Book of acts reflections christ

Reflections on christ the king moravian church in america. Elijah ascended into heaven bodily, personally, and visibly. One thousand years after david, the lord jesus christ was born of his seed and lineage. It could appropriately be called the acts of king david. 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. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes. Acts was apparently written in rome, perhaps between ad 70 and 90, though some think a slightly earlier date is also. Here are three lessons we can learn about missions from this inspiring book. Acts concerns the very vital period in christian history between the resurrection of jesus and the death of the apostle paul, the time when christian ideas and beliefs were. The book of acts follows christ s chosen representatives from 30 to 62 ad as they preach the good news of salvation in the farthest parts of the roman empire. Outline of the book the royal genealogy 2chr 19 the parenthesis of sauls rule 10. A list of sermons in the book of acts leadership resources. Reflections of the christ mind presents the most important teachings the author has received through his spiritual awakening. Mar 19, 2019 for the next few months, we will be exploring the book of acts in a series titled acts.

Top 5 commentaries on the book of acts ligonier ministries. It opens with a greeting to theophilus, who was also the intended recipient of lukes gospel. The orthodox faith volume i doctrine and scripture new. The book of acts reflection and discussion questions acts 1 the apostles knew they needed to replace judas. Reflections from the book of romans which messiah must come, is the gospelhe is god. These five study guides integrate bible study, prayer, worship, and reflection on themes in the book of acts issue. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. 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. Acts 1 niv jesus taken up into heaven bible gateway. Acts 1 new international version niv jesus taken up into heaven 1 in my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the holy spirit to the apostles he had chosen. Van gorder 2 samuel this book tells the story of one person, david. The great commission frames the entirety of the book of acts.

Maintaining that believing is not the equivalent of intellectual suicide, gungor wrestles with 10 troubling questions to bring you to a deeper understanding of your faith. Nothing excludes a person from being a part of gods community in christ not race, not social. Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the word of god in order to refocus ones mind and heart upon christ and his gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire bible in a year. Ludlowthe book of acts was written by luke after his gospel as the second part of a great twovolume work on jesus christ and the early christians. In the book of acts, we discover the exciting story of the churchs birth. Paul, like peter, is presented as a miracle worker acts 14. The study guides and lesson plans integrate bible study, prayer, and worship to help us explore acts as a theological treasure that can. The class is intended to give us an insight into the men we know as apostles and set the stage for a study of their work in the book of acts. The book of acts, like the gospel of luke was written to theophilus. Here are 3 ways they used apologetics to defend their faith.

How to live as reflections of christ discover the book. The book of acts can help calm our fears and strengthen our faith because we are reminded that we do not face our struggles alone. The acts of the apostles, abbreviation acts, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. The book of the acts of the apostles was written by saint luke toward the end of the first century, as the second part of his history for theophilus about christ and his church. And they said, believe on the lord jesus christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. What todays church needs to learn from the book of acts. In luke, the gospel of jesus christ reaches jerusalem. The book of acts was likely written between ad 61 and 64. Luke is the author of the gospel of luke and the book of acts. Reflections on christ the king each week, moravians across the u.

We hope you enjoy and can benefit greatly from this study. In watching for open doors, we must also watch for joy and liberty from the spirit to go through them. The book of acts shares the story of the birth of the christian church, connecting the earliest followers of jesus to christians 2,000 years later. Freedom in christ 10 humour 11 outreach 2 personal reflections 29 questions of belief 5 sermons 58 sermons on 2 corinthians 1 sermons on book of 1 peter 1 sermons on book of acts 3 sermons on book of colossians 1 sermons on book of ephesians 1 sermons on book of exodus 1 sermons on book of hebrews 1 sermons on book of. This month, we share insights written for christ the king sunday, celebrated on the last sunday before advent. The book of acts describes how the church spread after jesus ascended to heaven. The book begins with an account of the lords ascension and the election of matthias to take the place of judas as a member of the twelve apostles. Pauls respect for others often wins a hearing for him and even turns enemies into friends, notwithstanding the boldness of his words. That there would be heaps of lessons to be learned from the book of acts should be obvious this is after all the brand new, pristine body of believers closest to christ and closest to the original vision of what the church should look like. Its an amazing story about the beginning of our church and the many struggles faced by the apostles and disciples of jesus. Apr 11, 2016 personal reflections on the book of acts 20.

