested, put on trial multiple times

27-28 – Shipwrecked again, arrives in Rome and preaches until he was later beheaded according to Eusebius of Caesarea