INTRODUCING ACTS
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.
Sermon Title: INTRODUCING ACTS
Main Scripture: Acts 1:1-3 NLT; Luke 1:1-4 NLT
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week, consider reading the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
The Intriguing and Unique Traits of Acts
Topics: Miracles, demon possession, and deliverance, speaking in tongues, persecution, shipwrecks, drama, salvation, healings, profound sermons, the Holy Spirit in action…Needless to say, the Book of Acts is intriguing, exciting, and needed!
Acts is a very important link between the New Testament Gospels and the remaining letters of Paul and the Apostles. If it wasn’t for Luke’s writing of Acts we wouldn’t know how the church continued after Jesus ascended into heaven. We wouldn’t see and know how the Holy Spirit operates and empowers believers for ministry and witness. We wouldn’t have vivid examples of how Spirit-led and Spirit-filled Christians spread the good news, heal, preach, and face persecution. Acts provided context to Paul’s missionary journeys, church plants, and letters to the Philippians, Ephesians, Timothy, and the Thessalonians.
The Holy Spirit is a major theme in the Gospel of Luke and in Acts. Acts reveal a crucial blending of God’s Spirit, power, and purpose working through human activity. The Spirit is mentioned or referred to 51 times. In fact, the book has been nicknamed, “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” Acts continues Jesus’ mission through followers empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Some people view this book and the principles therein as only needed at the beginning of the church, claiming it is no longer relevant today. On the contrary, “the content reveals that God wanted it to be a guide for Christian living and for a Spirit-filled church…Nothing in Acts or the rest of the New Testament teaches that the miracles, spiritual gifts, and standards for the church revealed…were relevant only for a period of time. The powerful works of the Holy Spirit were not meant to end with the ministry of Christ’s followers.” -Fire Bible Study Note
Christians, today have the same promise of the Holy Spirit, the same call to be witnesses, the same spiritual gifts distributed to the church by the Holy Spirit, and the same commission from Jesus to “Go make disciples.” To complement this point, the book of Acts has no formal conclusion as if to say, the work continues! Perhaps we are the conclusion. God sent Jesus. Jesus sent his disciples. The Holy Spirit is sending us!
I need to set the table before we begin to feast on the meat and depth of Acts chapter one. It’s important that we know who wrote this book, why he wrote it, the timing, and the occasion in the background of Chapter 1. I am reluctant to teach on verses 4 and 5 without adequate time so I purposely saved that for next week.
Our scripture is short today, but in other weeks we will tackle longer portions to help us understand the full scope of the text. Let’s take our time soaking up this book. There’s no need to rush. I can’t and won’t entertain you when I preach, but I have asked the Holy Spirit to stir up our hunger for knowledge, understanding, and a conviction to apply it to our lives.
Notes:
Scripture Context and Meaning Acts 1:1-3; Luke 1:1-4
V. 1 WHO IS LUKE?
The author of Acts is Luke and Bible historians predominantly land between AD 60-63 for the date of writing.
Luke is a native of Antioch, which makes him a Gentile. Luke was a physician, a disciple of the first apostles, and a traveling co-worker with the Apostle Paul (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 23-25; 2 Timothy 4:11 What a great person to have with you after being whipped and beaten so many times.)
Luke was well-educated, and out of the four gospels, he is the most polished in His use of the Greek language.
Luke has been considered a historian. “Acts covers selected portions of the first thirty years of the history of the church. In the book of Acts, Luke traces the spread of the message about Christ from Jerusalem to Rome. In the process, he mentions 32 countries, 54 cities, 9 Mediterranean islands, 95 different persons by name, and a variety of government officials by their specific titles. Modern archeology continues to confirm the amazing accuracy of the details recorded by Luke.” -Fire Bible Study Note
THE FIRST BOOK?
The first book was the Gospel of Luke which he carefully investigated everything from the beginning of Jesus’ life, then his death, and then his resurrection. He is writing an accurate account for Theophilus, “So you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught” (Luke 1:3).
In Luke’s Gospel, he was not an eye-witness of Jesus, he received the events from those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word (Luke 1:2). Luke continued to carefully document the events in Acts but later became a first-hand eyewitness. We will read further into the book where Luke includes himself in some of the scriptures and Paul calls him a co-worker and companion in ministry.
WHO IS THEOPHILUS?
We have no information about Theophilus. His name means, “One who loves God.” “Friend of God,” “Dear to God.” The title, “most excellent” implies he is a man of rank but it may just be a greeting of respect. We do not know if He was a believer but it appears he has some type of faith and Luke wants to make sure it’s founded on reliable information about Jesus.
His purpose had a larger scope than just one man. “The Holy Spirit led Luke to fill a need in the church–particularly among the first Gentile Christians throughout the Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean regions of the Roman Empire.” -Fire Bible Study Note
“His purpose is pastoral as well as evangelistic–to strengthen believers and encourage unbelievers to accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord.” -FullLife Bible Commentary
V. 2-3 The setting of chapter 1: The Gospel and the Resurrection Appearances
Instructions through the Holy Spirit - Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:4-5; 8
Taken up to heaven is referring to the ascension - Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11
The book of Acts begins where the Gospel of Luke left off, with the resurrected Jesus alive and visiting his followers (Luke 24:35-49; Acts 1:3).
What is the good news? (The gospel?) Jesus, the son of God, was born into this world through the Virgin Mary and lived a perfect, sinless life. He died on the cross for our sins so the punishment for our sins would be on Him. Three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead, proving His divinity and victory over sin and death. This salvation from sin and death is offered to all people. Christians are believers, saved by this gift of salvation and sent by God to deliver this good news and an invitation. God is inviting you to believe in this truth, repent, and turn away from your sin. The gospel invites us to follow Jesus into new life now and eternal life in the future.
TAKEAWAYS:
Reach One
Who will be the one person you will love and invite to meet Jesus this school year?
Luke’s work for just one friend is an inspiration to us all.
What can you do to help just one person come to believe and follow Jesus?
Reach from Experience
Luke had to decide himself at some point to be a believer and follower of Jesus. Then Luke got closer to God through discipleship.
Grow and Go reach one (or more)!
The Gospel is the starting point for every person who becomes a Christian
Jesus is still reaching and He’s still inviting because the gospel is still being spread by His followers, today.
Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe you are a sinner that needs forgiveness? Do you believe Jesus died and rose again so you could have eternal life?
Discussion:
What did God use in this sermon to speak to your heart or situation?
How will you go about extending the invitation to that one person you chose above?
What experience unique to you can help you reach the lost?
In what ways do you need to improve your walk with the Lord to better serve those around you?
What other notes did you highlight or write down that you would like to share?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed? We encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!