In acts, the christians in antioch rejoiced that god had opened a door to faith among the gentiles acts 14. Oct 31, 2008 reflections of christ is a coffee table book containing 30 outstanding pictures of jesus christ photographs by mark mabry depicting the life of christ during the new testamentera. In fact, the name, acts of the apostles, does not precisely convey the idea of the contents of the book. Lukes gospel is an orderly account of jesus life, death, burial and. Acts is a history of the church, and the message of acts is that the gospel of jesus christ will reach the ends of the earth. Acts shows the kind of evi dence that can be presented to convert jews to jesus. Honest reflections from an openminded christ follower 9781416592556 by ed gungor. For 40 days, he was with them, then he led his disciples out to bethany and told them.

They were constantly defending their faithto religious leaders, political officers, secular philosophers, and average citizens. It records the carrying away into captivity of israel by assyria in 721 b. It describes the coming of the holy spirit at pentecost in acts 2, the spread of the gospel outside of jerusalem in acts 8 and to the gentiles in acts 10, how the church made decisions in regards to doctrine acts 15, and more. Understanding the book of acts in the bible learn religions. The book of acts clearly focuses on the beginnings of the church, and two people the apostle peter, and the one who actually possessed the courage to go to the farthest parts of the known world with the gospel of jesus christ, his name was paul the apostle. 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. For the next few months, we will be exploring the book of acts in a series titled acts. A survey of these miraculous works is worthy of our reflection. In the book of acts, when the apostles did evangelism, they did apologetics.

This is the story of christianitys beginnings and how evangelism played. During the forty days following his resurrection jesus had given much instruction to his disciples. By faith in the name of jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. 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. Learn more about its significance in the new testament. It traces the first decades in the history of the church after the resurrection of christ, focusing in particular on the work of peter and paul.

Even in our darkest moments, we are never alone as jesus promised. In the book of acts, holy men gave into the treasury of a common fund. Acts records the apostles being christ s witnesses in jerusalem, judea, samaria, and the surrounding world. Joseph alsay, carrie boren headington, frank logue, brendan osullivanhale, steve pankey, and holli powell. Reflections on gods guidance from the book of acts in his letter to the roman christians, the apostle paul declares, as many as are led by the spirit, these are the sons of god rom. In the first post of this series i highlighted the unity of lukeacts.

The book of acts is a clear and concise work that exposes the reality of christ, the existence of the kingdom of god the church, and detailed instructions regarding what one must do to be added to this kingdom. The orthodox faith volume i doctrine and scripture. Studying the book of acts 88 kathy maxwell editors 94 contributors 96. Book of acts the christian reflection project baylor university.

Living faith kids provides a daily reflection based on a. Whereas the gospel of luke focuses on the life and ministry of jesus christ, the acts of the apostles builds upon what jesus did and taught see acts 1. Acts 2 outsiders looking in thought jesuss followers were drunk because they were so filled with the. Van gorder 2 kings we now come to perhaps the saddest book of all jewish history. In this passage, luke is restating the great commission challenge jesus gave in luke 24. In the book of acts, the disciples were all in the temple praising god. On the day of pentecost, the holy spirit breathes new life into followers of the way, the community of jesus disciples, and empowers them to share the good news of god in christ. Here is a look at our fifth book in the new testament filtering through all the examples we see of the word faith. The book of acts ends with paul proclaiming the kingdom of god and teaching about the lord jesus christ with all boldness and without hindrance acts 28. Scenes include the nativity, christ s baptism, miracles, atonement, death, and resurrection.

Christian reflection is an ideal resource for discipleship training in the church. Acts is thoroughly missional, steve walton notes, for it is focused on gods mission, as god draws people into his orbit and brings them into. Acts of the apostles the book of the acts of the apostles was written by saint luke toward the end of the first century, as the second part of his history for theophilus about christ and his church. The book starts with and stays with the theme of the death, burial and resurrection of christ. You see, god wanted the jewish apostles to authentically seek the salvation and restoration of the jews just like jesus christ did, and in one sense god in the ways of man god was still authentically and genuinely seeking it at least until acts 7 and at most until acts 28.

The book of acts in general and this story in particular make it very clear that all are welcome god calls all people into community through gods amazing grace nothing excludes. Click here to access the recorded series and click here to download the 12 apostles of jesus christ study guide. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. 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. Just as was true for the apostles and disciples, we are guided and protected by the holy spirit as jesus promised. The book of acts gives a unique glimpse into the life and practice of the early church. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. Aug 18, 2015 christian education recognizes that to reflect the mind of christ and to take every thought captive 2 corinthians 10. In acts, luke has provided a broad survey of the churchs development from the resurrection of jesus to pauls first roman imprisonment, the point at which the book ends. John chrysostom found it to be repletewith christian wisdom and sound doctrine to guide believers. In acts the gospel spreads from jerusalem to the rest of the world. Baur 17921860 of germany popularized this view more than a century ago. The great vision of christian education desiring god. Here at last is a gospel devoted solely to jesus teachings of love, healing, and forgiveness.

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 the decades immediately following christ s ascension into heaven. Scripture quotations marked niv are from the new international version of the holy bible, 1978 by zondervan bible publishers. The miracles in the book of acts lists the miracle, where it happened, and where it is recorded in scripture. This post will exhaustively look at every example we see in the book of acts with a brief commentary on each. There are discrepancies within the two accounts of pauls conversion in the book of acts, but im not going to go into that. Acts one provides a brief, but powerful look at christ s ascension into heaven. Paul and silas in jail reflection and meaning in acts 16. The book begins with an account of the lords ascension and the election of matthias to. As you read the first few chapters of acts, you see a risen, glorified, immortal savior communing with mortals. How can we apply this principle to the relationships in our own lives.

Seventh, awe at gods power through the apostles gripped the community of believers. If you live long enough in a harsh, cold, cruel world, slowly that hardness rubs off. Acts was written in greek, presumably by the evangelist luke, whose gospel concludes where acts begins, namely, with christ s ascension into heaven. Even though jesus is busy sitting at the right hand of the father for most of the tale, hes still everpresent in the lives of his followers. Romans delighted in power, in might, and in crushing defeats of their enemies. Theological reflections on the humanity of christ 9781433553 by bruce a. 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 of the apostles executable outline study resources. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1. And like us, he too received power for godliness through the holy spirit, and thus serves not only as the divine lord to be worshiped, but also the supreme human to be followed. Reflections of effects of praying the complete round each day one of luisas prayers to fuse herself in the order of grace which gives her possession of jesus love the greater or lesser effectiveness of these hours of my passion is in the greater or lesser union that they have with me.

Throughout the book of acts, the spiritempowered church bears witness to jesus as both the rejectedcrucified christ and the risenexalted lord. It is worth noting that in this history of the early christian church, luke mentioned neither pauls death ad 6468 nor the persecution of christians that broke out. The death of james and the deliverance of peter acts 12. Therefore they trusted god to place the right person in that spot. There are, however, many miracles recorded in the book of acts. The gospel spread from israel, northward to antioch, and then westward to. The book of acts was written to provide a history of the early church. Book of acts the christian reflection project baylor.

A helpful work that places acts in the larger redemptive historical context of scripture is dennis johnsons the message of acts. Lukes preoccupation with the christian community as the spiritguided bearer of the word of salvation rules out of his book detailed histories of the activity of most. Reflections from the book of acts believers and churches dont practice the above privately or corporately and are puzzled as to why their lives are not impacting people for christ. The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. I emphasized that the two books seem to show us that the ministry of jesus is.

The book of acts paints a picture of renewal of the people from a traditional, lawbound, performancebased and ethnocentric 1 religion to a group of believers who were gracebound, transforming into an ethnorelative 2 mindset and filled with the holy spirit. Its here we encounter the holy spirit at pentecost, see the church become established, watch the disciples grow as leaders, meet the apostle paul, and see the church spread outside of jerusalem. Acts 2 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on the. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament.

Acts reflections acts begins with an account of the ascension of christ to heaven after his resurrection, which serves two purposes. The book does not contain the acts of all the apostles, neither does it contain all the acts of any apostle. The credibility of the book of acts by wayne jackson liberal critics of the bible have frequently alleged that the book of acts is not a reliable document from the standpoint of history. These titles, and the redemptivehistorical events to which they refer, are helpful for organizing and thinking through the primary ways jesus is portrayed in acts.